“Do You Have Time To Be My Friend?”

A Winter Play cont’d

Act II

(A Winter Day in a small town)

NARRATOR:  Up at dawn…early morn…waiting for the Sun…to warm the day so they can play in the Wonderland of Snow.

Breakfast steaming…eating…scheming…all their plans to make.  Not much time till they could fly out onto the lake.

Children have awakened and are finishing their steamy breakfast that they are eating at the kitchen table.

Mr. Sun has already begun to “rise and shine” into the sky.

Hear Mr. Sun’s Song here:

Mr. Sun is still climbing further into the sky.

Children are dressed warmly to go outside.   They come out of the doors to greet Mr. Sun and the new day of winter play.

Winter White and Old Jack Frost come merrily drifting around the freshly fallen snow.

Mr. Sun sings Mr. Sun’s Song Part I.

Hear Mr. Sun’s Song Part I here:

The children run to make a Snowman and do what Mr. Sun has instructed in his song (for the children to build their Snowman before his rays would melt the snow).

NARRATOR:  Dressing warmly…toasty only till they went outside.  Winter White and Old Jack Frost curtly jump beside.

Faces chilly…willy nilly…oh, what fun to play with Winter White and Old Jack Frost on this snowy day.

Make a Snowman…we can plan him…from his “headsy” to his “toesy’s”.  Then into his tiny hand, we’ll place a frosty posy.

(After the children build The Snowman, they become bored with him because he just stands there and does nothing)

NARRATOR:  When he was made from head to toe the children danced around him.  He smiled and tried to dance along as children sang a happy song.

But, Snowman couldn’t dance and sing because he had no feet nor song.  And, then besides was something else that started to go wrong.

Because he couldn’t laugh and sing and dance as children do…the laughter of the children stopped, as they began to see…No fun to play with him just now for he can only “be”.

But, Snowman thought of lots of things like friends who play in snow.  And all the children on that day that he had come to know.

He thought real hard, working up a sweat, why don’t they understand?  A snowdrop ran from his charcoal eye and fell onto his hand.

(The Snowman’s thoughts come over the sound system as he is not speaking yet)

THE SNOWMAN:  Hello, (thoughts only and he is still stationary) I am The Snowman built on this winter day. I can’t dance and sing and there’s not much I can say.

But, I long to sing…I long to dance…I want to try and take the chance.  I can’t read books…I just don’t know…what to do…which way to go.

Will you help this day?  Will you be my friend? I don’t want to see me come to an end without ever having sung my song.  It’s for these things my heart does long.

(The Snowman places his mittened hand on his heart)

The movement of his hand catches the glance of one of the children and surprises The Snowman, too) for the children are still bored with him and all but one child is turning away.

NARRATOR:  A small child looked in time to see the drops now falling fast.  And, Snowman struggled with his mouth…these words would be his last.

“Do You Have Time To Be My Friend Before I Melt Away?”…for I will only be here on this one cold winter day.

Mr. Sun is bright and I know now that I won’t be here long.

I only have right now to sing this special winter song.

(The Snowman struggles again to move and speak and then he says to his own amazement)

THE SNOWMAN:  “So do you have time to be my friend before I melt away?  For I will only be able to stay for a very short time…Perhaps, no longer than to share this rhyme.  With you my friends this very day before I have to melt away.

NARRATOR:  The children all began to hear the words that Snowman spoke.  At first the children “oohed” and “awed” and thought it was a joke.

THE SNOWMAN:  So will you sing and dance with me?  Will you take the time to sing and dance and laugh and play to share this happy rhyme?  Take the time to show the way on this fresh new winter day?  Stay out and play…stay out and play.  I knew you would…I knew you could!  Thank you very much…from the bottom of my heart.  But, there’s not much time so we should start…to sing our song and dance our dance…to read a book…to take a chance… (The Snowman holds a very large book entitled “How To Be A Snowman’s Friend”)

To share this time of fun together…to skip through the light, feathery, snowy weather.

(The children circle The Snowman and move around him in a circle laughing and dancing.  (Mr. Sun is smiling as he looks down on the scene of the Children and The Snowman together.

Winter White and Old Jack Frost, also, look on smiling at the scene before them.

THE CHILDREN:  We will sing and dance with you…said voices kind and small.

NARRATOR:  The Snowman smiled and said no more and felt so very tall.  The children took the time for him to be his very best of friends.

For Mr. Sun was shining bright on Old Jack Frost and Winter White.

Hear Mr. Sun’s Song Part II here:

The children took the time that day to dance and sing and laugh and play.

(Mr. Sun starts to go down and The Children sing the “First Song of the Children” to The Snowman)

Hear “First Song of the Children” here:

The Children then go inside for the night and return to their winter dreaming.

NARRATOR:  Oh, how glad they were that night when they were tucked in bed so tight.

Snowman gave such joy…such light to fill the darkness of that night.

(The Dreamland Carousel begins to turn around slowly and the Dreamland characters begin to awaken while the children are sleeping and dreaming.)

Winter White and Old Jack Frost are outside watching over the sleeping children and they sing their duet “Away in a Dream” because they miss the children so much when they are “away in their dreams”.

Hear Winter White and Old Jack Frost’s Duet “Away in a Dream” here:

Moon Beaming is in the sky looking down shining her light flash as she sends “moonbeams of light” into the children’s dreams reminding them “Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark”

Hear Moon Beaming’s Song, the instrumental version, “Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark” here:

To be continued…

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More background information from the performance in Michigan on March 15, 1997 and March 16, 1997 by Letha Fulton’s School of Dance presentation:

I traveled to Ludington, Michigan never expecting the kind of magnificent performance I was so privileged to see on stage as Letha brought to life for the first time The Winter Musical, “Do You Have Time To Be My Friend?”.

Letha did a spectacular job in creating this Winter Musical both with the children in the play and also by combining the classical music of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, the Penguin Cafe Orchestra, Randall Leonard’s “Let’s Play”, and Al Hirt, Boston Pops/Fiedler.

Vivaldi’s Four Seasons classical music blended in perfectly with Gabrielle’s original music to make a very rich performance with lots of creative license to expand the play in many directions which Letha Fulton did brilliantly.

Letha took Old Jack Frost to a magnificent and fun level when she had “two” of the Jack Frost characters come suddenly out of the back wings to meet on stage in a delightful play of “spotlight” and “shadow” which kept the audience engrossed with “who’s who ” or “who’s on first” type laughter.  The music by Penguin Cafe Orchestra was perfect for Act I entitled “Old Jack Frost”.  

Here is Wikepedia information about this classical music group:

“The Penguin Cafe Orchestra (PCO) was a collective of performing musicians founded by classically-trained English guitarist, composer and arranger Simon Jeffes. He and cellist co-founder Helen Liebmann were core members throughout the group’s life. As the group grew and developed, a number of other musicians joined it, many of whom appear on the PCO’s six studio and two live albums.

The PCO toured extensively during the 1980s and 1990s, and two albums, When in Rome… (1988) and Concert Program (1995) captured the sound of the live ensemble. The Penguin’s sound is not easily categorized, but has elements of exuberant folk music and a minimalist aesthetic occasionally reminiscent of composers such as Philip Glass.

The Penguin Cafe Orchestra recorded and performed for 24 years until Jeffes died of an inoperable brain tumour in 1997. Several remaining members of the original group reunited for three concerts in 2007. Since then, five original members have continued to play concerts of PCO’s music, initially as The Anteaters and more recently under the name The Orchestra That Fell to Earth.”

Letha then created another character to be the counterpart of Moon Beaming which she called “The Night”.  

“The Night” character was played by a beautiful young lady dressed in black who sang a beautiful rendition of “Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark” while the little Princess of the night, Moon Beaming, climbed into the sky.  

Along with the Moon Beaming character, she added 12 dancers called “Moonbeams”.

She creatively added more dancing characters to the Winter White performance who were known as “Snowflakes”.   This creative idea made a place for another 25 dancers to participate on the stage.

Letha added to the richness and the number of parts in the play by creating “The Sunbeams” to dance with The Sun in what she entitled “Dance of the Sunbeams” where 22 children had dancing parts that were amazing in their costumes and beautiful choreography.

Since there was a part for “children to just be themselves playing”,  Letha used the music of Randall Leonard, entitled “Let’s Play” for 22 more children’s dancing parts. 

You will find I am sure, as I just did today, that Randall Leonard left a beautiful musical legacy.  Here is his Snowman Story:

The music of Randall Leonard