Senior Citizens Get Night Out at Richards

Oak Lawn senior citizens got a special night out at H.L. Richards High School on Wednesday.

 For $4, seniors dined on a catered Italian dinner and watched Richards drama students perform their spring musical, “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.”

The event was a partnership between the drama department, National Honor Society, and the Oak Lawn Senior Citizen Center.

 Estelle Bult, the coordinator of the senior citizen center, said it was a great event.

“I sold 82 tickets to my seniors this year,” Bult said.

“They truly enjoy the play and they get to interact with the students after the play. They enjoy the fact that the students serve them dinner. Everybody loves to be waited on, and the students are really pleasant.”

Dorothy Groff, a math teacher and one of the faculty sponsors of the National Honor Society said the night taught students important lessons.

“They are serving their community,” Groff said.

“These people are their neighbors. It is nice for the elderly people to see students helping out like this. For the students, it gives them character and leadership skills. It is a nice experience for them.”

Students said it was their way to give back to the community.

“I think that our elders have given a lot to us, and we should repay them. This is my way of doing that,” junior Tom Wodarski said.

Paige Sereiko, also a junior, said she felt it was a small act of kindness.

“We are taught to respect our elders,” Sereiko said. “To give them food – it is the least we can do.”

 The older guests said they greatly enjoyed the dinner and the play.

 “They do this every year,” Oak Lawn-resident Mary Scott said. “The price is right. Look at all of the food you get for $4. All of the kids enjoy it, and we get to see the play. The actors and actresses are very good. They have great talent here at the school."

 Student Alexandra Lewis said she liked talking to the seniors.

 “I like connecting with them,” Lewis said.

Elizabeth Wallace, another student, said that the dinner was her favorite National Honor Society event of the year.

“This is one of the volunteer activities that we do, but it is definitely the most fun we have,” Wallace said.

“We get to interact with the senior citizens – they are a group of people we are not usually around," Wallace added.

Scott also said the event provided a great time for seniors.

 “People now don’t have a lot of money, and don’t go a lot of places. This is a chance to go out.”

Older guests dined on pasta, Italian beef sandwiches and green beans from D’Masti Catering, Inc. in Blue Island. For dessert, slices of coconut cake were served, made by Richards culinary arts teacher Rob Staudacher.

Kristin Morris, the choir director and director of the musical, said that the event provided a chance for students to practice their work.

“The play is about a slave who is trying to buy his freedom, and his plans go awry,” Morris said. “We really use this as our final dress rehearsal. The senior citizens get a night out, and the kids get to perform in front of an audience before opening night.”

The drama students will be performing “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum” at 7:30 p.m. on May 13, 14, and 15. Tickets are $10 for adults and $6 for senior citizens and students. The play will be held in the Little Theater at the high school, 10601 Central Avenue in Oak Lawn.