Disabled children star in variety show

By Mike Bush

KSDK -- Theater is at its best when the spotlight shines from within.

At the Touhill Peforming Arts Center at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, the curtain is about to come up on a new show: "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, the Musical."

Ten-year-old Kaci Conley has been rehearsing for months.

"Well, I play Penny Temple and I'm also in the ensemble," says Kaci.

It's not often that a 10-year-old has such a prominent role in a professional production especially when that 10-year-old is in a wheelchair.

"Tom Sawyer, the Musical!" features some of the most talented actors in the St. Louis area, but it's being produced by children's charity group Variety as part of its new therapeutic program, Variety Children's Theater.

"The idea was to half and half. Children with disabilities, children with great, great gifts in terms of performing and let's see what happens," says producer Jan Albus.

The goal is to make sure that even if they have a disability, little boys and girls need not dream little dreams.

"Well, actually, I wanted to be a pop star," Kaci says.

Some people were born to be on the stage. Kaci was born with something called spinal muscular atrophy, a progressive muscle disease.

"When she was born, we were told she was never going to speak," says Jim Conley, Kaci's dad.

But with special equipment, years of speech therapy, and a heart the size of Broadway, Kaci would not give up.

"She just has so much spirit. She sings 24 hours a day," says Conley.

More than a dozen Variety kids with a wide array of disabilities are involved in the production, both behind the scenes and at center stage.

"I play Joe Harper's twin sister, Lucy," says 13-year-old Libby Schueddig, who has spina bifida.

"By the time she was six, she had 11 operations," says Louann Langhorst, Libby's grandmother.
So an opportunity like this is an intermission in real life drama.

"I think the kids that are gifted with singing and dancing and acting are realizing how great that gift is," Albus says. "And how they can share it and nurture it in children who have other abilities."

With only four performances, tickets were at a premium, especially because some kids were expecting a big turnout from their own fan clubs.

"Over 70 (people)," says Kaci. "70!"

And by all accounts, the audience that saw the show at the Touhill had a great time, but no one enjoyed it more than the kids and their families.

"Mostly just plain joy, because we know she is having such a wonderful time," says Louann.

The hope is with a powerful message like this, that the first show of the Variety Children's Theater will not be the last.

"There might be a child in the audience that has a disability and comes to the awareness that, 'Gee, I could do this,'" says Albus.