'One Singular Sensation': Park Lawn Players Present 'Dancing Through the Decades'

With less than a week to go until opening day, 36 special needs performers are rehearsing their big opening number—the Who’s “Talking About My Generation.”

There is a sense of urgency among the cast and co-directors Jill Grider and Debbie Leshuga, a pair of social workers at who came up with the concept of pairing intellectually challenged adults with the performing arts nine years ago.

“Dancing Through the Decades” starring the Park Lawn Players hits the boards this Wednesday, Feb. 1, at

“This has been a dream for me since college,” Leshuga said. “I have a lot of theater background in high school. When I went into social work at Lewis University, I was placed at Park Lawn for an internship and just fell in love with place.”

The Park Lawn Players will be performing a dance numbers from the 1920s  through the 2000s.

WATCH THE VIDEO of the Players' 2009 'Honky Tonk Review'

Park Lawn was founded in 1955 by the combined efforts of families from Evergreen Park and Oak Lawn who sought inclusion for their special needs children through work, education and recreation.

For Leshuga and Grider, who’s been involved as a choreographer since the Park Lawn Players’ beginnings, they’ve watched shy adults come out of their shells and take their rightful places in the community.

“I’ve seen a lot of confidence come out of our individuals,” Leshuga said. “When we first started we had a woman audition for the group who was so nervous she was crying. She was absolutely nervous as can be. Now she’s one of the biggest hams we have.”

Past shows have seen the Park Lawn Players tackle classic Hollywood musicals and country western. A show featuring popular dancing starting with the Charleston all the way to Lady Gaga was always in the back of the directors’ minds.

“For me the biggest challenge is us being organized and getting all our ducks in a row,” Leshuga said. “They’re no problem. They’re the talent.”

Deb Sample, program manager for adult developmental training at Park Lawn, has served as the players’ mistress of ceremonies for the past four years.

“The work they put it into is amazing,” Sample said. “[The performers] don’t have the shame or embarrassment of performing publicly. They don’t involve themselves in that craziness.”

Sample said that while the field of disabilities grows and more programs like the Park Lawn Players come into play, the annual show drives home the mission of what Park Lawn is all about--a place to be yourself.

“They are so much more than what community members see at first glance, as special people who need special treatment,” Sample said. “They don’t need all the special treatment, they’re just like you and me in a lot of ways. They’re stars for the night. I get goose bumps every time.”

The curtain rises for “Dancing Through the Ages” at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, February 1, at the Dorothy Menker Theater in the Fine Arts Performing Arts Center at Moraine Valley Community College in Palos Hills. Tickets are $8 and can be purchased at the door or online.