Theater Critique
Once Upon a Mattress – Theatre Critique
A musical parody on the classic bedtime story, The Princess and the Pea, Once upon a Mattress takes a less serious but all the more hilarious take on the famous princess tale. For a matinee session this past Sunday, the Players at the Wimberley Playhouse in the quaint and exuberant hill country town of Wimberley, Texas, performed this parody for a small local audience at their theatre. The production may have been small, and the stage may not have been the biggest or most expensive (or the most cooperative, for that matter), but the play brought just as many laughs and provided just as much joy as any Broadway production. For actors who may not consider themselves “professional” actors and actresses, their performances were great in their own regard, but maybe not up to par with someone who is considered to be a professional. The vocal performances given were fantastic from some of the actors, mainly the main characters such as the Minstrel, who’s “Many Moon’s Ago” could be compared alongside some of her New York companions. The ensemble, however, wasn’t in the least bit as flattering to the ear. Their performances were mediocre at best, and unfortunately reminded the audience, including myself, that they were in fact listening to a semi-pro cast, made up of high school students and part-timers. In respect to how the play was performed, the cast did a wonderful job portraying the characters from the original Broadway show. Each of the actors and actresses in the performance made their part seem believe-able and it was easy for the audience members to feel like they had dived right into a real-life scenario, rather than watching performers pretending to be something whom they are not. It was refreshing for me to be able to go to such a quaint little theatre production and see acting of that quality. Unfortunately, at a lower-budget theatre like the Wimberley Playhouse, the production team is not allowed to spend Bo
A musical parody on the classic bedtime story, The Princess and the Pea, Once upon a Mattress takes a less serious but all the more hilarious take on the famous princess tale. For a matinee session this past Sunday, the Players at the Wimberley Playhouse in the quaint and exuberant hill country town of Wimberley, Texas, performed this parody for a small local audience at their theatre. The production may have been small, and the stage may not have been the biggest or most expensive (or the most cooperative, for that matter), but the play brought just as many laughs and provided just as much joy as any Broadway production. For actors who may not consider themselves “professional” actors and actresses, their performances were great in their own regard, but maybe not up to par with someone who is considered to be a professional. The vocal performances given were fantastic from some of the actors, mainly the main characters such as the Minstrel, who’s “Many Moon’s Ago” could be compared alongside some of her New York companions. The ensemble, however, wasn’t in the least bit as flattering to the ear. Their performances were mediocre at best, and unfortunately reminded the audience, including myself, that they were in fact listening to a semi-pro cast, made up of high school students and part-timers. In respect to how the play was performed, the cast did a wonderful job portraying the characters from the original Broadway show. Each of the actors and actresses in the performance made their part seem believe-able and it was easy for the audience members to feel like they had dived right into a real-life scenario, rather than watching performers pretending to be something whom they are not. It was refreshing for me to be able to go to such a quaint little theatre production and see acting of that quality. Unfortunately, at a lower-budget theatre like the Wimberley Playhouse, the production team is not allowed to spend Bo