Once Upon a Mattress
at Pacifica

Reviewed on April 28, 2017

Zachary Koenig
Brethren Christian
Submitted for publication to OC Varsity Arts

Pacifica's Once Upon a Mattress Consistently Pleases

Zachary Koenig is a Senior at Brethren Christian in Huntington Beach.

A fairy tale and fairy princess have many things in common. They should be prim, proper, have good morals, and always exceed expectations but never break from that mold. Challengers to that have little chance for survival in the cutthroat world of make believe.

Suppose, though, that an unusual girl shatters the status quo for princesses, steals a young prince's heart, and infuriates an overprotective queen. This usurps the normal, and is successfully done in a well acted musical spectacular with brilliantly harmonized voices in Once Upon a Mattress at Pacifica.

Kayla Wandelt as Princess Winnifred is this slightly clutzy, raunchy, yet delicate creature. Her powerful vocals are consistently put on display, and she hits every note asked of her to perfection. They are put to the test with the active role she takes regularly in scenes, performing pushups and crunches and other calisthenics and still maintaining her melodic voice. The physique is also captured in her facial expressions, as the exasperation evident on her face at the ridiculousness of the situation adds a humorous touch and aids in defining and shaping her character.

Her opposition Queen Aggravain, played by Jordan Small, provides ample opportunities for the out of place Winnifred to trip and disprove her mettle. Small's huge personality and booming voice help to emphasize the power behind the queen. She struts with authority and portrays her selfish and egotistical royalty with an aura of superiority.

Though the couple of Winnifred and Prince Dauntless (Andrew Case) is the most impactful, Sir Harry and Lady Larkin, portrayed by Evan DeCock and Megan McCall respectively, leads the way in sentimentality and shared physicality. Both appear comfortable around the other and their faces gleam to show the joy the young couple feels around each other. Their voices blend beautifully, as McCall's higher range is meshed with somewhat lower tones from DeCock, especially witnessed during "Yesterday I Loved You."

The costumes by Sarah White and Hope Miller, taking inspiration from steampunk, add a spunky dimension and zest the show with their creativity. From the hues of purple assigned to royalty to the subtle whites and blacks of the common folk, each costume is intricate thoughtful.

With the quality of actors, smooth voices, and aid from the costumes, Pacifica's Once Upon a Mattress creates a thoroughly well-crafted production that praises individuality by breaking the expected mold.

Micah Weightman
Brethren Christian
Submitted for publication to OC Varsity Arts

Pacifica's ‘Matress' is where dreams come true

Micah Weightman is a junior Brethren Christian in Huntington Beach.

The Pacifica High School Theater brings back the classic tale of the Princess and the Pea through the musically delightful "Once Upon A Mattress."

A gothic Minstrel enters carrying a black electric guitar. Played by Tressa Bair, she thoughtfully paces the stage, recalling the tale as she narrates the story's course of events.

Jordan Small plays the controlling Queen Aggravain with yelled commands and ear-piercing shrieks. Small brings out the Queen's prideful power as she creates impossibly difficult tests for her son's many possible wives.

The not-so-brave Prince Dauntless is played by Andrew Case, who desperately gets on his knees as he begs his mother to let him marry. The Prince's courage is developed as Case finally stands up to his restraining mother.

No help to the situation, the mute King Sextimus (Minjae Kim) gesticulates goofily with exaggerated expressions. Kim's over-the-top actions and sassy reactions brings humor to his silent character as his Queen continually rules over him.

Kayla Wandelt portrays the delightful Winnifred, strutting and giggling inprofessionally, much to the Queen's disdain. Wandelt's extroverted energy is shown through the ironic song "Shy," as she addresses the shocked royal court, loudly claiming to be quiet and soft-spoken. The true princess she is, Winnifred groggily stumbles from her bed chamber and complains about her lumpy mattress, comical with Wandelt's expressive actions.

The costumes, designed by Sarah White and Hope Miller, add a Steampunk feel to each of the characters in this medieval story. Adventurous characters wear dark, gothic outfits with metallic goggles around their necks. A contrast can be seen between the common folk and the King and Queen, who are dressed in dark purple to show their elite royalty.

The entire cast comes together with constant commitment to deliver this tale of courage, character and love in a quirky world.

Michaela Shields
Mission Viejo High School
Submitted for publication to OC Cappies Facebook Page

There's ‘An Opening for a Princess' at Pacifica

Michaela Shields is a Sophomore at Mission Viejo High School in Mission Viejo.

In a kingdom where nobody can get married until the prince has a royal bride and the queen is determined to ensure every princess fails her absurd tests, an untraditional princess ultimately wins the prince's hand and heart, effectively ending the queen's reign of terror.

Pacifica High School reenacts the quirky musical twist on ‘The Princess and the Pea' in Jay Thompson, Dean Fuller, and Marshall Barer's ‘Once Upon a Mattress,' with a few twists of their own.

As a retelling of the Minstrel's (Tressa Bair's) tale, she is pointedly present in most scenes, whether she speaks or not, creating an omnipresent, omniscient character. With so much stage time devoid of lines, Bair consciously keeps her character engaged, as she visibly reacts to the action unfolding before her.

As the Minstrel claims, Prince Dauntless falls in love with Princess Winnifred (Kayla Wandelt). Most memorable is Wandelt's impressive voice. Wandelt is consistently strong in all her songs, including the act one finale–which calls for dancing, drinking, and various abb workouts, all while singing– and ‘Shy,' where she is anything but shy as she quickly transitions from a shy persona to an overbearing one multiple times. Wandelt's performance as Princess Winnifred is both consistent and strong in every way.

Pacifica, also, has a strong group of supporting characters, as the ensemble is highly reactive throughout the show, and have many standout songs, including ‘An Opening for a Princess.' In addition to their wide vocal range, the ensemble members entered the audience and filled the stage in this number, creating a cohesive and powerful sound. Notably, the extremely fast paced and intense dancing in both Spanish Panic numbers is consistently replicated and refined.

The impressive acting and singing is supported by an interesting costume choice by Sarah White and Hope Miller, as this medieval musical is transposed into a steampunk kingdom. The costuming is especially reflective of the characters themselves, as colors and personality are assessed and utilized, with the royal family all wearing purple, the sweet Lady Larken wearing light colors, and the Minstrel being excessively steam punk. Costuming, also, seems to have two general rules– males wear goggles and females wear mid corsets–the continuity of which makes for an incredibly cohesive cast.

Altogether, the choices made by actors and techies alike create a strong last performance in Pacifica's theatre.