April 13, 2006

Principal cast members in the YSHS Drama Club’s spring musical, Once Upon a Mattress, are, in front from left, Elizabeth Brown, Rebecca Guest, Rosa Dixon and Lara Donnelly; in back from left, Nathan Day, Aaron Zaremsky, Peter Keahey and Toby Cromer. Performances take place Friday through Sunday, April 21–13 and April 28–30, in the Mills Lawn Auditorium.

By Diane Chiddister

Once Upon a Mattress, the Yellow Springs High School Drama Club spring musical which will debut next weekend is, according to cast member Rosa Dixon, “light, cute and fun.”

Mary Hyde, also a member of the cast, describes the play as “a fairy tale made into a ridiculous comedy.”

Director Carol Allin sees the play as “a goofy little thing,” and cast member Peter Keahey points out that in the play “all the dudes wear tights.”

Once Upon a Mattress will be presented Fridays–Sundays, April 21–13 and April 28–30, in the Mills Lawn Auditorium. The Friday and Saturday shows begin at 8 p.m. and the Sunday matinees take place at 2 p.m.

The show is directed by Allin, with musical direction by Michael Weller and choreography by Ali Thomas and Becky Brunsman.

Those who attend the musical will be transported into a zany and somewhat twisted medieval world full of swooning damsels, motley mummers, a mean queen, a mute king, a dauntless prince and many princesses looking for a husband.

Loosely based on the fairy tale, “The Princess and the Pea,” the story revolves around Queen Aggravain (Elizabeth Brown) who is determined to keep her son, Prince Dauntless (Nathan Day) unmarried; to accomplish this feat, she creates impossible tests for the many princesses who seek his hand. But the queen meets her match in the single-minded Princess Winifred (Rebecca Guest) who swims the moat to the castle.

Other principals in the cast are the Minstrel (Lara Donnelly), the Wizard (Toby Cromer), the Jester (Aaron Zaremsky), Sir Harry (Peter Keahey) and Lady Larken (Rosa Dixon).

Also in the cast are YSHS and McKinney School students Max Fleishman, Meg Hild, Miriam Barcus, Mary Hyde, Simon Freeman, Kevin Mayer, Michelle Click, Stephanie Goode, Laura Hyde, Liz Zaff, Adam Zaremsky, Elliot Cromer, Laura Westendorf, Anne Weigand and Malaika Carver-Halley.

Students working on tech crewsinclude assistant director Niquelle Orr, Liz Brown, Tyler Johnson, Liz Zaff, Claire Triplett, Dylan Clonch, Erin Silvert-Noftle, Marina Casson, Rose Pelzl and Michaela McCuddy. The orchestra members are Tina Chen, Greg Dewey, Whitney Finster, James Goodrick, Andy Holyoke, Michaela McCuddy and Eric Rudolf.

Allin loves comedies, she said in a recent interview. She worries that in a world troubled by terrorism, global warming and endless civil wars, “it sometimes seems that it’s politically incorrect to laugh.” But Allin begs to differ with those who disdain laughter.

“We must remember how to be joyful,” she said. “It doesn’t mean we’re turning a blind eye to humanity’s problems.”

“Once Upon a Mattress” holds a special place in Allin’s heart, because as a senior in high school she appeared in a production of the play. The musical originally opened on Broadway in 1959, and launched the career of comedienne Carol Burnett, according to Allin.

While this is the first local production directed by Allin, she has stellar credentials as an audience member, having attended countless local productions in which her son, 2005 YSHS graduate Charlie Cromer, acted. Their older brother’s legacy is being continued by Allin’s two younger sons, Toby and Elliot, who are both in the play.

Married to actor Bruce Cromer, Allin received a BFA in theatre arts from Wright State University. After college, the couple moved to the Seattle area, where they were involved in theater, and then to Alabama, where they took part in the Alabama Shakespeare Company. After moving to Yellow Springs in 1991 with her family, Allin focused on raising her children. Now that they are older, she has ventured back into the world of theater, and directed several productions at Centerville’s Town Hall theater, among other places.

While directing a school musical is a “huge undertaking,” which has awakened her many nights at 3 a.m. with the play’s songs ringing in her ears, Allin said she is excited to be working with such a talented young cast. She is also grateful for the support she receives from the young actors’ parents, along with the board members of the Yellow Springs Theatre Arts Association.

“I’m already really proud of all the kids,” she said last week. “And the grownups, too.”

Tickets for the production are $7 for adults and $5 for students and seniors. For reservations, call 767-1105.

Contact: dchiddister@ysnews.com