The journey of the cast and crew of the musical, Once Upon a Mattress, was anything but a good night’s rest. The cast had spills and slips throughout rehearsals and the songs haunted their dreams. However, on show night, they managed to bring everything together and pull off a show.

Chesney Allen, a woman who heard about the show through her piano students at Baldwin’s, shared her thoughts: “I thought it was interesting, as someone who has done productions before, to watch the talent of high school students. You can tell when something happens in a scene that wasn’t supposed to. You can also tell who will stand out and blossom. My favorite characters were the king, the minstrel, and the jester.” She mentioned the quality of the music and the talents of the pianist, Ms. Trummer, saying that she wasn’t particularly fond of the music. Not due to the people, but the music itself. She did, however, enjoy the song Sensitivity.

Behind the scenes

Cast and crew alike had their spills, but their glory outshines their mishaps. In order to juggle three-hour rehearsals for tech week* and homework, most members of the show lost sleep. Kennedy Pasley – who played Princess Winnifred – states that she’s been doing shows for four years, and this isn’t anything new for her. “It’s more than a couple nights of little sleep. I find myself doing the homework in weird places and falling asleep in even weirder ones. As a performer, it’s something that I’ve always had to do, so I just make it work somehow.”

Like the cold weather bringing sniffling noses, the musical brought worries to many cast members. One of the worries was becoming sick. “It seemed as if everyone around me was coming down with something and I was trying my best to stay healthy.” Said Kennedy.  Another worry included a common struggle among all theater shows – line memorization. Chase Gilpin – playing the part of Dauntless – and Kane Konkel – who played the fitting role of king, as he was crowned prom king last year – said that they had troubles with one scene in particular. “The man-to-man talk,” Chase said, “was worrying because I had to time the music with Kane while he was pantomiming.” In the end, the show ran smoothly.

Along with worry, people feel a sense of unity when working in the musical. Gabba Davidson – Lady Larken – said, “My favorite part of being in the musical is spending time with and growing closer to amazing people.” Chase mentioned that he liked the fact that he got to be in a really funny musical with his friends for his senior year, and that his mom did the same show her senior year. The performances are a powerful memory maker – bringing a new personality out of everyone on stage. Denty Calista – who played as a Lady in Waiting – said, “I loved performing in front of a lot of people and wearing a costume. I liked knowing the other students too.”

As show week comes to an end, seniors cry and the audience cheers. Minds are moving forward to the future. The spring play is highly anticipated as cast and crew quickly adjust for a new performance.