“Once Upon A Mattress”

[rating=5]It has been quite a while since I have seen a production of “Once Upon A Mattress”, with a book by Jay Thompson, Dean Fuller and Marshall Barer and music by Mary Rodgers with lyrics by Marshall Barer. For those unfamiliar with this musical, it is based on the fairy tale “The Princess and the Pea” by Hans Christian Andersen about a young woman whose royal ancestry is  established by a test of sensitivity. The original was published in 1835. Most of us are not familiar with the show and the fact that Mary Rodgers was the daughter of Richard ( Rodgers and Hammerstein). Those who do know the play, know that this was the road to success for one Carol Burnett in 1964. I remember Jack Gilford for his memorable part as the King- who is silent until the very end of the play.

This is a lovely story about good triumphing over evil as the Queen, Aggravain ( a powerful portrayal by Anne Sheridan Smith), will not allow her son, Prince Dauntless ( August Forman is adorable as this nerdy prince who is fully under the thumb of his mother) to marry anyone other than a “true Princess”. Test after test to every young woman in the Kingdom as well as surrounding Kingdoms bring failure. Of course, they are all rigged as in reality she doesn’t want to share her son. I did the play many moons ago in Buffalo Grove and went from playing the Minstrel ( in this production, they have changed the name to poet /played to perfection by Jasmine Lacy Young) to The King ( who in this production is deftly handled by Andrew Fortman. This role is difficult in that the character has had a spell placed on him making him a non-speaking role ( until the end, when the spell is broken). When I did the show, this was my role and I loved it.

The Princess who swims the moat to find her prince is Winnifred the Woebegone from the Swamps ( Sonia Goldberg is wonderful, although at times I saw her start to imitate Burnett from the film version). Her energy is wonderful, vocal range stupendous and being in an intimate “cabaret” theater we get to see her face-wow!) . Is she a true princess? She was brought to the castle by Sir Harry ( Michael Metcalf) who is under pressure to do this as his love, Lady Larken ( Parker Guidry is a delight) who is with child, unwed, and the Queen has made it clear that no one in the kingdom can marry until Dauntless does.

Did that last paragraph sound a bit crazy? Is Parker Guidry able to be “with child”? Director Landree Fleming has taken a look at the story from every angle. This is 2022. We have just been through 2 years of lack of theater and after all this is a “Fairy Tale”! Why not do this genderless. After all, if the story gets told and done properly, it should not matter. And her direction is powerful using a very small space with us getting up close with the actors. Yes, if you sit at one of the tables, you might just find yourself in the play.

This is an extraordinary cast. The Jester (Michael M. Ashford) is quite the talent and his dance in “Very Soft Shoes” is amazing- Jenna Schoppe’s choreography for this number and all the others including a wonderful “Spanish Panic” number is wonderful. The Wizard (J. Alan) is played to the hilt as are a few of the ensemble roles, but once again, Fleming brought a modern, “today” look to this production and once I fully understood the direction, I was all in! The ensemble members who complete the cast are: Laura Sportiello, Peter Ruger, Nathe Rowbotham and Sarah J. Patin- they work hard and as I always say “without a strong ensemble, you cannot do a full scale musical”. They are all terrific!

As always, the musical direction is by Jeremy Ramey who plays the keyboard as well and his small group sitting above the kingdom makes this music truly come alive. On guitar (Jacob Levi Smith), Bass(Marcel Reimao Bonfim), Drum/ Percussion (Carlos Mendoza). The songs in this show are truly not known by most people as they are truly meant for this show. “In A Little While” and “Yesterday I Loved You” are probably the only ones that could ever stand alone, and even these might not work. This is a showcase show for actors allowing them to do roles that are silly, strange and just plain fun. Theo Ubique is known for finding shows like this and the talent to pull it off- they have succeeded once again!

On the tech side, being a “cabaret” theater the sets are limited but Mara Ishihara Zinky did some clever things. The bed with 20 mattresses is unique and uses very little space. Rowan Doe’s props are great and the sound (Rick Sims) and lighting (PiperKirchofer) worked perfectly. A new item on the tech list ( at least for me) is Gender Intensive Training (Josephine Kearns) and I am sure that we will see more of this as we learn to live with change.

“Once Upon A Mattress” will continue at Theo Ubique Theatre located at 721 West Howard Street in Evanston thru May 1st with performances as follows:

Thursdays  7:30 p.m.

Fridays  7:30 p.m.

Saturdays  7:30 p.m.

Sundays  7 p.m.

Tickets range from $42 and there is a dinner option for an additional $29 ( reservations for dinner must be made one week prior to performance). Check this out at www.theo-u.com or call 773-939-4101. Box office is open Wednesday- Sundays from noon til 5 p.m.

Vac card and photo ID to gain entry and masks must be work during performances. If you have not been to Theo Ubique before, they do have a full service bar and they have a few small plates. Parking is on the street and in a lot that is metered. Read the meters as they are different on the north side of Howard ( Evanston) and the south side ( Chicago). Don’t ruin your experience by getting a ticket.

To see what others are saying, visit www.theatreinchicago.com, go to Review Round-Up and click at “Once Upon A Mattress”.