Hear ye, hear ye! This summer, the Geneva Theatre Guild Youth Theatre returns to in-person performances with their production of Once Upon a Mattress: Youth Edition.
For the production, which runs July 22 and 23 at 7:00pm and July 24 at 2:00pm, the Guild will be returning to the space where they helmed their very first shows: Bartlett Theatre at Coxe Hall, on Hobart & William Smith’s campus.
With music by Mary Rodgers and lyrics by Marshall Barer, Once Upon a Mattress is a spritely, sarcastic spin on the Princess and the Pea fairy tale. It first premiered on Broadway in 1959.
Set in a fictional medieval kingdom, Mattress follows Prince Dauntless the Drab’s (Kyan Powers) attempts to find a wife, even as his mother, the scheming Queen Aggravain (Loretta Norwalk), tries to thwart his attempts. When Princess Winnifred the Woebegone (Beatrice Carson) arrives at the castle, the Queen sets out to test Winnifred to see if she is really worthy of her son’s hand.
The tale is told by two narrators who know the “true story:” a Minstrel (Beatrice VanRiper) and a Jester (Julia Lamanna). It also features the love story of Sir Harry (James Lasky) and Lady Larken (McKenzie Forbes).
Rounding out the cast King Sextimus the Silent (Marshall Godwin); the Queen’s second-in-command, the Wizard (Giovanni Latshang); ladies Lucille (Elizabeth Rollins), Merrill (Eve Hood) Rowena (Isabella Humphrey), Mable (Meghan Forbes), and Princess #12 (Alexis Greene); knights Miles Ventura, Julian Wells, and Francis Bossaert; and ensemble members Rosalie Deras, Elizabeth Anne Ciancaglini, Evelyn Ashton, and Janelle Tripoli.
The backstage crew is led by Stage Manager Juli Parotta, and features Jamie Ninestine, Sophie Bauer, Ella Bauer, and Atlas Barile-Swain.
Mattress is directed by Loren Schmidtgall, with musical direction by Jared Pratt and choreography by Beth Cohrs.
Tickets will be available online and at the door. For adults, tickets are $12. For children under 12 and seniors, tickets are $10.
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