By Abby Lass
Managing Editor of Arts
From March 12 to March 15, Theater Ink, Newton North’s theater company, performed Once Upon a Mattress, a humorous and musical retelling of the classic tale, The Princess and the Pea.
The show is relatively classic in style, written by Jay Thompson, Dean Fuller, and Marshall Barer in 1959 with music by Mary Rodgers and Marshall Barer, but much of the humor is modern. Coming from South Stage’s overtly sensual production of The Rocky Horror Show, it was refreshing to hear people refer to “The Talk” as “a discussion of things” because they were too uncomfortable to say anything else. The innuendos are subtle enough to make this a family show but are definitely there to delight any teenager with a less than spotless mind.
Director Bradley Jensen gave the show a modern edge, from the open sass of Queen Aggravain, played by senior Elise Hausman, to King Sextimus the Silent’s hilarious charades, executed wholeheartedly by senior Jelani Asim. A personal highlight was when a tedious ball was interrupted by an incredibly energetic dance to “Shout” by the Isley Brothers, complete with a disco ball.
The set was a fairytale castle with an impressive array of secret passages that allowed for easy access to all points of the vast stage. The costumes were a stylish variety of storybook glamour with a modern twist.
What stood out most about this show was the high bar of talent and technical training exhibited by every single member of the cast. Every soloist, had stunning vocal capabilities and showed a distinct understanding of the style of their songs, from the brassy Winnifred, played by junior Amanda Kuo, to the light and airy Lady Larken, played by sophomore Liana Glennon. Each character seemed to possess a fully developed set of mannerisms and distinct vocal patterns, something that is extremely difficult to achieve, especially in large casts. The group dances were all lively and entertaining, but some of the smaller dance numbers, such as “Happily Ever After” and “Very Soft Shoes” showed an exceptionally polished and passionate set of dancers.
In such a huge and vastly talented cast it’s hard to pick any one standout, but The Minstrel and The Jester, played by seniors Jonathan Gomolka and Julia Techler respectively, definitely stood out in my mind. Gomolka’s gesticulations, from his opening explanation of the entire show to the smallest displays of displeasure at having his lute mishandled, were a perfect blend of hilarity and reality. Techler’s acting was spot-on and while I can’t say that her dancing abilities were necessarily underutilized, she demonstrated an intense musicality and physical presence that I would have loved to have seen more of.
While it may be unfair to this production, which was incredibly strong, I couldn’t help but note the datedness of some of the themes and comments within the show itself, especially after last year’s debacle with Thoroughly Modern Millie (North’s winter musical of 2014, which sparked some outrage within the community because of its overtly racist depiction of two Chinese characters, Ching Ho and Bun Foo).
Once Upon a Mattress does not deal with any racial stereotypes, but some of the plot points were incredibly sexist, especially in a show that had the chance to be so progressive. Most of my issues were with the Lady Larken and Sir Harry storyline, in which the two lovers get into a feud that only ends when Larken puts on something that “shows she’s a girl” and apologizes to Sir Harry, who never once takes responsibility for his part in the argument or mentions the fact that, during the several hours in which they were broken up, he took a French mistress who knew one word of English: Yes.
Even Winnifred, who is an incredibly modern, self sufficient young woman who actually spends an entire song showing off her ability to drink and lift weights, buckles under societal pressure in “Happily Ever After”, a song where she essentially concludes that she will never be happy if she doesn’t get married.
I don’t bring this up because I want to start another riot. I just think it’s interesting that, when I expressed my discomfort at these pieces of the storyline, my comments were met with slightly uncomfortable jokes and were ultimately cast aside because this show was written in 1959, a time when these depictions were socially and politically acceptable.
When I got home, I looked up when Thoroughly Modern Millie was first performed. It opened in 1956.
Now I understand the discomfort that the actors who had to portray poor Bun Foo and Chin Ho must have felt and I also empathize with those who felt that Theater Ink didn’t handle the situation as well as it could have, but I also think that we need to realize that these shows were written for audiences of their time period, and that those audiences had certain ideas about society that the writers felt obligated to uphold.
That’s not to say we need to perpetuate those ideas, but it’s important to make sure that we aren’t forced to shy away from these shows because some of the opinions they display are somewhat old fashioned. Sir Harry blaming Larken’s pregnancy on her having a “moment of weakness” did not make either of those actors any less talented or detract from any of the work that they put into these characters. I went to Once Upon a Mattress with a group of girls and we all had an amazing experience because we could acknowledge that a couple sexist comments didn’t have to ruin all the effort and joy that was being displayed on stage.
What’s important here is to recognize the purpose of theater, which is to get us to talk about and question our world. If a play or a musical can get us to open up about race relations, the role of women in society, or the idea of gender being a fluid construct, then those are the shows we should be performing and watching, even if they don’t have the most up-to-date terminology and politically correct point of view.
