EVANSTON – Following the opening of Waa-Mu this past weekend, the entire set burned down due to an unusually high concentration of theater majors. The accident occurred during the opening act finale this past Sunday.

Music director Art Ian recalled the sudden nature of the event. “As I began conducting the final piece and our lead vocalist stepped on stage, I noticed sparks around her feet with every step she took. As soon as the ensemble came on, the stage just started to light up beneath their feet!”

The cast dispersed quickly and none were harmed. Once they all went into their dressing rooms, they were far enough away from each other to keep things at a safe, inflammable level.

Bienen sophomore and pit member Noah Landis explained to The Flipside, “You have to be very careful about situations like this. Theater majors tend to be very fiery. Ids, egos, characters, competition. It makes for a deadly combination. Usually it just bubbles beneath the surface, but if you get too many of them together at once, disasters like what happened on Sunday are all too likely.”

The Wirtz Center for the Performing Arts, the organization in charge of Waa-Mu, is paying for the rebuilding of the set, but critics of this decision are calling this effort futile. Ian told reporters, “This literally happens at some point every single year since the first Waa-Mu show. Usually it happens during the closing number of the last show when all the seniors get hit with super-volatile nostalgia, but we were unlucky enough to have it burn down before the second week.”

The show has been postponed until further notice. Until then, the School of Communication encourages students to take the Oregon Trail themselves because “surviving dysentery looks good on your resume.”