With the 50th Keenan Revue approaching, students lined up outside Dahnke Ballroom on Monday for ticket distribution. The show runs Feb. 26 to 28, and approximately 1,500 tickets are distributed for each night.
Doug Tackney, a senior studying mechanical engineering, is one of the producers for this year’s Revue. With tickets in high demand, distribution gets busy.
“We rent out Dahnke Ballroom from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. We open the doors at 8 a.m. Anyone can come in and wait in line. We hand out tickets at 4. Two tickets per ID, and anyone can have two IDs,” Tackney said.
He added that they do not enforce a hard line, allowing friends to come take turns or trade in and out for classes and meals.
Elle Brouillette, a junior in Ryan Hall, said she arrived around 11 a.m. to get tickets for her and her friends. She was switching out with friends for class, but was unsure if she would make it to class on time.
“I arrived at 10:30 to join my friend Ryan who has been here since 8,” John Jabbour, a senior, said. “Funnily enough, my classes got canceled today, so I got volunteered to be one of the ticket guys.”
Andi Bell, a freshman in Badin, said her friend grabbed a spot in line at 8 a.m.
“It is a much more comfortable setup than I thought. I had been told that the line does not get too long until 2 or 3, but my friends and I, we wanted the experience of waiting, so here we are,” she said.
The line was guided by crowd control barrier posts and tables, with students scattered across tables and the floor. Some students complained about a lack of organization.
After receiving tickets, senior Patricia Diaz explained that she waited in line for four hours without trading places with friends. She expressed frustration with some freshmen over their disorganization.
“No one can make a line, and it is really annoying,” she said.
Walker Laitala, a freshman in Baumer Hall, explained that his friends arrived at 11 a.m. and he joined at 3 p.m.
“I did hear some people get here all the way at 7:30 a.m., even though it did not open until 8, so those are the really committed people. I cannot complain. I got my tickets,” he said. “I did not have the foresight to bring my computer, which was definitely not the best, but they made it really interesting by blasting some good tunes and they had a lot of fun games and competitions going on.”
Throughout the day, Keenan residents gave away tickets and passes to skip the line once ticket time arrived as prizes for various challenges.
Mariana Delgado, a senior, won tickets for finding, memorizing and saying the names of 10 former Revue themes. She described the challenge as somewhat difficult.
“I did not have a couple of them memorized, but towards the end it was a little easier considering that I had the first five and then I just went for the more obscure ones first,” she said.
By 4:12 p.m., tickets for Thursday night, the most popular show, had run out. Several Keenan residents helping to organize the event reminded people that it is the same show all three nights.
“I wanted to get Thursday tickets, but I could not so I got Saturday tickets instead,” freshman Dean Mason said.
Freshman Connor Beerbower said he also got Saturday tickets, despite arriving four hours before ticket distribution with the goal of getting Thursday tickets.
As soon as the line started moving, Keenan residents were taking down tables and line dividers and putting them away. By 4:30 p.m., the line was finished. At the end of ticket distribution, Saturday tickets were almost sold out, but there were still Friday tickets available.
