Stage Movement Review

Toby Yount

Stage Movement

Jenn Zuko

Once Upon a Mattress Movement Review

I saw Metropolitan State University of Denver’s Production of Once Upon a Mattress. I am not a huge fan of old school musicals but that being said I did enjoy the physical movements of the ensemble of the cast and one particular character King Sextimus played by Michael Rossitto.

A brief summary of the play it is inspired by the fairy tale Princess and the Pea and the basic premise is everyone wants to have sex but they can’t because of Queen Aggravain rule that no one can have sex until her son Prince Dauntless finds a suitable princess that can pass one of the Queens tests. Then a possible candidate arrives going by the name Princess Winnifred but will she pass the Queens test? Will find about it by singing about it hilarity ensues and everyone gets to bone in the end except the queen. Yay boning!!

So the ensemble had really great movement throughout all the choreography they all did a really great job and based on the each of the characters movements it was mainly buoyancy with some radiance energy to keep the pacing up and not give the audience too much to rest because most of the comedy is rapid fire and not a lot of slow jokes. The famous one I can remember clearly is when they were doing a dance in an attempt to tire out Princess Winnifred with the song “Spanish Panic.” I was impressed that each ensemble member had a different way of showing that they were getting tired through their body. It added a lot of layers in a song that probably didn’t need it but it was a nice touch.

Now let me talk about King Sextiumus. His character is interesting because until the end of the play he doesn’t talk because of a curse that happened to him before the play started. So he had to complete reliance on his body and facial expressions. So he used a lot of clowning to help the performance come through. He did a really good job of taking extra steps to show us what he was trying to communicate. You can tell he was a pervert but a good hearted one because he wanted to help Dauntless and end this nightmare his wife has put the kingdom through. One scene I remember in particular was when he had to use his body without being too overly crude explaining to his son what sex is and where babies work. It was hilarious seeing his patience slowly lose but trying to keep it PG even though it was clear his song was having trouble getting it. Then when he finally gets the payoff and relief he got in his face was well earned and made the whole moment have that much more impact.

Not my favorite musical or play by any means but I did enjoy the care that went into. As someone who would say they are an amateur comedy critic having that kind of commitment to the body and through the choreography can make a night and difference and can make even a show I don’t particularly like still very enjoyable. So I applaud the people and their efforts on this play!