George Joseph Sanchez

Songs and Sojourns George Joseph Sanchez

A compilation of lyrics from a series o children's plays written and performed over a period of twelve years. Familiar stories: Sleeping Beauty, Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, Rip van Winkle, Hansel and Gretel, The Owl and the Pussycat, The Nutcracker and two plays from the Elizabethan English theater: Gammer Gurton;s Needle and A Midsummer Night's Dream formed the source material, abridged, condensed, and re-told with the age of the audience and the age of the performers in mind. The stories are not "modernized." Care was taken to be respectful of the source material but to render it in a form more acceptable to the experiences of the actors and observers. A fine line was observed between being accessible to the audience and true to the original. The need to remain faithful to the source and entertaining to the audience led to some whimsical and, at times, ironic lyrics. The lyrics are published because the problems posed by the stories are timeless and the approach to them reflects the current society. As these were written over thirty years ago, they offer the charm of distance and a window into two eras--the date of the original composition of the stories and the not-that-distant tome of the retelling demonstrated by the lyrics. Similarly, a collection of verse drawn from the author's first travels to Europe closes the volume. England. France, and Italy were the first countries visited and, though they have been re-visited often and other countries as well, these first reflections hold some of the same qualities as the lyrics and a suitable companion piece. The verse reflects the same mixture of whimsy and irony combined with a dash of humor, but, above all, the same respect for the subjects of the verse evinced in the songs. These, too, were written some twenty years ago and reflect, not the Europe of today, but of a simpler time. Though it did not seem so at the time of composition. The sum reflects a "sketch book" reflecting a more modern view of older narratives and places. The result is a diverse offering, spanning years of literature and changing mores, plus observation of changeless sites in Europe. The book began as an homage to the actors who first sang the songs and became a tribute to their efforts which enriched the lives of many people, including that of the author.