Once Upon A Mattress 2011
Once Upon a Mattress won 5 of the 11 2011 Iowa Community Theatre Association’s (ICTA) Awards at the annual convention in Cedar Rapids!
Congratulations to all the winners!
USP’s ICTA Award winners were:
- Outstanding Lead Actress: Anne McCullough Kelly
- Outstanding Supporting Actress: Nicole Vande Zande
- Outstanding Music Direction: Brystal Hopkins and Ashlee Whittington
- Outstanding Costume Design: Lori Vande Zande and Kathy VanNorden
- Outstanding Scenic Design: Brystal Hopkins, Matt Kelly, and Dan Fynaardt
Once Upon a Mattress is the musical retelling of The Princess and Pea, and was made famous on Broadway by Carol Burnett. The musical launched Burnett to stardom and the classic tale is as fresh and fun as ever.
Show Dates & Times – July 28 – 30, 2011 @ 7pm and July 31, 2011 @ 2pm
Cast
Princess Winnifred – Anne McCullough Kelly
Queen Aggravain – Jana DeZwarte
Prince Dauntless – Erik Donner
King Sextimus the Silent – Eric Moore
Sir Harry – Jonathan Gregg
Lady Larken – Nicole Vande Zande
Jester – Sam DuRegger
Wizard – Doug DeWolf
Minstrel – Dave Hopkins
Lady Rowena – Kelly Anderson
Lady Merril – Eleanor Witt
Lady Lucille – Maggie-Anne Landon
Princess Number 12 – Ciera Kooyman
Lady Mabelle – Midori Meyer
Sir Studley – Greg May
Sir Luce – Michael Still
2nd Knight – Spence Ver Meer
3rd Knight – Jack Parisee
Ladies-in-Waiting – Sara Collins, Cassie Buma, Megan Atkins
Lady Beatrice – Amber Attema
Sir Harold – Robert Uy
Servants/Pantomime Team – Mariah Kooyman, Danielle Nardini, Sarah DeWolf
Production Crew
Director – Brystal Hopkins
Producer – Ashlee Whittington
Once Upon a Mattress closed on July 31, 2011 after a successful four-show run. The musical delighted USP audiences!
Final Attendance
Thu: 208
Fri: 200
Sat: 167
Sun: 224
Total: 799
Congratulations to Brystal Hopkins who helmed a USP production for the first time with first-time producer Ashlee Whittington. The stellar cast and crew included plenty of USP veterans along with a number of people making their debut in a USP production. Congratulations to all on an outstanding show!
The Story:
Once Upon A Mattress is based on the famous fairy tale, The Princess and the Pea. Because of her noble birth, the Princess is unable to sleep on a bed of many mattresses when a tiny pea is placed underneath the bottom mattress.
The kingdom is an unhappy one. King Sextimus has been struck dumb by a witch’s curse and is condemned not to speak again until “the mouse devours the hawk!” Queen Agravia has assumed power and she talks enough for the whole Royal household. She has decreed that no one in the Kingdom may wed until Prince Dauntless is married to a true princess of Royal blood. So far the Queen has tested the eligibility of eleven applicants and each has failed the almost impossible tests the Queen has devised.
The Knights and Ladies of the Court are most distressed by the situation but the most concerned are Lady Larken and her handsome lover, Sir Harry. Lady Larken has informed Sir Harry that he is to be a father so the situation is quite desperate. Sir Harry, determined to find a true princess, sets off for, until now, unexplored parts and returns with Princess Winnifred. She arrives dripping wet have swum the moat and proceeds to act as unlike a princess as one could possibly imagine. Prince Dauntless is very impressed by the new princess and is soon obviously in love with her – to the consternation of the angry Queen, who decides to give her an impossible test. She consults the Wizard and together they decide on the the sensitivity test – a pea is placed beneath twenty mattresses and the Queen decrees that if Princess Winnifred cannot sleep she will prove her royal birth. However, to ensure that she does sleep, she proceeds to do everything to make her tired out. A ball is held where the dancing is fast and furious and Winnifred is encouraged to drink heavily. She is also given a sleeping draught and a singing bird is provided to sing her to sleep…