Once upon a time there was a manipulative queen, a mute
king, a son anxious for marriage, an equally anxious swamp princess, and…DISCO!
Hans Christian Andersen might not have envisioned this when he wrote The
Princess and the Pea, but he very well might have if he had come along a
century later. Fortunately creative director Jeremy Lapp and his equally
creative choreographer Amy Kiley were able to help him out, taking Mary
Rodgers’ quirky musical update of the Andersen fairy tale and jazzing it up
even further, briefly turning the weird, little fifteenth-century kingdom even
weirder in Christian Youth Theater’s first production of Once Upon a
Mattress. And it’s a highly successful debut.
The show has tremendous energy and clever humor from
beginning to end. You know it’s going to be fun and original from the start
what with a dumb blonde Princess #12 attempting to pass the queen’s test with Who
Wants to be a Millionaire background music, a flashy Sir Harry galloping in
to the castle via coconut shells out of Monty Python, and Princess Winnifred’s
big entrance that had her spraying the orchestra pit with water from the moat
she just swam.
A sharp cast is led by said Winnifred – or just “Fred” –
with Chelsea Lapp as the magnificent moat-swimming princess from the
soggy swamps, shining brightest during the hilarious Song of Love in
which she shows off her odd singing, instrument playing, miming, and wrestling
talents (the latter being much to the chagrin of melodramatically manly Sir
Harry (Christopher Ninness), as Fred fights a little dirty). Dana
Vincent is the unbearably vain and intimidating Queen Aggravain who you
love to hate at she holds the kingdom and her son in her grip with a powerful
voice and amusingly menacing manner (not to mention a slightly vain attraction
to mirrors).
Elsewhere, Nico Ramirez dazzles as the Jester,
adding highly original splashes of physical humor throughout. His talented twin
Emilio Ramirez and quiet king (Jeffrey Mull) team up for a
memorable trio in The Minstrel, the Jester and I. The cast is nicely
rounded out by Marshall Hattersley as boyish Prince Dauntless the Drab, Elizabeth
Phalen as the impatient Lady Larken who needs to get married fast, Daniel
Kendrick as gruff, elderly Wizard whose cauldron mixes by magic, and Kathryn
Martindale as the lullaby-singing Nightingale of Samarkand who looks and
acts like an bitter, washed-up nightclub singer. The energizing ensemble
completely buys into Amy Kiley’s imaginative choreography that includes
dancing with shields in Fred’s Shy dance (at one point using those
shields as Fred’s spinning extended skirt), amusing moves in a great Normandy
scene and Very Soft Shoes led by Nico Ramirez, and of course the
big Spanish Panic scene that turns this funky kingdom into a groovy
Discomania.
Performed through October 30, 2005.
Rob Hopper
San Diego Playbill
~ Cast ~
Minstrel: EMILIO RAMIREZ
Prince Dauntless: MARSHALL HATTERSLEY
Sir Harry: CHRISTOPHER NINNESS
Jester: NICO RAMIREZ
King Sextimus: JEFFREY MULL
Wizard: DANIEL KENDRICK
Princess Winnifred: CHELSEA LAPP
Lady Larkin: ELIZABETH PHALAN
Queen Aggravain: DANA VINCENT
LADIES IN WAITING:
Lady Rowena: MEAGAN FLINT
Lady Merrill: MOLLIE ESAU
Lady Lucille: MOLLY JOHNSON
Lady Maybell: ANNE SLAGILL
Other Ladies:
AMANDA GAMBLE
STEPHANIE BARTON
CAROLINE POE
SYDNIE CANTELON
JORDAN DELEON
COURTNEY LUKE
ERIKA ASCHBERGER
MACKENZIE MANNS
KNIGHTS:
Sir Studley: LONNIE RAMIREZ
Sir Luce: ZACHARY WIKHOLM
1st knight: KEVIN MCDONALD
2nd knight: KYLE HOHN
Phantom Jester: ZACHARY WIKHOLM
Kitchen Wench: KATHRYN MARTINDALE
Emily: Shannon Stovall
Nightengale: KATHRYN MARTINDALE
Princess #12: KALEY STINE
Royal Ensemble:
KAYLIN HALLAHAN
EMMA FLINT
BRITTANY HOPKINS
SHANNON PATE
JENNA BAILEY
KAYLYN HOPKINS
KELLY PLAISTED
SHANNON STOVALL
DANIELLE SANCHEZ
KATHRYN MARTINDALE
DANIELLE PUPA
Fairytale Characters:
Prince: JOHN TRUE
Cinderella: KALEY STINE
Godmother: CAMILLE KINDSCHI
Queen: AMY TIPPIN
Snow White: SARA SWANSON
Dwarfs:
SUMMER OLVERA
ANDY WALSH
BOBBY ALBRIGHT
HANNAH ELLIOTT
BRANDON LISAMA NGUYEN
HOLLY BARNHART
RACHEL PREDDY
Castle Staff:
CAMILLE KINDSCHI
MICHAEL DELARA
JEFF CROFTON
KALEY STINE
CHELSEA WYRICK
SARAH SWANSON
JOHN TRUE
AMY TIPPIN
ALYSSA MANEN
JESSICA MULL
BETHANY SWANSON
ALEXA DEEN
ASHLEY MCLAUGHLIN
RENEE KEVEN
ASHLEY MELTON
ANIKA KENION
PAYTON BOEH
LAURA PREDDY
SABRINA POMEROY
MEGAN MULVIHILL
MATTHEW FREUND
MICHAEL COVINGTON
MELISSA FOX
ALYSSA MANEN
Kids of the Court:
SUMMER OLVERA
ANGELI GUEST
EMILY JARDEL
ASHLEY CARTER
HOLLY BARNHART
KYRA AYALA
ALEXISS MCPHERSON
RACHEL PREDDY
CATHERINE JONES
HEATHER ARMSTONG
BRANDON LISAMA NGUYEN
NATALIE FULTON
CARA FILEY
HANNAH ELLIOTT
BOBBY ALBRIGHT
ANDY WALSH
SARAH COURSON
SHANNA FLORENCE
Director: Jeremy Lapp
Choreographer: Amy Kiley
Musical Director: Justin Kent
Lighting Design: Andrew Pomeroy
Sound Design: Larry Esau
Costume Design: Michele Ninness
Set Coordinators: Jim Phalan and Nick McNamer
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