Once Upon a Mattress
An adaptation of the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale The Princess
and the Pea
Book by Jay Thompson, Dean Fuller, and Marshall Barer, Music by Mary
Rodgers, Lyrics by marshall Barer
June 2 – July 12
We’ve wrapped up a season of six musical theatre gifts for 2009, added a funny bone side splitter, and kept the biggest surprise of our 23 years for Christmas!
Once Upon a Mattress is an adaptation of the Hans
Christian Andersen fairy tale The Princess and the Pea. The
show's music was written by Mary Rodgers, Richard Rodger's daughter,
with lyrics by Marshall Barer and book by Jay Thompson, Dean Fuller,
and Marshall Barer.
Many Moons Ago...Prince Dauntless the Drab whose mother, Queen Agravain, has taken over control of the kingdom following an unhappy curse being laid on King Sextimus striking him mute, longs for a mate. Most importantly, in an attempt to keep Prince Dauntless single, she has decreed that only the princess that can pass her test may marry her son. Further, no one else in the kingdom may marry until Prince Dauntless does. Lady Larken and Sir Harry are extremely disturbed by this fact since Lady Larken is now pregnant with Sir Harry's baby. Luckily, Sir Harry is able to find an amazing princess, Winnifred the Woebegone who arrives dripping wet, having just swam the moat! She instantly catches the attention of Prince Dauntless.
Prince Dauntless is very impressed by the new princess and is soon obviously in love with her - to the consternation of the angry Queen, who decides to give her an impossible test. She consults the Wizard and together they decide on the the sensitivity test - a pea is placed beneath twenty mattresses and the Queen decrees that if Princess Winnifred cannot sleep she will prove her royal birth. However, to ensure that she does sleep, she proceeds to do everything to make her tired out. A ball is held where the dancing is fast and furious and Winnifred is encouraged to drink heavily. She is also given a sleeping draught and a singing bird is provided to sing her to sleep.
However, the Queen fails, for Winnifred cannot sleep and spends the night counting sheep. The Queen is furious and orders Princess Winnifred to leave, but Prince Dauntless defies her and puts an end to the curse upon the King for, as the Jester proclaims, "the mouse has devoured the hawk!"
At the final curtain, we discover that the Princess was unable to sleep because the Jest has placed under the top mattress his lute, a helmet, a large spiked ball, some livestock and some old armour. Of course, all ends happily and the Queen is punished.
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