The day had finally arrived.
After months of anticipation, I sat in the Royal Opera House in London waiting for Jonah Hoskins to take the stage in La fille du régiment.
His talent is undeniable. There really isn’t another word for it. Watching him perform was everything I had hoped it would be. His voice filled that enormous theater, and I felt incredibly lucky to be there to witness it.
But one of the moments that stayed with me happened after the singing was over.
During the final curtain call, as Jonah stepped forward, I noticed the other members of the cast cheering for him.
Not just the audience. The people who had shared the stage with him.
There was something about the way they responded to him that caught my attention. You could see the affection. You could see that they were genuinely happy for him.
Talent can earn applause from an audience.
But I think the way people respond to you when the performance is over tells a different story.
I don’t know every interaction that happened backstage during those performances. But I do know the Jonah who is part of a family I love. He is someone who treats people with kindness and respect, regardless of their role or where their name appears in the program.
And somehow, watching those cast members cheer for him felt like seeing a little glimpse of that on a much bigger stage.
Jonah is the star. There is no question about that when you watch him perform.
But he doesn’t seem to need to announce it.
He just lives it.
And maybe that is what I find most inspiring about him.
For all the talent, all the applause and all the stages he has performed on, he is still a good human being to other human beings.
Nobody is perfect. But in a world that can sometimes make me wonder about people, it is good to be reminded that someone can be extraordinarily talented and still simply be kind.
Jonah, audiences around the world already know your talent.
I hope you always know that some of us are just as impressed by the person you are when the curtain comes down.
But first a nap 