River Campus tickets going quickly

Want to see Hal Holbrook perform as Mark Twain during the inaugural season of the River Campus? If so, you'd better hurry.

Tickets for the touring, symphony, and theater and dance shows that will make up the first season at Southeast Missouri State University's River Campus have been selling fast since they became available to the public last month. The most popular show, "Hal Holbrook in Mark Twain Tonight!", is almost sold out (only about 20 tickets are left), even though Holbrook won't take the stage until April 26.

"The response has been overwhelming," said Robert Cerchio, River Campus assistant director.

In May, Cerchio said he was expecting to sell about 300 season tickets. As of early Tuesday afternoon, more than 1,300 season tickets had been sold for the variety of River Campus entertainment, from touring acts like Holbrook to Southeast theater and dance productions to Southeast Missouri Symphony Orchestra performances. Season tickets are sold a number of ways: Patrons can buy season tickets for a single series (touring, theater and dance or symphony), or they can buy "master" tickets, good for every show.

People have bought 326 touring series season tickets, 352 theater and dance season tickets and 196 symphony series tickets. Another 481 master series tickets have been sold.

The Bedell Performance Hall, where most shows will take place, seats 952.

Season ticket sales numbers could be deceiving in some cases, Cerchio said, because some shows -- primarily those produced by the university's theater and dance department -- have multiple show dates. Regardless, Cerchio said, ticket sales thus far, three months before the Bedell's first show, are far better than expected.

"It exceeded everybody's expectations," Cerchio said.

The first big show to take the Bedell stage will be the musical "Big River," based on Mark Twain's "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn." Theater and dance department chair Dr. Kenn Stilson said preparation has already begun -- costume, set and lighting design as well as laying out a directorial vision.

However, casting will be put on hold until Aug. 21, after students return to campus. Casting for the dark comedy "Coyote Ugly," which is unrelated to the movie of the same name, will take place at the same time.

Though the stage is new, Stilson said community actors are still being invited to audition and take part in the River Campus' inaugural show -- a show Stilson and Cerchio call apropos for opening up a place called the River Campus.

"We would love to see a number of community members ... it serves one of the primary purposes of the River Campus ... to help bridge the gap between the community and university," Stilson said.

"Big River," which has several parts for black actors and singers, will likely be one of the most racially diverse plays ever to be produced at Southeast, where minority actors are few but increasing in number.

A community actor may be needed for one of the leads, the part of escaped adult slave Jim, but any community actors auditioning will have to compete with students, who get first consideration.

msanders@semissourian.com

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