La Porte High School lifted the curtain on their newest production on Friday evening, their spring musical “Once Upon A Mattress.” Originally penned in 1959, the performance is a humorous, expanded adaptation of the classic fairy tale “The Princess and the Pea.”
The plot revolves around the machinations of an arrogant queen, an earnest, but childish prince, and a tomboy princess from a faraway swampland. Though the musical received a number of television adaptations over the years, as well as an extended Broadway run, the name was unfamiliar to many of the cast and crew; it was first revealed as La Porte’s spring production by co-directors Tim and Sallie Hanson.
“When he first announced it I was like, what in the world is this musical,” said Emily Hunt, who stars as Princess Winnifred. “When I looked it up, I saw that Carol Burnett played the original Winnifred and I love Carol Burnett. So, I kind of took that and ran with it. Now, this musical is one of my new favorites.”
Fellow cast member Christian McGuire echoed Hunt’s surprise. He had heard the original fairy tale, but recalled it as a bit too short to sustain a full musical. Then, he saw a television adaptation in class and it inspired him to dive into the production headfirst. He stars alongside Hunt as Prince Dauntless.
“He’s a bit of a goofball, and definitely a momma’s boy,” he said. “He’s innocent to fault, but he has his own character despite what his momma, the queen, might make you think.”
There were also a few seniors in the cast, including Addysen Morros as the Minstrel. She is the point of view character for the musical, elaborating on the story of “The Princess and the Pea.” It will be her final production at the school as a student.“Being in theatre you meet a lot of interesting people from different backgrounds and viewpoints,” she said. “There’s singers, dancers, artists and people from every single aspect of artistry. That’s helped me tremendously in being outgoing towards people. It’s so much easier to talk to people now because I’ve met so many types of people that I can relate to a lot more.”
Another senior, Grace Rinkel, fills the role of Lady Larken – a noblewoman who while not a member of the royal family, plays a massive role in motivating the search for a princess to marry Prince Dauntless.
“This is the first time I’ve ever had this big of a part,” she said. “I’ve never really had a role like this, so it’s been a challenge figuring out how I want to portray my character, finding her, and thinking about why she acts the way she does.”
With hundreds of hours of work finally coming to an end, the cast and crew were excited to reveal the fruits of their efforts to family and friends.
“I think the show’s been so successful from when we first started,” Hunt said. “It’s going to be a great show, and I hope a lot of people show up!”
If you missed opening night, you still have time to see “Once Upon a Mattress” this weekend. There are two remaining showings at the La Porte High School Performing Arts Center, one on Saturday evening at 7 p.m., and one on Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m.
To buy tickets, visit https://sites.eventlink.com/s/laporte-high-school/Tickets.