News Article

Thirty Gonzaga University students and 25 Spokane-area people with developmental disabilities will perform their own version of “Aladdin” at 5 p.m., Sunday April 22, and again at 8 p.m., Monday, April 23 in Gonzaga’s Cataldo Hall Globe Room.

Tickets, which are on sale at the Crosby Student Center, are $5 per person or $20 for a family of four or more.

The production is the sixth drama coordinated through Gonzaga University’s Specialized Recreation (GUSR), a program with Gonzaga’s Center for Community Action and Service-Learning (CCASL). Program Director Megan Drobnicki developed the idea after attending a similar production in which her sister, who has Down syndrome, was involved.

The mission of GUSR is to create an atmosphere where people of diverse backgrounds, abilities, and ages feel welcome, respected and loved. It creates programs for children and adults with developmental disabilities in a culture that fosters equality and inclusion. GUSR recently received the Arc of Spokane’s “Organization of the Year” award for 2007. At the Sunday performance, the coordinators will present Gonzaga President Rev. Robert J. Spitzer, S.J., with this award.

GUSR participant John Thomas Sinsel said the program “Is entertainment worth 40 . . . no 85 bucks.” Nicki Kane, a student coordinator of GUSR said: “It has been amazing to see how the program has grown. I believe that “Aladdin” will be the best play yet as we are incorporating more musical numbers and dance routines choreographed by individual(s) with disabilities.”

For more information, contact Megan Drobnicki at (509) 323-5524.