Fostoria Junior-Senior High presenting 'Once upon a Mattress'

FOSTORIA — Senior Colyn Carnahan and freshman Winnie Cobb acknowledged that a little more than a day's rest between projects would have been nice, but they're not complaining as they and their fellow students at Fostoria Junior/Senior High School transition from three performances of "Game of Tiaras" to preparations for the youth edition of the classic Broadway musical "Once Upon a Mattress."Performances of the musical are scheduled for 7:30 p.m. May 15 through 17 in the school's Wainwright Performing Arts Center. Tickets, priced at $12 for adults and $10 for senior citizens and students, will be available at the door."There's normal stuff that carries from a play into a musical, but there are a lot more things you have to think about (in a musical)," said Cobb, who, even at her young age, is a veteran of live theater. "Colyn and I both had, like, little roles in the play and now we're having bigger roles that we have to think more about — how our characters act, and just add a bit more."Lila Wolfe, the school's second-year choir director and also the director of "Game of Tiaras" and last spring's "Check, Please," has been pleased with how the cast members of "Game of Tiaras" have moved into the musical, as well as with the showings of newer students."It's going very well," she said. "it's a very tight turnaround, as we just saw each other at the play. We're a little more than three weeks out now from the play and the kids are doing great. We're pushing some really long rehearsals and we're doing six days a week. So, the kids are here frequently, but they're making the most of it. They're having a good time.""Once Upon a Mattress" gained several Tony Award nominations after it first appeared on stage in 1959, with Carol Burnett playing the heroine, Princess Winnifred, nicknamed "Fred." The story involves the search for a marital partner for Prince Dauntless, which would prompt the devious Queen Aggravain to allow her other subjects to marry. The plot was derived from a book written by Jay Thompson, Marshall Barer and Dean Fuller, with the music composed by Mary Rodgers. The book was a spinoff of Hans Christian Andersen's 1835 fairy tale, "The Princess and the Pea.""I didn't know how old it was," said Cobb, who plays Princess Winnifred. "I was really surprised. I told my grandma we were doing this and she said it's one of her favorites."The youth edition of "Once Upon a Mattress" cuts the original musical's two-hour running time in half and omits a small bit of perhaps PG-rated material. The time factor was most important in opting for the youth edition, Wolfe said. "Game of Tiaras" was originally planned to be staged in the fall, but that time was needed for the PAC to receive its new lights and curtains."I told them the full story (of 'Once Upon a Mattress') so they could get more of an idea of what was actually happening in the full musical," Wolfe said. "... With them understanding the full show — because they are high-schoolers, we could have done the full show if we had more time — but I think they're enjoying the story a little bit more because they're understanding 'we have to find the princess.' ..."They really enjoy it, I think. It's a fun story for them to tell and there are a few songs that they absolutely love to sing. I'll be sitting in my classroom and, while they're strolling down the hallway on their way to lunch, I'll hear, 'I'm in love with a girl named Fred,' just singing as they walk their way down. I'm, like, 'Thank you, thank you. I'm glad to see you're practicing in the hallway.' But it's pretty catchy stuff and they enjoy the story. They think it's pretty funny, and they make their inside jokes. I think they're having a good time with it."Indeed, Carnahan, who plays the Wizard, and Cobb enjoy being on stage and merging their own personalities with those of their characters."I feel like I'm less shy on stage, I guess," Carnahan said. "I feel like you can just make your own little personality on stage."Wolfe said Cobb's expressive explosions on stage contrast drastically with the quiet student she sees in her classroom."I just love the feeling of being on stage and performing," said Cobb, who explained her quietness in class as being "focused." "It's so easy to just be happy and be excited about that."For Wolfe, this is her first time directing a musical, so she chose to go with a familiar production. While she's acted in a number of musicals, "Once Upon a Mattress" is not among them. But she watched it on stage as a student at Ashland University, with her best friend playing Princess Winnifred."And I still talk to her every day," Wolfe said. "I'm able to go, 'Katie, what happened?' And she will help me through everything."Thaddieus Switzer-Vande Velde plays the male lead, Prince Dauntless, opposite Cobb's Princess Winnifred. Filling other individual roles are Sarah Hillard, Anthony McIlwain, Brianna Smith, Royal Ferguson, Owen Shatzer, Evelyn Guernsey, Regyn Robinson, Imani Camp, Lydia Morse, Adelayde Guernsey, Ciarah Nyamwaro, Gabe Flinders, Ella Holmes and Brin Weidner. Ensemble members are Alex Brickner, Brayden Stewart, Cheyne Cunningham, Iry Turner, Morrigan Flinders, Layla Metzger and Riley Hunker. "it's a great time," Wolfe said. "I'm super excited for everyone to come see it. With it being my first musical that I'm directing, I'm really proud of all the help we've had, community-wise. Erica Kauffman's our choreographer. She's having a great time with the kids; she's made some great dances and we've still got a couple of more we've got to choreograph. "I just think it's going to be a hoot. I want everyone to come see it. ... I'm having such a great time. The kids are thoroughly enjoying it. I'm learning in the process of them learning and I'm super excited for everyone to come see it."