| I suppose I'm probably a little late to jump on the bandwagon for this thread- but as a member of what to many was the massacre class at the University of Arizona, I felt I could perhaps add a bit of insight.
The University of Arizona program is one of the strongest musical theatre programs in the country providing the most diverse range of classes to its musical theatre majors. They strive to create talent individuals with strengths unique to their type and to the roles that they will be asked to play. They do not produce cookie cutter performers like some other schools and no one graduate is like any other from the U of A.
Acting is extremely important at the U of A for musical theatre majors- and as it should be. What many forget is that acting is the very basis for ALL of the musical theatre skills and all musical theatre majors take exactly the same acting classes as the acting majors with the acting majors. No where else are musical theatre majors expected to excel in Chekhov, Shakespeare, Commedia, Moliere, Restoration, Screen Acting, and contemporary styles. Some may argue that these skills are not necessary for a musical theatre performer to have- but in a profession where opportunities are often limited- why limit yourself to which opportunities you are trained for.
Yes- cuts are difficult and no one likes them. However, cuts take place in the real world ALL THE TIME. As I'm sure all of you are aware, the acting profession is very competitive, so why not be challenged by the possibility of a cut in an educational setting. If you are cut from the program, you can still graduate with a B.A. in theatre or you can audition for other programs while still pursuing your B.F.A. as we are often encouraged to do in the fearful cut years. The U of A provides many opportunities and trains many fine performers - and I believe that the threat of a cut should be outweighed by what you'll gain by being part of the program for four years or even for only two.
Don't cross the U of A off your list because there's fear of being cut- most often, it is the fear of this cut that ends up getting people cut as they become too preoccupied with the fear to really take risks and fly.
Should you have any additional questions- feel free to ask, and I'd be more than happy to try to field them for you. | 
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