Mr. Joe Emmanuel, Class of ’67 and former teacher at Central Catholic, remains active in the school community today although he no longer teaches. Although it would be impossible for him to remember each of the hundreds of students he taught over the years, they certainly remember him. Mr. Emmanuel has left an indelible mark on those who have sat in his classroom, which he witnessed first-hand several weeks ago.

Mr. Emmanuel and his close friend, as well as fellow theater enthusiast, Kevin Henry, recently went on a trip to New York City to see three Broadway plays. They have gone on many of these trips together in order to witness some of the best acting and story-telling the country has to offer, however this one was special. During their weekend away, Mr. Emmanuel and his friend saw three plays. The first was Hamilton, a contemporary, fast-paced, hip-hop based history lesson on the life of Alexander Hamilton. Next was The Humans, a dysfunctional and humorous play which gives a look into the Thanksgiving dinner of the Blake family. Finally, and most significantly, they saw Wicked, which is an alternate story of The Wizard of Oz, told by the perspectives of the witches of the Land of Oz. Fiyero Tigelaar is the male lead, and he is the man who later becomes the Scarecrow. This role was played by Michael Campayno, Central Catholic alumnus from the Class of 2008.

Campayno was once a student of Mr. Emmanuel before he made it big on Broadway. After his time at Central Catholic, he attended Point Park University as well as Carnegie Mellon University for four years. Almost immediately after finishing college, he started acting on Broadway, which speaks for his incredible talent on stage. Mr. Emmanuel followed along through his entire journey of acting, seeing him in almost every play he starred in, however nothing ever as significant as his role in Wicked. Mr. Emmanuel recognizes Campayno’s great talent, and even called him the “Dan Marino of theater”.

After the play was over, all of the actors and actresses began to come from backstage to greet their fans and families. Not surprisingly, Campayno had many fans, but he was focused on finding just one. When he walked out from the curtains, Michael waved from across the theater, yelling, “Mr. Emmanuel! Mr. Emmanuel!” He was delighted to see his favorite teacher from Central Catholic and his biggest fan. He gave Mr. Emmanuel the VIP treatment, taking him backstage to show him the sets, costumes, and even let him meet the lead female actress. This was an amazing experience for Mr. Emmanuel, seeing his former student’s joy when connecting with his days of high school. Although he made it big and is now a superstar, Michael Campayno did not forget where it all started: Central Catholic.