Prairie Valley Players present 'Once Upon a Mattress'
5:45 PM
Posted: Thursday, July 03, 2008
The tale of a young woman who undergoes a test to see if she's a "real" princess has inspired books, movies, dramas and ballets.
The fairy tale story will be retold in a popular musical, "Once Upon a Mattress" by the Pioneer Valley Players, Sergeant Bluff.
"Once Upon a Mattress" is based on "The Princess and the Pea," a story written by Hans Christian Andersen in 1835 about a young woman who claims to being a real princess. She is put to a test, forced to sleep on a single pea under 20 mattresses and 20 featherbeds. Upon arising, the girl laments her sleeplessness, bemoaning the presence of "something so hard that I am black and blue all over," thus giving testament to her true role as a princess.
The fairy tale gained wide popularity with "Once Upon a Mattress," a 1960 musical starring Carol Burnett as the irrepressible Princess Winnifred. Burnett later played Queen Aggravain in a 2005 remake.
In the musical, no one in the kingdom of Prince Dauntless (Tom Miller) is permitted to marry until the prince himself exchanges vows. It's a problem considering the prince's mother, Queen Aggravain (Kelly Meyers) has sabotaged all prospective brides. This does not sit well with the honorable Sir Harry (Tyler Zimmerman), a man whose heart longs to wed the Lady Larken (Erin Nelson). Sir Harry returns to his kingdom to present Princess Winnifred of the swamps (Sarah Meyers). The queen is horrified and immediately begins to scheme, but Winnifred, with some help from the King (John Mangan), and the Jester (Ben Miller), proves tough to be rid of.
"This is such a fun play," said director John Meyers. "And it's not only a fun story, it's a show the entire family can enjoy."
Read more of this story Friday in the Journal's print edition and online at siouxcityjournal.com.
The fairy tale story will be retold in a popular musical, "Once Upon a Mattress" by the Pioneer Valley Players, Sergeant Bluff.
"Once Upon a Mattress" is based on "The Princess and the Pea," a story written by Hans Christian Andersen in 1835 about a young woman who claims to being a real princess. She is put to a test, forced to sleep on a single pea under 20 mattresses and 20 featherbeds. Upon arising, the girl laments her sleeplessness, bemoaning the presence of "something so hard that I am black and blue all over," thus giving testament to her true role as a princess.
The fairy tale gained wide popularity with "Once Upon a Mattress," a 1960 musical starring Carol Burnett as the irrepressible Princess Winnifred. Burnett later played Queen Aggravain in a 2005 remake.
In the musical, no one in the kingdom of Prince Dauntless (Tom Miller) is permitted to marry until the prince himself exchanges vows. It's a problem considering the prince's mother, Queen Aggravain (Kelly Meyers) has sabotaged all prospective brides. This does not sit well with the honorable Sir Harry (Tyler Zimmerman), a man whose heart longs to wed the Lady Larken (Erin Nelson). Sir Harry returns to his kingdom to present Princess Winnifred of the swamps (Sarah Meyers). The queen is horrified and immediately begins to scheme, but Winnifred, with some help from the King (John Mangan), and the Jester (Ben Miller), proves tough to be rid of.
"This is such a fun play," said director John Meyers. "And it's not only a fun story, it's a show the entire family can enjoy."
Read more of this story Friday in the Journal's print edition and online at siouxcityjournal.com.
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