The River Campus is all grown up -- and wow!

It was near the end of the 1990s when Dale Nitzschke (did I get enough consonants in there?), president of Southeast Missouri State University at the time, stood on the low bluff overlooking the Mississippi River near the old St. Vincent's College buildings and announced that we were sitting on what would become a campus for the visual and performing arts.

A river campus, Nitzschke said.

He said the campus would include a performing arts hall seating several hundred theatergoers and music lovers.

As he was speaking, a freight train lumbered alongside the floodwall at the bottom of the bluff. Several folks in attendance rolled their eyes. How could you build a hall where performances would likely be drowned out by freight trains?

There's an answer to that question. It is the River Campus, a jewel in the university's crown. I don't ever remember a single play or musical or any other performance that was interrupted by a train. Not once. And I've been to quite a few performances at the River Campus, which this year is celebrating its 10th anniversary.

I will leave it to others to document this special anniversary. Appropriately, several special events are planned. I look forward to being a part of these special occasions whenever possible.

But for now let me tell you what my wife and I witnessed Sunday afternoon at a matinee performance of "A Chorus Line" in the Bedell Performance Hall at the River Campus.

Not too many years ago, 2013 I think, we saw a national touring company's production of "A Chorus Line" at the Bedell. This was a group based in New York, and they were good.

You know what?

The students in this year's "A Chorus Line" were every bit as good, maybe better in some instances.

Just think: Would there have been enough SEMO students who could sing AND dance to fill out the "A Chorus Line" cast 10 years ago? That's just one indication of the maturing of the programs at the River Campus.

I wish I could name every one of the energetic student performers who filled the Bedell stage. Well, why can't I? It's my column.

So, hats off (no pun intended) to Jose, Hannah, Addison, Cody, Laban, Zachary, Abigail, Josie, Jordan, Laura, Kaitlin, Dempsey, Noah, Danny, Jacquelyn, Jared, Nicholas, Malachi, Kyle, Christopher, John, Anna, Alexander, Julia, Alexis, Tateonna and Alyssa. You were all fantastic.

Everything clicked in Sunday afternoon's performance. I can't say that about every student production I've seen. But these young performers are, after all, students. They can learn a lot from their triumphs. They can learn more from their mistakes.

The audience loved the performance we saw, and the hardworking cast was invigorated by the audience's audible support.

That's part of the magic of a live theater production.

I would be amiss if I didn't mention the orchestra. Throughout the performance the musicians were spot on.

And guess what? They weren't even in the theater. What a surprise it was to learn the 13-person orchestra was in the nearby Rust theater, relying on live video to keep track of the activity onstage. The timing was faultless, and the music was sensational.

So, hats off to the orchestra too: Josh, Chris, Tammy, Paul, Bob, Narvol, Matt, Steve, Matt, Sam, Shane, Jay and Brian. What a treat.

Call Dale Nitzschke a dreamer if you want. His vision of the River Campus came true because of a lot of folks who planned and negotiated and pushed without giving up, not least being the next president, Ken Dobbins. Hats off to them, too.

Today the reputation of the River Campus is rapidly spreading. Students from all over who might never have considered spending their college days in Cape Girardeau are applying for admission.

There is so much to celebrate on this 10th anniversary. This production of "A Chorus Line" is proof, to me, that the River Campus was a good idea, train or no train.

Joe Sullivan is the retired editor of the Southeast Missourian.