Some of the residents at Meadowlark Estates were in a flash mob recently and the video they appear in has gone viral on You Tube. Some of the residents in the video were, from left, Jackie Marrs, 83, Bob Macleay, 86, Glenda Anderson, 77, Charlotte Marino, 69, Nancy Yeager, 76, Lorna Allen, 89 and Roberta Lewis, 76.

With nearly a half million YouTube views and mentions on NPR and the Huffington Post and Time magazine websites, a group of senior citizens from Meadowlark Estates has become an overnight sensation.

“We are literally shocked,” said Andrea Wyatt, activity coordinator at Meadowlark, a retirement community in northwest Lawrence.

In a 4-minute video taken last week at the Lawrence Target, eight Meadowlark residents perform a “flash mob” dance routine to the song “Last Christmas” from the television show “Glee.” The group surprises staff and shoppers, breaking into a rehearsed routine in the middle of the store.

Wyatt said the idea came from Meadowlark’s home office in Vancouver, Wash. The first step was explaining to the residents what a flash mob was.

“I still don’t know what it is,” joked performer Nancy Yeager, 76.

There was also the issue of the music quality.

“Two pages of such drivel I’ve never seen in my life,” said Bob MacLeay, 86, who was the “leading man” in the video. MacLeay said he’s read some of the comments on the YouTube video critiquing his dance moves, but he laughs them off.

“We weren’t very good at it,” he said. “But we were doing it.”

It’s been a wild ride for the dance crew since the video hit the Internet. They’ve all been getting calls from relatives asking if they’ve seen the latest spot on CNN or “Good Morning America.”

“I’ve heard from so many people that they put it on Facebook,” said Glenda Anderson, 77.

The performers say it’s been a fun experience and they’re enjoying their time in the spotlight.

It all begs the question: Will there be a sequel?

“Maybe,” Charlotte Marino, the group’s youngster at age 69, said with a sly smile. “Maybe.”