Stars Over Veishea began in 1922 as a student produced show. Several years ago, the Theatre Department agreed to provide SOV with a director, costume shop and designers. Unfortunately, it seems as though the Theatre Department is the only entity keeping this year’s production, “Brigadoon,” alive. Apathy and irresponsibility on the part of SOV heads may now stop the very show they committed themselves to producing.

SOV’s actions have become increasingly undependable. “Brigadoon” has a producer who has never attended a rehearsal, few Veishea aides who ever show up to work on costumes or set and leaving their work to an already overtaxed Theatre Department, and a run crew consisting of the choreographer, assistant stage manager and two Theatre students.

Much worse than the apparent disinterest of SOV is their incomprehensible refusal to continue publicizing the show. If SOV has their way, the only posters you will see are the ones being put up by the cast themselves. You will not hear radio interviews. The only publicity photos you’ll see will exist only because the production staff set them up after Veishea’s failure to do so. The cast T-shirts will likely never materialize, just like hundreds of posters which were supposed to publicize the show.

Apparently, all this is happening because SOV believes our director is overzealous. As cast members, most of us have been in SOV musicals before, and we know there are far worse problems than having a director who wants to make “Brigadoon” the best SOV musical ever. SOV may be trying to make a point, but it is lost on us.

Since January, we have put hundreds of hours into a show that no one knows about. We have seen no publicity, forcing us to take up a collection and pay for our own flyers and radio ads. We’ve never had a permanent rehearsal space, often moving from room to room with less than a days notice. SOV is not doing their job. Regardless of the reason, this is simply unacceptable. If nothing changes, SOV will get their way and the hard work of 35 students will go unnoticed.

As cast members who have poured our hearts and souls into “Brigadoon” only to see its support disintegrate, we have been unfairly targeted by a student committee so self-serving that they would sacrifice thousands of dollars in ticket sales to get their way. We hope Veishea will take a long, hard look at its SOV committee and their unprofessional behavior.

Hopefully, those responsible can redeem themselves in time to salvage this wonderful show. If not, we would humbly ask your help in making “Brigadoon” a success despite our producer’s attempts to the contrary. If you believe in dedication and hard work, buy a ticket to “Brigadoon” and help us show SOV how misguided their behavior has been. It would be a shame to see an 81-year tradition die because of the apathy of one committee, but it would be sadder still to see the best SOV production in recent memory play to an empty house.

The Cast of Brigadoon