“The Old Maid and The Thief” left the audience crying tears of laughter rather than sadness last Thursday and Friday after students performed a humorous opera in Spyker Theater.

This opera was a unique performance of the 1939 radio opera by Gian Carlo Menotti and featured a cast of five ULM students.

It opens in the home of Miss Todd played by Allison Friloux. When a man comes to the door, Miss Todd decides to house the man.

But after news comes about a murderer and thief who escaped from prison, Miss Todd then believes she’s harboring the criminal.

The story continues with much drama and humor as the performers acted out the events which take place.

The crowd gave very positive reactions throughout the performance. There were lots of laughs, applauds and the cast was given a standing ovation.

Senior music education major and the announcer in the opera Tucker Futrell felt that the audience was fantastic.

“They were electric,” Futrell said. “They gave us so much energy. I tried to take in all of that energy and give it back as much as I could. I thought the performance went very smooth. I could almost say it was near perfect.”

Senior psychology major Jessica Jirod says this was the first opera she had ever been to.

“I really enjoyed the performance, and they are all wonderful singers,” Jirod said.

“My favorite scene was the drunken scene with Bob, because I loved seeing everything really start coming together. It was so funny too.”