A good problem

The River Campus has problems, and people are starting to notice.

More than once in the past two weeks, I've been told or heard about these problems.

They don't have enough seats available. The student production of "To Kill a Mockingbird" has been sold out for weeks. Organizers transformed the last dress rehearsal Tuesday into a full performance, added a Friday morning show and a Sunday night performance. Once word got out, the tickets quickly disappeared.

We can blame the emphatic response in part on the familiar story. But the enthusiasm also stems from a history of quality performances. I may love Harper Lee's novel, but if I find out the theater company performing the stage adaptation has butchered scripts in the past, I'll just tuck in one Sunday afternoon and reread the book rather than dress up and watch someone fail on stage.

The Department of Theatre and Dance at Southeast Missouri State University has proved itself to be a hard-working, successful dramatic program.

The schedule is crowded. When "Spamalot" had to cancel in December, one obstacle for rescheduling the show was finding an open date on the Bedell Performance Hall calendar. The free days fade between other touring shows like Tuesday's "Church Basement Ladies 2: A Second Helping" and the upcoming "The Aluminum Show" in April and the symphony or dance concerts by the university.

Today, at least, it will be crowded. The Crisp Museum is hosting the annual Juried Student Exhibition and the River Campus Art Gallery in the Seminary Building will have new student works. Both are holding a reception from 5 to 7 p.m., the same time people will be milling about, waiting on the play to start at 7:30.

Yes, these have been called problems, but by all observations, they're good problems to have.