The magic of Dave Brubeck's music that was lost in the rain on the New Haven Green last month was found in a more intimate style a few blocks away, at the Little Theater on Lincoln Street, as the Skinner family of Orange, and many friends presented "Musicality '99" as a benefit performance for Vantage Group, Inc.

My reason for choosing Skinner over Brubeck was simple. Mike Skinner, John Connors and Jim Horwitz, all performing, were often in my home as theatrical friends of Jason, my youngest son, when they were all attending Amity High School.

I have seen family and friends in more than 50 shows since 1984, from Turkey Hill School and Amity to community theater, college, summer stock and Broadway, so I had reasonable expectations for "Musicality '99". This would not, after all, be Brubeck.

Surprisingly, I found Musicality '99 to be much more than Brubeck, because many of the cast were developmentally disabled men and women who are served by Vantage Group, a private nonprofit organization providing community-based residential programs and other services.

Headquartered in North Haven, Vantage Group serves 40 individuals who reside in six area communities, helping them live independently. Sometimes its efforts lead to jobs, and sometimes they lead to singing and dancing, just for fun..

The enthusiasm, sincerity and joy that we've seen in the Special Olympics was evident with the stage presence, talent and exuberance displayed by the Vantage Voices at "Musicality '99". Whoever said, "There's a little bit of ham in each of us" would have found "the whole hog" at the Little Theater.

Of course there were others on stage, but I was blown away by the Vantage Voices, billed as "tourists" on a "Magical Mystery Tour". They were a great ensemble in "Greased Lightening", "Two Coffee Coolada's", and "Everybody Must Get Cloned".

I cried as I applauded Deborah Johnson, who sang the country gospel favorite "I'll Fly Away" with touching conviction and then was properly sassy as she led her friends in "Hit the Road Jack".

Singing and dancing on stage under lights, in front of strangers, isn't easy. I know, because I've done it. But the Vantage Voices made it look easy and fun. Proof can be found in show pictures at http://www.vantagegroupinc.org.

After the show I was talking to producer Diane Skinner, and I commented that the performers from Vantage Group were the same as other community theater thespians. Diane said, "That's the point. They are not different."

I thought about that as I was driving home, and realized that we, as a society, have considered them to be different, just because of their body movements, their expressions, their capacity for communication. We have rudely labeled them.

I remember , circa 1955, a young man named Max who chased fire trucks on his bicycle in my hometown of Terre Haute, Ind. Max was always hanging around the "colored" firehouse on Barbour Avenue. All the firemen at that station were black and Max was white, and he was "retarded", as we thought and said.

After a few years, Max started wearing khaki shirts and pants, like the firemen and they let him do routine chores. Eventually Max became an official fireman, paid and working as one, accepted as an equal by men who knew what it felt like to be "different".

I teased Max when I was a teenager. Many of us are still teasing people who are skinny or fat, homely or shy, show in learning, wear cheaper clothes, have skins of other colors, worship God in other ways. Hate crimes are spawned in that.

I agree with Diane Skinner. Her friends from Vantage Group are "no different" than we are. Professionals even say it's a common misconception that they are more sensitive and caring.

Maybe so, but when "Musicality '99" closed with "When You Wish Upon a Star" it seemed to this old theater buff that the Vantage Voices, like Richard Bach's Jonathan Living Seagull, had begun to fly up and know the meaning of kindness and love.

By Robin Carlson

The Vantage web site has been an instrumental tool in building bridges within the cyberspace community. The page has been viewed over four thousand times by people looking specifically for the Vantage web site and by those using links from other area agencies, such as CAN, SARAH or DMR.

The site is a source of information for friends and family of Vantage Group, Inc. Over the last year, funds have been raised through the web site by friends of Vantage who registered and made purchases through links on the site. Many people will be doing holiday shopping online for the convenience it offers. iGive.com, the biggest online fundraiser yet, donates two dollars to each new person who uses the link on the home page, and registers. Money is raised by members who click on the iGive member home page, confirming purchases, and by telling friends. Right now members will raise 10 dollars by shopping through the site, and confirming their purchases by forwarding email receipts to orders@igive.com.