ONCE UPON A MATTRESS

Upon re-reading the script after several years, the speed of the language and humor struck me. The roots of that are found in vaudeville and these characters were taking shape in my mind as those archetypes (The Minstrel as the Singer, the Jester as the Dancer, the King as the Silent Clown, the Wizard as the Magician, and so on). The set design paid homage to the great vaudeville houses and the minimal nature of it allowed for the quick transitions necessary to keep this production moving. The cast and I looked to the past, from vaudeville to the foundation of musical comedy, to make this production bigger, louder, faster and funnier than anything they performed before.