The lights dim down.  A single spotlight shines on the stage like a moonbeam.  A red curtain sweeps across.  Whispers die down as everyone focuses on the performer behind the microphone.  The audience prepares themselves for the music that is to come.

This was the dream of Danny Svachula, a senior at Maine South High School, when he tried out for the annual Variety Show, or V-Show at his school.  Although Svachula participated in the Footlighters ensmeble in previous shows, this was the first time he was performing solo.

“When I was 16, I saw Wicked in New York with my mom,” said Danny Svachula, “Then I figured out that music was my passion.”

After participating in musicals at Special Gifts Theater since he was 15 and working with a voice coach for months, Svachula planned to sing “Proud of Your Boy” from Alladin in the V-Show.

“My dream is to be an actor in New York,” Danny Svachula said.

When Svachula auditioned, his mother, Diane Svachula was told that the V-Show was primarily intended for students planning to major in Fine Arts.  When Danny Svachula was cut from the show, Diane Svachula emailed Shawn Messmer, Maine South’s principal. She did not receive a reply.

At the suggestion of her parents, Ali Svachula ’17 decided to take to social media to help her brother earn a spot in the show.  She posted a short paragraph on Twitter along with a picture of Danny Svachula explaining the situation and asking people to email Messmer and spread the word.  The hashtag #letdannysing began to trend on the site.

“I was kind of scared that I was going to get in trouble [for the tweet],” Ali Svachula said. The tweet received 1,923 retweets and 1,974 favorites from across the country. “We had schools all over the state posting what they emailed to him [Messmer] and eventually he emailed back,” Ali Svachula said.

Messmer decided to let Danny Svachula in the V-Show the afternoon of September 29, a day after the tweet was sent.  According to the Park Ridge Herald-Advocate, Messmer said that he received 100 emails from all over the United States, stretching as far as Hawaii and Alaska.  Messmer replied in a formal mass email to the messages requesting him to allow Danny Svachula to participate.  The email stated that the decision to cut Svachula “has nothing to do with the student’s disability as it seems many may believe.” Danny has Down’s Syndrome.

“When we have an opportunity to make someone’s day – or high school career – we should look for ways to make that happen,” Messmer wrote.

Messmer did not communicate with Danny or Diane Svachula aside from the mass email.

The V-Show will take place November 20 through 22 in Maine South’s auditorium.