Archive: Arts & Entertainment

It's the Princess and the Pea as you've never seen it before -- complete with a silent king, a domineering queen, and a princess named Fred. Running to Places’ “Once Upon a Mattress,” May 16 and 17 at the State Theatre of Ithaca, is the perfect show for families to enjoy together; it’s the hilarious musical that made Carol Burnett a star.

“Mattress” retells the familiar Hans Christian Anderson story with lots of comedy and plenty of romance. With King Sextimus (Will Westlake) under a curse of silence, Queen Aggravain (Bretana Turkon) has taken charge of the kingdom. She’s declared that no one can marry until the wedding of Prince Dauntless the Drab (Matthew Skrovan), but none of his prospective brides can pass the queen’s impossible tests. It seems poor pregnant Lady Larken (Maddie Vandenberg) will never be able to marry her love Sir Harry (Brendan Coyle) -- until Princess Winnifred the Woebegone (Cali Newman) provides a happy ending and an end to the curse.

“I've directed this show twice before, and I'm still finding new jokes and clever bits in the writing,” says Joey Steinhagen, R2P’s artistic director. “But within the hilarious script, there is a surprising amount of heart and depth to the characters.”

The play’s action takes place within the walls of a fairy-tale castle, designed by Deb Drew. The whimsical costumes, designed by Mary Hunt, reflect the play’s fun-loving  character. In the spirit of R2P’s commitment to community participation in all aspects of theatre, parent and student volunteers have helped with both set and costumes—and stage manager Noah Elman is an R2P company member, a junior at Ithaca High School.

Choreographer Kelly Jackson has taken advantage of the set’s staircases in staging some of the big musical numbers. “She’s great at translating the show’s silliness into fun for the audience,” says Steinhagen.

The music is by Mary Rodgers, daughter of legendary composer Richard Rodgers. “You can hear her simultaneously saluting her dad's style of classic, old-school musicals, while also putting her own more modern spin on things," says music director Jeremy Pletter.

Opening night audience members are likely in for a treat, says Steinhagen. “They’ll be among the first to hear about R2P’s next season, which I’m hoping to announce then.”

The show runs one weekend only: May 16 and 17 with performances on Friday at  7 PM, and Saturday at 2 PM and 7 PM.

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