Hilary Barry has shared a photo of a young Ashley Bloomfield performing in his school production of Oklahoma! in the '80s, much to the delight of fans on Facebook.
The Kiwi broadcaster dug out a black and white snap of New Zealand's director-general of health from his 1983 performance as Curly in the classic musical.
"See, it's fun to hoard sometimes," Barry captioned the image. The Seven Sharp presenter explained in the comments section that her high school Queen Margaret College and Bloomfield's Scots College would team up for the annual school production.
While Bloomfield landed the show's starring role, Barry, who was in third form at the time, said she was a chorus girl, adding that she was "rather overawed by the whole experience".
Barry's post garnered a wave of adoring comments from Facebook users, including several messages from more former students with fond memories of the school show.
"I remember him so well... we loved him then and we love him now!" wrote one 'QMC Old Girl'.
"Is there anything he can't do?" another user asked.
Others suggested the school programme Barry had kept all these years was now a "collector's item".
In a Facebook live chat with the current middle school principal of Scots College earlier this year, Bloomfield said being involved in so many different activities at school helped him learn how to manage his time and "shift focus quickly" - skills that have no doubt proved useful in managing New Zealand's COVID-19 response.
Alongside his musical theatre commitments, Bloomfield was part of the 1st XV rugby team, played in a band and was part of the school's pipe band, and went on to become head boy.
