There always seems to be magic happening on the Niagara University Theatre stage.
Perhaps never was this more evident than this past Sunday, when the cast of She Loves Me was transformed into spectators to witness Alec Preble make a surprise marriage proposal to Dr. Bridget Moriarty during the post-show talkback time.
Dr. Moriarty, an assistant professor of theatre at NU since August, admitted afterward that not only did she not know that Preble was planning to propose, but she would have never expected him to do so onstage in front of a cast and audience. She said he organized the surprise with the show’s director, Doug Zschiegner, which fit perfectly with the theme of She Loves Me.
“If you had asked me how I wanted my proposal to go, I never would have described the way it happened. After the fact, I can’t imagine it going any other way,” Dr. Moriarty confessed. “Being able to share this moment with the students in my first cast, after my first show at NU, as a new faculty member, was so special – and Alec knew that.
“NU will forever hold a place in my heart and in my memory for this life-changing moment.”
Spoiler alert: Dr. Moriarty said, “Yes.”