KSHB 41 reporter Fernanda Silva covers stories in the Northland, including Liberty. She also focuses on issues surrounding immigration. Share your story idea with Fernanda.
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A Facebook post about a nearly empty Ruskin High School auditorium for a play helped bring out a large crowd Friday night for the play.
The theater director's photo of a nearly empty auditorium on opening night went viral and helped fill the seats for students who had spent eight weeks preparing for their show.
When the curtain rose on opening night, Desmond Walker III , a senior, looked out at the audience and could count the crowd on one hand.
"It kind of makes you feel unseen," Walker said. "Like, you're just like, wow — nobody came?"
Sophomore Virgil Elizondo shared the feeling.
"I was slightly disappointed," he said.
Theater Director Payton Dishman said he felt it too.
"My heart sank," Dishman said.
The students spent eight weeks working on the show. Dishman took a photo of the near-empty auditorium and posted it on Facebook.
By the next day, the response was overwhelming.
"It had just blown up," Dishman said. "It was crazy."
The post was tagged to our newsroom, which brought KSHB 41 reporter Fernanda Silva and photographer Will Shaw, along with many more people to the school for the next performance.
Audience members showed up, filling the seats as the students had hoped for.
“My daughter does theater, and we just thought, ‘That’s a terrible thing."' "Then we read about the show and thought, ‘That’s a great show. We’d love to come see it,’” said Krista Pishny, who lives in Overland Park.
Mark Hill shared with Silva he and his family wanted to come and support the kids, even though they aren't from the area near the school.
“Not enough people showed up for it to feel like more than a dress rehearsal — that would hurt so deeply,” said Erin, who was in theater in high school. She and a friend brought flowers to the cast members.
More than 180 tickets were sold.
"I'm honestly at a loss for words," Walker said, whose dream is to one day appear in a Broadway show.
Elizondo said the turnaround felt surreal.
"It feels like a dream," he said.
For the students, the experience became a lesson that extended beyond the stage.
"It's about who's there, and what you're doing for them," Walker said.
Dishman addressed social media comments about parents not being in the audience on opening night.
"You're really looking at just the idea that not every family looks the same and not every community looks the same," he said.
On Saturday, the students will perform the play again at 7 p.m. Ruskin High School, 7000 E. 111th Street, Kansas City, Mo.
Tickets are $5.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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