Hibbing High School Auditorium

The auditorium in the Hibbing High School Auditorium holds special place in my north-star map. I was involved in the HHS theatre department from seventh grade on. That stage—with its expansive proscenium opening out to the ornamental hall lit by grandiose chandeliers—was where I spent the most memorable moments of my high school years.
Since graduation, I have attended plays in the Twin Cities, Los Angeles, Chicago, Toronto, Washington, and even New York. Yet somehow, no theatre has matched the glory of that HHS auditorium. And even now when I attend a show, when the lights go down before the curtain goes up, in that brief hush of expectation, I am for an instant transported back to the stage at HHS, to the exhilaration of an opening night, to the camaraderie of the actors and crew. And always, my heart smiles.