Sir Harry, played by Marquel Hawkins, argues the princess he went in search of is in fact a valid princess in order to convince the skeptical Queen Aggravain, played by Emma Lowell, and Wizard, played by Briana Larsen.
A well-known fairy tale is coming to life in a new and fun way with Western Wyoming Community College's latest theatrical production, "Once Upon a Mattress." In this musical, the classic story of "The Princess and the Pea" by Hans Christian Anderson is retold in a story that's upbeat, sweet and silly.
In putting on this light-hearted show, Director Eric de Lora decided to lean into the silliness.
"We had a lot of fun with it," de Lora said.
With jazzy tunes and clever lyrics, the music itself keeps the show exciting, according to de Lora, but he's also seen productions which felt static. In order to make things even more dynamic, de Lora decided to draw inspiration from one of the stars who made the musical popular in the first place. Carol Burnett starred in the Broadway production in 1959, helping launch her to fame before her television show in the 60s and 70s. De Lora realized the musical had similar tones to Burnett's other work.
"I said, 'this just feels like it should be a variety show,'" he explained. "So then I started picking on the idea, like, 'well what if just about every number, even if there's not a dance in it, we put a dance in it?' And so it just feels like one great production number after another."
Another influence on the style of the musical came from old vaudeville performances, according to de Lora. He explained the first place this musical was performed was at resorts in the Catskill mountains in upstate New York, where entertainment had a looser structure and more varied and comedic qualities.
While paying tribute to the vaudeville and variety show aspects of the musical, de Lora also decided to set the fairy tale in the present day, wanting the royal characters to feel like contemporary royal families. Another production choice making the play unique was de Lora's decision to scale back the set, with the main feature for most of the play being an elaborate floor carved and painted to look like Portuguese tile, inspired by a real floor de Lora saw on a trip to Portugal.
"It's kind of a mishmash, but in my head it all seems to work," de Lora said about the show. "We hope the audience will also find it just as engaging as I do."
The unique nature of the musical has provided new challenges for the students in the cast. In addition to extra dance rehearsals, they've had to practice a different side of acting.
"It's trying to just give them permission and encouragement and shove them forward," de Lora said. "It's ok to be ridiculous and silly. You don't have to be realistic completely all the time."
Jaron Shereda, a first-year student at Western from Green River, has enjoyed the challenges of acting comedically in his role as Prince Dauntless.
"'Once Upon A Mattress' is different from others shows I've been in because of its humor and how much relies on our own choices," Shereda said. "There are no limits to how dramatically something can be portrayed. We can use our creativity to make our acting over the top and as silly as possible."
Adjusting to a different style of acting is particularly challenging since many cast members are coming into the show after being part of Western's last big production, "Footloose." While both shows are musicals, "Footloose" has a more serious tone and tells a more complicated story.
"Whenever we put it a season together, we try to balance it," de Lora explained. "We do one show like that, and then one that's just completely bonkers."
"Once Upon a Mattress" gets to be the bonkers show for the season. While still enjoying the silliness, de Lora wants to present a story that has a message and is relatable.
"You never want to lose the meaning," he said. "You still have to recognize the human aspects of these characters. And sometimes it may not be very deep or poignant, but there's still something that we identify with, that's a human trait."
When it comes to a romance between an unconventional princess and prince, and the complicated lives of those around them, this musical focuses on the relationships between the characters. The show offers both fun back-and-forth dynamics and a commentary on interpersonal relationships and the difficulty of communicating and finding things in common.
"That's what's fun about the show, is everybody's struggling to make a connection with somebody else," de Lora explained.
While the goofy jokes and happy endings can provide a fun getaway from real life for a while, but the characters can also remind the audience of their own lives and relationships and give them something to think about and connect with. Balancing the comedy of the show with the relatable qualities in the characters is a unique challenge, but de Lora also believes the two can go together well.
"Sometimes the best way to send the message is hidden in the laughter," de Lora said.
"Once Upon a Mattress" opens tonight and will have shows Feb. 25 and 26 and March 4 at 7:30 p.m. and a matinee March 5 at 2 p.m. Tickets are $13 for adults and $8 for youth and seniors, and are available online or by calling the box office at (307) 382-1721.
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