PERRY — Once Upon A Mattress, with music by Mary Rodgers, lyrics by Marshall Barer, and a book by Jay Thompson, Dean Fuller, and Barer, is a delightful retelling of the Princess and the Pea that made Carol Burnett famous in 1959. Heritage Theatre is producing Once Upon A Mattress with direction by Alisha Hall. The musical’s story follows Queen Aggravain, played by Amber Kacherian, dealing with her son Prince Dauntless, played by David Atkinson, and the fact that no princess is good enough, according to his mother, for the Prince to wed. Certainly not the “shy” swamp Princess Winnifred, played by Hannah Atkinson. And no one in the kingdom can get married until after the Prince marries a true princess who successfully passes Queen Aggravain’s impossible tests.
I confess a deep love for this musical. At a time when other shows were often sappy and romantic, something not to my liking, Once Upon a Mattress leaned into the humor and satire in a way that plays right to my Gen X heart. I was excited to see if the production at Heritage would live up to what I had come to expect from the times I have seen this show in the past.
One of the first things I loved about this production was Director Hall’s choice to use the aisles throughout the show. The Heritage is a very small theatre in a historic church building in Perry, and the stage is quite tiny. I really enjoyed an interaction with Kacherian and D. Atkinson happening in the center aisle, rather than on the main stage. Moving the action and the humor to the middle of the auditorium helped the space feel bigger and made the whole show feel larger and less crowded.
Amber Kacherian as Queen Aggravain did a great job as the mean and arrogant queen. Her character’s design is also where the costuming shined. Costume designs was credited to a whole team, including Amber Beecher, Amber Downing, Stephanie Morley, Grayson Jones, and Becky Montgomery. The course of the story is only about 24 hours, yet in that time Queen Aggravain changed costumes at least five times, each costume becoming more elaborate than the one before. These choices were perfect for Kacherian’s performance of the Queen and stood in stark contrast to some of the others, especially that of H. Atkinson’s Winnifred. I truly loved the choices with the costumes, and how it helped build the characters.
Musically, this show was so fun. I enjoyed Derek Hendricks as the Minstrel and Spot Beecher as the Jester. They added such great comedic energy. The number “The Minstrel, the Jester, and I”, with the addition of the King, played by R. Henry Bennett IV, was delightful. This number is particularly difficult because the King does not speak. Bennett’s skills of facial expression and physical comedy were impeccable, and the trio made for a fantastic visual. Beecher further endeared the audience with his dance number in the second act, “Very Soft Shoes”, where choreography by Victoria Bingham, with Alisha Hall and Spot Beecher delivered excellent entertainment. Choreography was also center stage during “Songs of Love”, when D. Atkinson as Prince Dauntless had such an innocent characterization while declaring his love for the Princess Winnifred, nicknamed “Fred.”
And speaking of “Fred”, this show was such a star vehicle for Carol Burnett that it is truly impossible to do the production right without a good Winnifred. H. Atkinson was happily up to the task. Winnifred’s entrance right before the iconic number of “Shy” was amusing, and I appreciated the foliage attached to her costume, because, after all, she had swam the moat. While Atkinson sang “Shy” remarkably well, I was personally glad to hear her do the second act number “Happily Ever After” so well, because it is one of the best songs out there, and not nearly as well known. I also loved the interactions between H. Atkinson and D. Atkinson, and their chemistry makes sense seeing as they are husband and wife. It is fun to see these kinds of pairings in community theatre, because it not only makes for great stage presence, it gives the audience a smile as they look at the notes in the playbill.
As is noted in the playbill, some of the subject matter in the show is a bit risqué, especially for the time it was written. Because the storyline is based on no one marrying until Prince Dauntless does, Lady Larkin, played by Naomi Nielsen, and her lover Sir Harry, played by Austin Williams, end up in a situation where they must marry soon or be caught in a scandal. Both Nielsen and Williams play their parts well and the subject matter is far less explicit than what many of us can catch on TV any evening. There are a few other things that may make a person blush, but the cast and script manages the mild innuendo with grace and humor.
I was delighted with the whole performance. I love when a theatre’s season roster has something different than the rest of the area, and I had not seen this since my own daughter did the Junior Version in 9th grade. I was a little surprised yet also amused that some sitting around me were truly shocked by the twist at the end. I will not spoil the finale and instead encourage all to go see Once Upon A Mattress at Heritage and fall in love with a girl named Fred.
MORE INFO: Once Upon a Mattress plays at 7:30 PM on Fridays, Saturdays, and Mondays, with Saturday matinees at 2pm, through April 25th at the Heritage Theater, 2505 US-89 Perry, Utah. Tickets are $10-16. For more information, visit heritagetheatreutah.com