Rose-Hulman Drama Club takes ‘Mattress’ to new heights

By Dale H. Long
Special to the Tribune-Star

TERRE HAUTE April 25, 2008 04:01 pm

— Alas! What’s royalty to do when Princess Winnifred arrives in the kingdom? The answer is, of course, in the hilarious plot of the delightful musical comedy “Once Upon a Mattress,” being performed by Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology’s Drama Club this weekend and May 2-3 at 7:30 p.m. in the Hatfield Hall Theater.
Tickets are $12 for adults and $10 for non-RHIT students and youths. Tickets can be reserved by calling the Hatfield Hall ticket office at (812) 877-8544. (Note: Saturday’s show is sold out because of Rose-Hulman’s Mom’s Day.)
“Once Upon a Mattress” offers a twist on Hans Christian Andersen’s classic fairy tale, “The Princess and the Pea.” It is a story of bravery and adventure, and offers a rollicking commentary on royal courtship. Any good fairy tale worth telling also delivers a moral. In this case, the moral of the play is being true to oneself and open to the possibilities of meeting and maybe even falling in love with someone who’s a little — or a lot — different.
By all accounts, Prince Dauntless is a mama’s boy. His domineering mother, the Queen, has gone so far as to refuse to let anyone in the kingdom marry until her son finds a bride.
Finding a prospect is the easy part; getting Mom’s approval is like pulling teeth.
“Prince Dauntless is a fun role to play because I get to be a 5-year-old all over again,” says Adler Edward, a junior chemical engineering and biochemistry/molecular biology major. “The scenes between Queen Aggravain [Karen Kirchman] and Prince Dauntless are lots of fun. The prince is so naive and trusts his mother, while the queen’s motives are self-centered.”
When our heroine, Princess Winnifred (played by freshman Alice Forehand) shows up, after swimming the castle moat to win Prince Dauntless, the Queen concocts an all-out, foolproof (or so she thinks) scheme to eliminate Winnifred from the running — a sensitivity test to see whether the princess can sleep on a bed of 20 mattresses, with a small pea hidden beneath. The end result proves Winnifred’s purity of heart and suitability to marry the prince.
The 45-member cast also includes David Bander as King Sextimus the Silent, David Pope as Sir Harry, Megan Greenwell as Lady Larken, Greg Neumann as The Minstrel, Jarod Markley as The Wizard and Cale Snyder as The Jester.
The 1959 show, which launched comedienne Carol Burnett’s career, has a book by Jay Thompson, Dean Fuller and Marshall Barer, lyrics by Barer and music by Mary Rodgers, daughter of Richard Rodgers.
Rose-Hulman’s production is directed by Bunny Nash and features dazzling costumes and a spectacular set and technical features, designed by technical director Greg Stump. Gary Turner is conducting the pit orchestra, David Gibbs has provided vocal direction and Patti Willy has assisted with choreography.
“Once Upon a Mattress” is not a show with memorable songs – just clever, tuneful ones — so you don’t go home humming, but you do go home laughing.

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