RANGELEY – The Rangeley Friends of the Arts to present Once Upon A Mattress based on the fairy tale The Princess and the Pea. This musical comedy with music by Mary Rodgers, lyrics by Marshall Barer and book by Jay Thompson, Dean Fuller, and Marshall Barer has delighted audiences since 1959.
The summer musical Once Upon A Mattress will be held at Lakeside Theater June 29 through July 2. If you thought you knew the story of ‘The Princess and The Pea,’ you may be in for a walloping surprise!
Due to an unhappy curse, King Sextimus (Les Hoekstra) is unable to speak. Meanwhile, his terror of a wife, Queen Aggravian (Erin Smith), has taken over control of the kingdom. Most importantly, in an attempt to keep Prince Dauntless (Zach Durand) single, she has decreed that only the princess that can pass her test may marry her son. Further, no one else in the kingdom may marry until Prince Dauntless does. Luckily, Sir Harry is able to find an amazing princess, Winnifred the Woebegone (Jaycee Mullen).
She instantly catches the attention of Prince Dauntless, and in the end, is able to pass the Queen’s supposedly impassable sensitivity test. When the Queen still tries to prevent the Prince Dauntless from marrying, he tells her to ‘shut up’ which ends up breaking the curse on the king. Now able to speak, King Sextimus regains his rightful position as leader of the kingdom, and all is well.
Reserved seat tickets ($15) are available at the Rangeley Lakes Chamber of Commerce on Park Street in Rangeley 864-5364.
