Stage West Opens Season With ONCE UPON A MATTRESS

How do you tell a real princess from a wannabe?  You’ll have a grand time finding out, as Stage West, in a co-production with Theatre TCU, presents the charming, classic fairytale musical Once Upon a Mattress, which begins a 3-week run on Thursday, October 19. 

The kingdom ruled by Queen Aggravain and King Sextimus the Silent (he was cursed, of course) is in the midst of a real dilemma.  It is time for Prince Dauntless, heir to the throne, to find a wife.  But not just any wife--she must be a real princess.  Queen Aggravain, who is in no hurry to see her son married, has devised a series of difficult tests to weed out those she deems unsuitable.  Naturally, candidate after candidate is failing the tests. What’s worse, no one else in the kingdom may marry until Dauntless says “I do.”  So the kingdom is in a bit of a funk, fearing that Dauntless (and they) will be single forever.  

And then Princess Winnifred arrives, having swum the moat in her hurry to get there.  She doesn’t look at all like a conventional princess, and she doesn’t act like one either.  But her papers are in order, and her quirky charm seems to be winning over most of the kingdom, including Dauntless.  Could she, in fact, be The One?  Possibly, but first, she will have to pass the queen’s most diabolical test!

It’s sure to be a rollicking good time for all!

Director Garret Storms says, “We’ve been eyeing this classic musical comedy for a few years, and we are thrilled to be teaming up with Theatre TCU for this production. It’s a fairy tale turned inside out - hilarious, family friendly, and utterly enchanting. You’ll be humming the songs all the way home!”

“As fresh, inventive, and funny as ever...with wit and sophistication, and more important, human feeling”– New York Daily News

Mary Rodgers, daughter of composer Richard Rodgers and mother of composer Adam Guettel, was an American composer, screenwriter, and author born in New York. She began writing music at the age of 16, and attended the Brearley School in Manhattan, and later majored in music at Wellesley College. She later served as Chairman at The Juilliard School. Her best-known musicals were Once Upon a Mattress and The Mad Show. None of her other shows had the same level of success, but she also wrote music for musicals and revues. Others included From A to Z (1960), Hot Spot (1963), Working (1978), and Phyllis Newman's one-woman show The Madwoman of Central Park West (1979). A revue of Rodgers's music titled Hey, Love, conceived and directed by Richard Maltby Jr. ran in June 1993 at Eighty-Eight's in New York City. She eventually transitioned into writing children's books, most notably Freaky Friday (1972), which was made into a feature film, and was remade for television in 1995, and again for cinemas in 2003. Rodgers also contributed songs to the landmark children's album Free to Be... You and Me. She died in 2014.

Marshall Barer began his career as a lyricist and songwriter in the late 1940s. His most-heard song is the Mighty Mouse Theme for the famous cartoons.  Over the years, he wrote lyrics

to the melodies of Michele Brourman, Hoagy Carmichael, Gordon Connell, J. Fred Coots, Vernon Duke, Duke Ellington, Michael Feinstein, Dean Fuller, Ronny Graham, Fred Hellerman, Burton Lane, Michel Legrand, Michael Leonard, Hugh Martin, Anita Nye, Lance Ong, Norman Paris, Mary Rodgers, the Davids (Raksin, Ross, Shire), William Roy, Bruce Scott, Ralph Strain, Joseph Thalken, Kurt Weill, and Alec Wilder—as well as his own.  He died in 1998. 

Dean Fuller was a composer, playwright, conductor, sailor, pilot, novelist and teacher. He held a B.A. in music and drama, Yale University, and was an alumnus of Tamiment Playhouse, last of the Borscht Belt boot camps for revue writers, lyricists and composers. He co-wrote the book for Once Upon A Mattress, contributed music (with lyrics by Marshall Barer) to the revues Once Over Lightly (Zero Mostel, Jack Gilford, Sono Osato), New Faces of 1956 (Tiger Haynes, Inga Swenson, Maggie Smith) and Ziegfeld Follies (Beatrice Lillie). Musical director and arranger for Tallulah Bankhead's only nightclub appearances (Sands Hotel, Las Vegas). Co-author/composer of the Off-Broadway musical Smith. Author of three novels: Passage, A Death in Paris and Death of a Critic.  He died in 2017.

Jay Thompson co-wrote the book for Once Upon a Mattress and wrote the book, music and lyrics for the opera The Bible Salesman, as well as the one-act musical The Oldest Trick in the World. He also wrote Pocketful of Wry, a musical revue. In addition to composing words and music for the song "Jimmy," which was sung by Julie Andrews in the film Thoroughly Modern Millie, Thompson has created special material for Carol Channing, Dorothy Loudon, Imogene Coca and other funny ladies. As a director, he worked on Once Upon a Mattress, Born Yesterday, Pocketful Of Wry, Annie, Forum, Sweet Charity, Steel Magnolias, Laughing Matter and The Oldest Trick In The World.  He died in 2014.

Once Upon a Mattress will be directed by Stage West Associate Producer Garret Storms, who directed our recent co-production with Uptown Players of Cruel Intentions: the ‘90s Musical.

Musical direction will be by Aimee Hurst Bozarth, with choreography by Amber Marie Flores.  The large cast features Stage West’s Education Manager Sarah Gay, last seen in Cruel Intentions, as Queen Aggravain, with Marianne Galloway as King Sextimus.  Andrew Meier, also seen in Cruel Intentions, will play Prince Dauntless, with Savannah DeCrow as Princess Winnifred.  Caden Large and Mia Dorsett will appear as Sir Harry and Lady Larken, with Logan Lowery as the Jester, Sam Majors as the Minstrel, and Michael Phillip Thomas as the Wizard.  The ensemble will include Audrey Beyersdorfer, Carlos Gutierrez, Ken Haley, Sam Howell, Yeongwang (Rayon) Lim, Grace Moore, Cari Rose Walton, and Gabriela Yarbrough, with Quint Adamo and Ally Ramsey serving as swings.

Set design is by Brian Clinnin, with lighting design by Michael Skinner, costume design by Henry Cawood, sound design and mixing by Jimbob Brown, hair, wigs, and makeup by Colette Numajiri, and props and set décor by Lynn Lovett.  Stage Manager duties will be handled by Tiffany Cromwell.

Once Upon a Mattress will preview Thursday, October 19 at 7:30, and Friday, October 20 at 8:00, and will run through Sunday, November 5.  The opening night reception will be after the evening performance on Saturday, October 21.  Performances will be Thursdays at 7:30, Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00, with Saturday and Sunday matinees at 2:00.  Ticket prices for this show are $47 on Thursdays and Fridays, and $53 on Saturdays and Sundays, with $42 tickets for the two preview performances.  Food service is available 90 minutes prior to performances (reservations are advised).  Reservations and information are available through the Box Office (817-784-9378), or on the website, www.stagewest.org.  

This show is rated PG.

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