Willy Wonka. Sound of Music. Jesus Christ Superstar. The King and I. Oliver and Grease. If you skim the catalogue of musicals for the past decade, Morinville Community High School has mounted some of the best tried and true classics that have spun out of Broadway and London’s East End.
But this year, directors Vanessa Re and Amanda Mantyka are staging the traditional Christmas season production with a show that has never quite achieved cult status.
Instead, Once Upon a Mattress, a modern adaptation of the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale The Princess and the Pea, is a sweet dose of tongue-in-cheek humour and bawdy fun that is just starting to develop a foothold in area schools.
“In high school, where kids try so hard to fit in, it’s nice to do a show about acceptance for who you are,” Re explains. “And it appeals to a young audience who still love fairy tales but also double-sided jokes.”
Running Dec. 7 to 10, the score bears the name of Mary Rodgers, daughter of composer Richard Rodgers, with lyrics by Marshall Barer.
Originally, Mattress opened off Broadway in 1959 and catapulted a then unknown comedienne to stardom. With Carol Burnett at the helm, the story focused not just on humour, but-over-the-top zaniness.
In Mattress, the wimpy Prince Dauntless (Darian Pitre) desperately wants to get married. However, his devious mother Queen Aggravain puts up roadblocks by giving applicant princesses impossible tests to complete.
To further complicate matters, no one in the medieval kingdom is permitted to marry until Dauntless “shares his wedding bed,” and the populace is already rumbling with discontent. The national crisis worsens when Sir Harry, a shining knight of the realm, discovers his love, Lady Larken, is pregnant.
Meanwhile, Princess Winnifred the Woebegone (Alyssa Turnbull), a brash and rough around the edges princess from the marshlands, is so eager to undergo the Queen’s test, she swims the castle moat. Although the queen loathes her, Winnifred simply known as Fred, charms Dauntless and the court with her refreshingly unrefined manners.
Meanwhile the queen and her sidekick wizard devise a test based on something they believe Fred does not have — sensitivity. Trying to sabotage the queen’s plan is a mute king, a protective minstrel and a dancing jester.
Dressing up this frothy plot is Rodgers and Barer’s tunes with numbers such as the upbeat and catchy A Girl Named Fred (Song of Love) performed by the 37-cast ensemble and Shy, an ironic solo sung by Fred. “She’s anything but,” laughs Re.
“The songs are big and catchy and they win our hearts. The enthusiasm of the kids singing is worth coming out just for that. They’ve worked so hard and it’s such a full sound.”
Showtime is 7 p.m. Tickets for general seating are $8 and are available in advance at 780-939-6891 or at the door.
Preview
Once Upon a Mattress<br />Runs from Dec. 7 to 10 at 7 p.m.<br />Morinville Community High School<br />9506 - 100 Ave.<br />Tickets: $8. To reserve call 780-939-6891. Also available at the door.
