"Once Upon a Mattress" is a hilarious musical story of romance in a fantasy kingdom.
The musical plays Sept. 18-20 and 25-27 at 7:30 p.m. and Sept. 21 and 28 at 2 p.m. at Wahtonka High School in The Dalles.
Queen Aggravain jealously protects her son Prince Dauntless from marrying any eligible princess, and will not allow anyone else in the kingdom to wed until her son does. When Sir Harry and Lady Larken learn that they are to become parents, wed or not, Sir Harry takes matters into his own hands and goes into the swamp to search for a bride for the prince. There he discovers Princess Winifred. The Queen is horrified and schemes to get rid of the Princess, but aided by Sir Harry and the jester Winifred stakes her place in the kingdom.
Princess Winifred the Woebegon leaves her kingdom in the swamps and swims across a castle moat to meet Dauntless, the Prince of her dreams. But his domineering mother, Queen Aggravaine, won't let her son near the soggy princess (known to her friends as "Fred") unless she can pass a sensitivity test and prove she is a genuine princess. This hilarious spoof of Hans Christian Anderson's "The Princess and the Pea" took the New York Theater world by storm in 1959 and made the very young Carol Burnett a star, with its sparkling score by Mary Rodgers, daughter of the famed Richard Rodgers,
Once Upon a Mattress is a musical theater classic. This new production is a Theatre Company premiere, with directing by Scott Simmons.
Tickets are available at the door and at Klindt's Book Sellers. Cost is $12 for adults, $10 for seniors and students and $8 for children under 12.
Commented