All free tickets for this year's Keenan Revue were distributed in 20 minutes, said Revue director John Siegel.
"There were a bunch of people [in line] to get tickets early. It was really good to see that people were so interested in the show based on past year's shows," Siegel said.
The Keenan Revue, now in its 32nd year, is a long-standing hall event that has notoriously poked fun at various aspects of campus life. It will run this Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
"When our producer Peter Viganali and I talked about what we wanted for the show, we [realized] that we are more like caretakers for the Revue than we are making our own show," Siegel said. "The Revue is a big tradition for our dorm, and so it's the job of the producer and the director to organize everything and get it off the ground."
Free tickets for the annual comedy show were distributed at the Joyce Athletic and Convocation Center starting at 4 p.m. last Thursday. Students eager to get tickets started lining up around 2 p.m., Siegel said. Sales also took place at Saint Mary's beginning at 2 p.m. on Thursday.
Although all three performances of the Keenan Revue sold out, tickets to Thursday and Saturday performances were the first to go. The remaining Friday tickets were gone within the twenty minutes.
Revue sales for the past two years have boasted selling out in around twenty minutes or less, Siegel said.
There were about 1,300 tickets available for each night of the show.
Keenan Hall advertised for the show sales using posters around residence halls, classroom buildings and dining halls as well as on Saint Mary's College.
According to Siegel, everyone who waited in line was able to get tickets to the Revue.
"We were glad that we sold out of tickets and that we didn't have to turn anyone away," he said.
In addition to tickets given out last Thursday, Keenan residents also receive four tickets they can distribute to their own discretion. Additional tickets are reserved for faculty members.
This year's Keenan Revue, called "The Night of the Living Revue," takes its inspiration from horror films.
The two-hour show will be performed at the O'Laughlin Auditorium at Saint Mary's.
The Revue has been performed at O'Laughlin for the past 30 years because it is the best venue for the size of audience that the Revue attracts, Siegel said. Other venues on Notre Dame's campus are either too large or too small, he said.
"There will be a lot of dancing, Harry Potter stuff, zombies, and some poking fun at the rectresses," Siegel said. "We also have some synthesizers which we are very excited about."
All skits for the show are created and performed by Keenan residents and were finalized last Sunday. The show includes about 90 Keenanites including performers, dancers, and people working behind the scenes.
"Our choreographer, Mark Weber, has gotten adventurous with the numbers this year," Siegel said. "A couple of them are more complex numbers than usual. And the skits are really strong. This could be one of our best Revues yet."
Keenan residents are preparing for the show for the next three days at Saint Mary's to get the acts ready for Thursday night.
Siegel said he is very enthusiastic about this year's Revue.
"Since [the show] is a movie theme, I would say this is the 'Empire Strikes Back' of Keenan Revues, instead of the 'Phantom Menace,'" Siegel said. "It should be a very good show this year. We are very excited about it."
