This year, Hughson High School was invited by the Gallo Center to watch their performance of The Marriage of Figaro. The performance is on Wednesday, September 18, at 7:45 pm. The cost for the bus ride, pizza, and ticket combined was $10; usually, a ticket itself would be anywhere from $40 to $80! Students, if they wished to attend, must have returned the forms provided with the $10 by Wednesday the 11th at noon.
Drama and choir director Brad Thompson was asked various questions about what his expectations were for Wednesday night. First off, he clarified that the event was “a learning opportunity, that also happens to be a treat.” What was he most excited about? Many things, he liked how the kids would, “[be] all together: there are 70 of us going. It just makes fun…Being able to ride the ‘yellow limo’ is a lot of fun…This is a comic opera…a world masterpiece that has lasted for nearly 300 years. The story (is) timeless. We have a wonderful opera company in Modesto that has invited us to come. So, we make it like we were in New York going to the Metropolitan Opera. We all dress up, like they would in New York, in our finest clothes, go out to eat, and then grab our limo to take us to the Gallo Center. We make a cultural, enriching event FUN.”
Thompson also had high praise for “The Marriage of Figaro,” he described it as a “masterpiece,” “like a rock concert,” and that, in the past, everyone in attendance had enjoyed it; cheering, laughing, crying, and applauding all night long. He made sure to mention that this is not the only event his classes will be able to attend this year; Drama and choir will have opportunities to perform at Disneyland, Great Wolf Lodge, and other venues, all the while learning skills of “leadership, communication, and community.”
At the time of writing, it is unknown how the play will go; but students involved can expect to thoroughly enjoy their time. And even if they do not like it, they have many chances in the future to have a great day.
