ABOUT THE MUSICAL

Round up the characters of a fairy-tale and you get the usual suspects: a King, a Queen, a Prince, a Princess, a Minstrel, a Wizard and assorted knights and ladies. There they all are in Once Upon a Mattress, the musical based on “The Princess and the Pea”. The minstrel retells the familiar story, but then says that version is not quite accurate. Blackout! Lights! And things were never quite the same again in Fairy-Tale land. Queen Aggravain – sounds like a headache – will allow no one at court to marry until her son is wed, but no woman is good enough for him (mothers in the audience will sympathize with that). The King can’t get a word in; he’s speechless, but awfully good at charades. Prince Dauntless – no Prince Charming he – is henpecked and he’s not even married. The Wizard should turn in his union card. Lady Larken, dare I say it, is pregnant, and gulp, unmarried. Is this an x-rated fairy tale? Winnifred, the princess from a distance land – swamp lands in this case – lets Dauntless use her nickname, no, not Winnie but Fred! Ye gads! The next thing you know we’ll be calling Cinderella Ella or Cindi with an “i”! When I tell you that Carol Burnett created the role of Winnifred, you’ll know what to expect. We are in parodyville. Mattress is as light as a souffle, often witty, never to be taken seriously. Unlike Rodgers and Hammerstein’s TV Cinderella, which is straightforward and staid, Mattress is irreverent. Even the title, a twist on fairy tale openings, is slightly risque. This is a fairy-tale for adults, but kids will love Fred’s antics. Mary Rodgers who wrote the score is Richard Rodger’s daughter, and her son, Adam Guettel, Richard’s grandson, wrote the 1996 musical Floyd Collins. The sound of music runs in the family. Once Upon a Mattress may not be on the same level as The Golden Apple, the Moross-Latouche musical that satirizes the Ulyssess myth or Into the Woods, Sondheim’s take on fairy-tales. But it is much more fun!

Richard Gidez for SCCT