From January 12 to January 14, a group of high school students from BLS and John D. O’Bryant School of Mathematics and Science visited New York City for a theater trip organized by BLS Theater teacher Mr. Joseph Gels. The trip cost $500 per person, and was available to those in Class III and above. They left around noon on the Friday before the long weekend and returned on Sunday night.

The event has been held every year for the past several years. Mr. Gels plans on continuing to host the trip in future years, hoping to expose students to the impacts that quality theater can attain.

This trip is a great opportunity for those who are interested to learn more about theater. Mr Gels explains, “It would be fun [and] useful to take students to New York because Broadway shows are often of the highest quality.”

This year, the group watched a total of 5 shows over the course of three days, including Kimberly Akimbo, last year’s winner of the Tony Award for Best Musical, and Spamalot, a Broadway musical based on the comedy film Monty Python and the Holy Grail. 

On Saturday, the group went to a performance by Neo-Futurists, a well-renowned experimental theater group that incorporates poetry, games, and other arts into their shows. They put on a series of 30 short plays with each presenting a unique story or topic. The performances are held in a small theater, allowing audience members to engage on a personal level.

The group also visited another Broadway play titled Appropriate, and in the evening, they watched a performance by North Coast, a hip-hop rap improv group.

Creighton Banitt (I), a co-captain of BLS’s improv troupe, adds, “It’s a super fun experience … I think it’s very valuable to see professional theater productions.”

Besides watching shows, they also toured the Radio City Music Hall, a massive venue home to many famous events, including the Tony Awards, the Rockettes and their Christmas Spectacular show, and the Barney Live! show that was first premiered in the late 1900s. While touring the hall, they were given information about the features, uses, and history behind the building. Towards the end, they had the chance to meet one of the Rockettes, who discussed her job and duties.

BLS theater member Jasper Lorusso (III) expresses, “I’ve known about it for a while, and this was the first year I’ve been old enough [to go on the trip] […]. It’s something I’ve been looking forward to for a long time. So of course when I had the opportunity to [go] I was in”.

During the visit, they stayed at Holiday Inn, a hotel located within Times Square, with a few students assigned to each room. They had quite a bit of free time in between events, hanging out with friends, going shopping, or wandering around the area.

The trip serves as an opportunity for students to connect with peers who share the same interests in the theater arts. It offers participants a glance at the possibilities and potentials that theater can achieve. And finally, it can be a perfect excuse, no matter if you are a theatergoer or not, to visit eclectic New York!