Review: With 'Once Upon a Mattress,' dinner theater has a runaway hit
By NANCY STETSON
Forget anything you might have heard about Medieval times being the dark ages.
Because on the stage of the Naples Dinner Theatre, Medieval times are entertaining, madcap fun.
The venue's currently putting on a production of "Once Upon a Mattress," and under Michael Wainstein's direction, it's a night of zaniness and laughs.
"Once Upon a Mattress" is a fractured fairy tale retelling of "the Princess and the Pea." And while it's something families and kids can enjoy, adults will love it because it's a funhouse-mirror version of that old familiar tale.
Wainstein's picked a strong cast who knows how to deliver. Sheila Allen plays Queen Aggravain, an overly controlling woman with a motormouth and the ironclad belief that her way is the only way.
There's a wonderful scene in which the queen is lecturing her son nonstop. Wainstein makes clever use of the carousel — as it turns, the seasons actually change during her long monologue.
King Sextimus is as quiet as his wife is talkative. Looking like an older version of Harpo Marx, Dick Westlake plays the mute king who likes to chase the young maidens around the palace.
One highlight is the song "Man to Man Talk," in which the king explains the facts of life —without words — to his son Prince Dauntless. Westlake is so good he'll change you mind about mimes.
Stephen F. Agosto plays their son, Prince Dauntless. He wants to marry, but his mother has rejected all 12 princesses who've applied for the honor. Under the guise of wanting the best for her son, she's subjected them to tests they can't pass.
The queen doesn't want her son to marry; she wants to keep him around as a mama's boy. But no one in the kingdom can marry until the prince does, so they're all hoping he'll find a bride soon.
Agosto is perfect as Dauntless, childish and eager, a jangly bundle of romantic hopes, confusion and shyness.
During "Opening for a Princess" he sings:
"Alas! A lass is what I lack.
"I lack a lass; Alas! Alack!"
Sir Harry (Steven Arlen) wants to marry Lady Larken (Heather Stricker), so he volunteers to find a princess suitable for the prince. He returns with Princess Winifred the Woebegone (Shawna Hamic), an endearing, forthright, outspoken young woman who wins the heart of everyone except the queen.
"I like you! Everybody likes you," Prince Dauntless tells her at one point.
And Hamic is wonderful. The audience on opening night more than liked her — they absolutely adored her.
It's easy to see why. You can't help but love Hamic as she belts out "I've always been shy!" in "Shy" or sings a bluesy torch song in "Happily Ever After." And her wordless scene of tossing and turning on top of 20 mattresses (plus one pea) is priceless.
Hamic has great comedic talent. But she also has that quality that not only makes audiences believe she's her character but also makes them care about her. She has a spark and a zest that's irresistible.
When the ensemble's singing "Song Of Love," you also want to stand on a table and wave a banner that says "FRED!"
It didn't take long before the entire audience was rooting for her and Dauntless.
The musical starts a little slow, but pretty soon, it catches fire, and there is never a dull moment when Winifred or Dauntless are on stage.
"Once Upon a Mattress" has many outstanding moments, including the ensemble's Spanish Panic dance number, a frantic dance performed in double and triple time.
Choreographer Christopher Noffke also has his turn in the spotlight as the Jester, dancing a wistful soft-shoe.
The costumes, by Susie Hartman, are exceptional. They contribute greatly to the show's zaniness, from the queen's lavender, Marge Simpson-esque, towering bouffant to the umbrella that appears to sprout from the Jester's head to the bubblegum pink, limegreen and cobalt blue hair of some of the kingdom's subjects. And there's even a curtain rod resting on the queen's shoulders, which holds her red royal cape in place (certainly a homage to Carol Burnett, the original Princess Winifred, who later donned curtains and rod on television in her classic spoof of "Gone With the Wind.")
This is such a fun show I plan to see it again.
It appears the Naples Dinner Theatre has another runaway hit on its hands.
By NANCY STETSON
Forget anything you might have heard about Medieval times being the dark ages.
Because on the stage of the Naples Dinner Theatre, Medieval times are entertaining, madcap fun.
The venue's currently putting on a production of "Once Upon a Mattress," and under Michael Wainstein's direction, it's a night of zaniness and laughs.
"Once Upon a Mattress" is a fractured fairy tale retelling of "the Princess and the Pea." And while it's something families and kids can enjoy, adults will love it because it's a funhouse-mirror version of that old familiar tale.
Wainstein's picked a strong cast who knows how to deliver. Sheila Allen plays Queen Aggravain, an overly controlling woman with a motormouth and the ironclad belief that her way is the only way.
There's a wonderful scene in which the queen is lecturing her son nonstop. Wainstein makes clever use of the carousel — as it turns, the seasons actually change during her long monologue.
King Sextimus is as quiet as his wife is talkative. Looking like an older version of Harpo Marx, Dick Westlake plays the mute king who likes to chase the young maidens around the palace.
One highlight is the song "Man to Man Talk," in which the king explains the facts of life —without words — to his son Prince Dauntless. Westlake is so good he'll change you mind about mimes.
Stephen F. Agosto plays their son, Prince Dauntless. He wants to marry, but his mother has rejected all 12 princesses who've applied for the honor. Under the guise of wanting the best for her son, she's subjected them to tests they can't pass.
The queen doesn't want her son to marry; she wants to keep him around as a mama's boy. But no one in the kingdom can marry until the prince does, so they're all hoping he'll find a bride soon.
Agosto is perfect as Dauntless, childish and eager, a jangly bundle of romantic hopes, confusion and shyness.
During "Opening for a Princess" he sings:
"Alas! A lass is what I lack.
"I lack a lass; Alas! Alack!"
Sir Harry (Steven Arlen) wants to marry Lady Larken (Heather Stricker), so he volunteers to find a princess suitable for the prince. He returns with Princess Winifred the Woebegone (Shawna Hamic), an endearing, forthright, outspoken young woman who wins the heart of everyone except the queen.
"I like you! Everybody likes you," Prince Dauntless tells her at one point.
And Hamic is wonderful. The audience on opening night more than liked her — they absolutely adored her.
It's easy to see why. You can't help but love Hamic as she belts out "I've always been shy!" in "Shy" or sings a bluesy torch song in "Happily Ever After." And her wordless scene of tossing and turning on top of 20 mattresses (plus one pea) is priceless.
Hamic has great comedic talent. But she also has that quality that not only makes audiences believe she's her character but also makes them care about her. She has a spark and a zest that's irresistible.
When the ensemble's singing "Song Of Love," you also want to stand on a table and wave a banner that says "FRED!"
It didn't take long before the entire audience was rooting for her and Dauntless.
The musical starts a little slow, but pretty soon, it catches fire, and there is never a dull moment when Winifred or Dauntless are on stage.
"Once Upon a Mattress" has many outstanding moments, including the ensemble's Spanish Panic dance number, a frantic dance performed in double and triple time.
Choreographer Christopher Noffke also has his turn in the spotlight as the Jester, dancing a wistful soft-shoe.
The costumes, by Susie Hartman, are exceptional. They contribute greatly to the show's zaniness, from the queen's lavender, Marge Simpson-esque, towering bouffant to the umbrella that appears to sprout from the Jester's head to the bubblegum pink, limegreen and cobalt blue hair of some of the kingdom's subjects. And there's even a curtain rod resting on the queen's shoulders, which holds her red royal cape in place (certainly a homage to Carol Burnett, the original Princess Winifred, who later donned curtains and rod on television in her classic spoof of "Gone With the Wind.")
This is such a fun show I plan to see it again.
It appears the Naples Dinner Theatre has another runaway hit on its hands.