LOWELL | Thespians at Lowell High School will bring a beloved fairy tale to life this week with their production of "Once Upon A Mattress, " a comedic, raucous, romantic and melodic take on the classic tale of "The Princess and the Pea."
Performances are set for 6 p.m. Thursday, 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 2 p.m. Sunday in the LHS auditorium at 2051 E. Commercial Ave. Tickets are $7 for adults and $5 for senior citizens/students, available at the box office 45 minutes prior to each show. Call (219) 696-7733, ext. 3127 with any questions.
The story of a prince in a far-off land pining for a wife, the musical takes off on a fast-paced romp with a cast that includes an overbearing queen who thwarts her son's quest for a bride by making every candidate pass an impossible series of tests, a henpecked king, a wily wizard and a jester with more than one trick up his sleeve.
"We picked this show because of its broad appeal," said LHS teacher/director Kevin Deal. "I’ve been fortunate to have a lot of help from Megan Keown and Lindsay O’Neill, and both of them have prior experience with the show. They initially recommended that I check it out."
Deal said the script is a perfect fit for his young cast. "We have a number of students who are acting for the first time. Some are freshmen with exceptional talent and others, such as Brooke Kuiper in the role of Queen Aggravain, just decided as a senior that she wanted to do something with theatre.
"Overall, the show is a tremendous amount of fun, especially in contrast to the very serious nature of our fall production ("The Diary of Anne Frank").
In addition to Kuiper as the Queen, the cast includes Mike Kroll as Prince Dauntless, Brad Rickert as Wizard, Josh Kerwin as Harry, Maddie Pyke as Larken, Selena VanBaber as Fred, Jacob Cook as the Jester, Zane Anderson as the King, John Goodrich as the Minstrel, Katie Morario as Princess #12, Erin Manley, Jessica Sepko, Mallory Swisher, Lexie Itczak, Kristen Anderson and Amber DeYoung as Ladies in Waiting, Sofia Vuokila as Nightingale and Nathan Hand as Sir Studly.
"With this show," added Deal, "the kids are given the chance to be caricatures on stage, which is a challenge in itself. We are constantly working with the cast/chorus to buy into the fairy tale qualities of their characters.
"I’ve encouraged them to revisit some of their favorite childhood stories to study the characterization of queens, princesses, princes, etc. I think they’ve all done a very nice job bringing a unique voice to each of their characters.
A special challenge awaited Sofia Vuokila, an exchange student from Finland who has a small but important role in the show. "Coming on at the end, Sofia plays the Nightingale whose task it is to lull Winnifred off to sleep," said Deal. "Sofia has done an excellent job with the role. "Her (musical) voice (and an occasional ‘squawk’) make up her performance. She has a beautiful voice and we are very happy that she is a part of the production."
IF YOU GO
WHAT: "Once Upon A Mattress"
WHEN: 6 p.m. Thursday, 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 2 p.m. Sunday
WHERE: Lowell High School auditorium, 2051 E. Commercial Ave., Lowell
TICKETS: $7 for adults and $5 for senior citizens/students, available at the box office 45 minutes prior to each show.
FYI: Call (219) 696-7733, ext. 3127.
