WC Summer Stage presents “Once Upon a Mattress”
The Weatherford College Summer Stage wraps up the season with the Alkek Community Musical “Once Upon a Mattress” July 21 through July 30 in the Alkek Fine Arts Center.
“Once Upon a Mattress” is a humorous adaptation of the 1835 Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale, “The Princess and the Pea.” In this musical version, Princess Winnifred is an ungainly, brash girl competing for the hand of Prince Dauntless, whose domineering mother Queen Aggravain has declared he must marry a “true” princess before anyone else in the kingdom can marry. The musical opened on Broadway in 1959 and marked the Broadway debut of comedic legend Carol Burnett as Princess Winnifred.
James and Erin Brownlee are co-directing the show that they once starred in.
“We wanted to present a fun, classic musical that is close to our hearts,” Erin Brownlee said. “In 1997, Weatherford College produced ‘Once Upon a Mattress’ under the direction of Nancy McVean, and as WC theatre students, we portrayed the roles of Prince Dauntless and Queen Aggravain.”
This go around, Nickoli Wooten takes on the role of the prince and Tai Pulis is the queen. The production also includes Mia Vantine as Princess Winnifred, Patrick Gass as King Sextimus, Ben Rongey as the minstrel, Mia Currie as the jester, Rocky Westbrook as the wizard, Ethan Sebree as Sir Harry, Abigail Korenek as Lady Larken, Tyler West as Sir Studley and Kaleb Watson. A full cast list is available here.
“While the rehearsal process has been fast and furious with only four-and-a-half weeks of rehearsal time, it has been a joy to watch the actors rise to the occasion,” Brownlee said. “The cast is so talented and fun to work with. You will always hear lots of laughter in our rehearsals.”
Showtimes are 7:30 p.m. on July 21, 22, 28 and 29 and 2 p.m. on July 23 and 30. The musical runs approximately two hours and includes a 15-minute intermission and is appropriate for all ages.
Tickets are $10 and can be purchased here.