Opening night success

By Kristi Lambert

Family, friends and community members gathered in Logan High School’s auditorium on Nov. 18 for the opening night of the musical “Once Upon a Mattress.” LHS’s Theatre Department retold the fairytale of “The Princess and the Pea” with a comedic twist.

“I like her Mama, she swam the moat,” said Prince Dauntless, played by Tyler Homer.

The moat swimming princess, Winnifred the Woebegone, played by MarKaye Hassan has put a kink in the queen’s plan. In an effort to maintain her thrown, Queen Aggravain, played by Katie Francis, vowed to never let her son get married. Princess Winnifred must pass the queen’s sensitivity test involving 20 downy mattresses and a pea in order to fill the opening for a princess.

Brett and Jenae Butler have been supporting the art programs at LHS for many years. They came to hear their daughter, a violist in the orchestra. Both were in awe with how hard the cast, orchestra and directors worked to polish this production.

“It was extremely well done. A lot of heart and a lot of effort was put into this,” Brett Butler said. 

“They’ve been here until 10 every night this week.”

“With all the cuts in the art programs, it’s nice to see that we have the arts still here at Logan High,” Jenae Butler said. “It’s entertaining and the quality of the arts in the school district is impressive.”

Melody Francis came to watch her daughter perform on the stage.

“I’m so very proud of Katie,” Francis said. “It’s fun to see how she’s developed. Since she was tiny she’s enjoyed the spotlight.”

“I liked Katie,” seven-year-old Claire Francis said.

Claire Francis wasn’t the only one who enjoyed her sister’s performance. As juniors at Utah State University, both Bradin Hanson and Angel Peatross agreed that the leads were amazing.

“At first I didn’t think I would be impressed because it was a high school play, but then I was,” Hanson said.

“The leads stole the show and the orchestra was great,” said Peatross.

The excitement of the cast mimicked that of the audience.

“Opening night went great, spectacular, wonderful. All of the pronouns I can think of,” said Josh Higham, who plays the Jester.

“The audience was brilliant, which always helps,” said Hassan, who played Princess Winnifred.

With a 10 minute intermission, the musical ran for about two and half-hours. Mitzi Mecham, the theatre department’s director, said that despite technical problems with the sound board, the overall performance was a success. In 24 musicals, this is Mecham’s second time directing “Once Upon a Mattress.”

“They are amazing,” Mecham said.

Mecham estimated that 700 to 750 people came to the play opening night. Because LHS’s Theatre Department is self-funded, it relies on the revenue made from the productions to pay for itself. Including royalties, $2,500 was spent on this year’s production. However, that total does not include the cost of costumes or props. Mecham said that the department usually breaks even due to ticket revenue and the support from various sponsors.  

“If we don’t make money, we don’t have money,” Mecham said.

(D. Van Dyke)