NO! NOT SENOR WENCES...SENIOR-ITIS !

I made a mistake.  I jokingly warned my son Andrew that as his high school career comes to an end that he shouldn't get caught-up in, "Senor Wences."

WENCESLAO MORENO (1896-1999) WAS A SPANISH-BORN, VAUDEVILLE-STYLED VENTRILOQUIST-COMEDIAN, WHO PERFORMED UNDER THE NAME SENOR WENCES, (SEN-YOUR WENS-SIS).  HE LIVED TILL 103 BUT HIS INSTINCT FOR, "THE SHOW MUST GO ON," MANIFESTED ITSELF IN HIM PERFORMING BEYOND HIS 90's. THAT MEANS, THIS "SENOR" HAD THE WORST CASE OF SENIOR-ITIS...IN REVERSE.  WHEN I WAS TEN, (HE WAS ABOUT 70),  I LOVED TO WATCH HIM ON, "THE ED SULLIVAN SHOW."  HE WAS MOST FAMOUS FOR HIS HAND PUPPET (above) JOHNNY, (YONNY) AND PEDRO, A GRUFF VOICE FROM A BOX WITH THE CATCHPHRASE, "S'AWRIGHT."  WENCES WOULD USUALLY END HIS ACT BY JUGGLING OR SPINNING PLATES WHILE HAVING A FAST-PACED REPARTEE WITH HIS CHARACTERS.

My Andrew has been working his butt off in and out of school so he didn't appreciate my inference of laziness.  Further, he thought I was out of touch with reality because I mispronounced, "senior-itis."  I explained my pun-like play on words and worsened the situation by implying that I was more aware of current trends than he was about those of the past.

In addition to Andrew's part-time job and the pressures associated with college application, he has taken on a full-plate at school with relative ease.  But he was quick to point out that this next week includes his performance (as the coachman), in the Emanon Players, (the drama club's), adaptation of Stephen Sondheim's, "INTO THE WOODS." 

STEPHEN SONDHEIM (1930-Present),  IS A BROADWAY HALL-OF-FAMER.  FOR OVER 50 YEARS, HIS LYRICS AND MUSICAL GENIUS WHICH INCLUDE "WESTSIDE STORY," GYPSY," "A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM," AND "SWEENEY TODD," HAVE GRACED THE "GREAT WHITE WAY."

Another part of Andrew's hectic schedule includes next week's visit to a neighborhood elementary school, (he and his school talent show, award-winning super-hero rappers, have been invited to reprise their positive message performance, complete with a meet-n-greet with students).  Andrew then caps his frantic agenda as a contestant in his school's highly coveted, "Mr. Absegami Competition."

THE MR. ABSEGAMI COMPETITION HAS SEVERAL PHASES THAT INCLUDE; DANCING, CASUAL DRESSED TALENT, AN INTERVIEW SESSION IN A TUXEDO, AND SOME BEEFCAKE IN SWIMSUITS.

In regard to this weekend, Andrew was quick to remind me that the seniors in drama were disappointed in the director's choice of, "INTO THE WOODS," because despite it being a lengthy production, there were few major roles, (plus a generous amount of those cherished parts went to underclassmen).  This prevented many of these dedicated senior thespians, from having a last theatrical hurrah.  Interestingly, the moral of "Into the Woods," is, repercussions and responsibility for our actions.  So a couple of kids (not Andrew) have gotten permission to write their own play, to be performed later this spring.  Thus, leaving a mark forever on the Absegami landscape while showcasing the talents of many out-going graduates.

I think that this, "finding a way mentality," is amazing.  While most of us would complain or endure the setback, these budding playwrights took the pro-active approach.  Their never-say-die mindset reminded me of two aspects from John Steinbeck's great American novel (and the movie), "THE GRAPES OF WRATH."

The "Grapes of Wrath," was a metaphor for how our whole country was effected by the Great Depression but epitomized by the plight of the Dust-Bowl Okies, (see my January 12, 2009 blog, "THE BLACK BLIZZARD.")

THE DUST-BOWL WAS A PERFECT STORM THAT INCLUDED THE DEPRESSION, DECADES OF MISMANAGED SOIL AND SEVERE WINDS THROUGHOUT THE 1930's.  TEXAS, KANSAS, NEW MEXICO AND COLORADO WERE HIT HARD.  PLUS PARTS OF ARKANSAS AND NEBRASKA BUT OKLAHOMA GOT THE WORST OF IT.. THE TERM, "OKIES" CAME TO SYMBOLIZE ALL THE VICTIMS .

The perseverance of Andrew's play writing friends, reminds me of the central theme of, "THE GRAPES OF WRATH..." the will to go on.  In chapter two, Steinbeck identified this stick-tuitive trait of the Okies, in the form of a land turtle, (oddly, this crucial point does not appear in the film).

THE MAIN CHARACTER (TOM JOAD), WHILE RETURNING HOME FROM PRISON, CAPTURES A LAND TURTLE TO GIVE HIS YOUNGER BROTHER AND SISTER.  STEINBECK CHOSE A TURTLE TO EMPHASIZE IT BEING OUT OF PLACE IN THE DROUGHT RAVAGED COUNTRYSIDE MUCH LIKE THE TENANT FARMERS BEING PUSHED OFF THEIR LAND.

I remember as a youth, reading this sequence and thinking it was a waste.  Over and over, the turtle kept escaping and getting recaptured.  Finally it prods away one last time until Joad recognizes the beast's need to be free. 

The other message I equate between "THE GRAPES OF WRATH," and Andrew's friends writing their own play, is the concept of, "the circle of life."  Steinbeck embodied this idea in the form of the Joad's eldest (teenage) daughter, Rose of Sharon, (the family simplified her name by calling her Rosasharn). 

*SPOILER ALERT*  I will NOT be giving away the end of the book...but I get pretty damned close.

Considering that Rosasharn is pregnant, it's hard to believe that she's the most unlikeable character in the Joad clan. In the midst of her team-like family being forced off their land and moving to California, she remained impatient and "inflated" by her self-importance.  In the mode of a drama queen, rather than carry her own weight, even as her family's travails worsened, her high-maintenance personality hindered the group, (physically and mentally), so that they would serve her.  This attitude is exemplified by her husband running off during their journey.

 THE ROSE OF SHARON, IN ADDITION TO BEING THE NATIONAL FLOWER OF SOUTH KOREA, IS APTLY NICKNAMED, "THE IMMORTAL FLOWER."

The artfulness of author John Steinbeck camouflages Rosasharn's strength so well that even halfway down the last page, the reader wonders; how will this end.  When it does end...for my taste...this immortal flower blossoms from the ashes of her former annoying and complaining self, to become beautiful, all giving and other worldly, to the point of being saintly.

Shockingly, due to the mores of the time and the fear that taboo subject matter would hurt the film's commercial viability, the heroic nature of Rosasharn, is not mentioned in the movie. Part of this rationale was to end the movie on a high note.  But the reality of the tragedy that sparked the last sequence, while perhaps unsettling, results in an intensely upbeat and hopeful conclusion.  To support my opinion, her skewed fertility parallels the turtle theme, included the notion that the Depression-era migrant workers shouldn't be abandoned by society and in the case of Andrew's playwright friends avoiding senior-itis, to leave a legacy of well-spent charity, good will and ultimate triumph. 

"All right?"  "S'awright!"