Aspen Community Theatre brings the laughs with ‘Once Upon a Mattress’

Aspen Community Theatre (ACT) is gearing up for its production of “Once Upon A Mattress,” a modern interpretation of “The Princess and The Pea” that opens Oct. 27 at the Wheeler Opera House.

“Once Upon A Mattress,” made famous in 1959 by Carol Burnett and with an upcoming Broadway production starring Sutton Foster, is a humorous take on the Hans Christian Anderson’s fairytale, where the mother of a prince buries a pea under a large stack of mattresses to confirm the girl her son marries is an actual princess. 

The show follows Prince Dauntless, who is looking for a wife, but who is not allowed to marry any girl who cannot pass the queen’s tests. No one in the kingdom is allowed to get married until the prince marries. But when Lady Larken discovers she is pregnant, Sir Harry goes on a quest to find Prince Dauntless a wife, so Sir Harry can marry Lady Larken and remain in the kingdom.

Most of the actors will agree it’s the silliest show they’ve been in, and one made for all audiences.

“We started laughing a month ago when people were hitting their laugh lines, and it’ll be interesting to see if they’re still as funny as we thought they were when the audience hears them for the first time,” said Producer Travis McDiffett, who plays the minstrel in the show.

Director Lynette Schlepp chose “Once Upon A Mattress” because it is one of her favorite shows. It’s a show she has a long history with: She previously acted in the show, helped her husband co-direct a production of it, her brother performed in a high school production of it, and the first time she was in the show was when she met her husband.

Because there is a more subtle set design, it’s a show that forces the audience to focus more on the characters and their relationships with one another, Schlepp said.

“It’s more about the people,” she said. “It doesn’t have a lot to it; it’s the people and the choreography, and the characters that are created.”

Julia Whalen leads the show as Princess Winnifred the Woebegone. It’s her second show with ACT.

“I feel as though I’m more of a supporting role girl, and so this has been really fun to take more of a leadership role,” Whalen said. “But again, it’s such an ensemble-heavy show that it’s really just all about being the best puzzle piece that I can be.”

Sharing the spotlight with Whalen is Joshua Adamson, who plays Prince Dauntless. “Once Upon A Mattress” is Adamson’s first show with ACT and one of his first times in a comedy.

“I’m usually on stage doing plays and dramatic work,” he said. “I think it’s just like really giving into the tropes and the campiness that we’re told not to do in certain pieces, but in this one, it really just is so effective.”

Allison Fifield, who plays Lady Larken, is excited to do a show that is also geared toward children. Fifield is a drama teacher at Aspen Country Day School and is looking forward to her students watching her perform in the musical.

It’s a great way to introduce children to the theater community in Aspen, she said.

“The story is fun; it’s silly, it’s great for kids, and it’s full of love, which I really love to do,” she said.

It’s ACT’s first show since longtime producer Rita Hunter died in July. She produced or co-produced more than 50 shows with ACT. The cast and crew felt Hunter’s absence when preparing for “Once Upon A Mattress,” McDiffett said. 

“One of the challenges of being a producer was discovering just how much she handled without you knowing,” he said.

“We’re doing this in the spirit of Rita Hunter,” added choreographer Charlie Fields. “She was the biggest force in Aspen Community Theater, and we’re sad this is the first show she’s not here for.”

The show opens 7 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 27, with two more showings that weekend at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 28 and 2 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 29. It continues the following weekend, with two 7 p.m. shows on Nov. 3 and 4, and one 2 p.m. show on Sunday, Nov. 5.

Tickets are available at aspencommunitytheatre.org.