FA set to present ‘Once Upon a Mattress’ on Nov. 15-16
DOVER-FOXCROFT — Foxcroft Academy will be presenting the musical comedy “Once Upon a Mattress”, a Broadway show adapted from the Hans Christian Anderson fairy tale “The Princess and the Pea”, in the gymnasium at 7 p.m. on the evenings of Friday, Nov. 15, and Saturday, Nov. 16. The hilarious show will feature a large ensemble cast with seven principle roles — handled ably by Leah Word, Angelina Buzzelli, Aaron Provost, Nelson Chen, Jordan Marshall, Travis Vincent and Paul Birtwistle — and many other students contributing to excellent musical and dance numbers.
The production has emerged as a true collaborative effort, with director Josh Guthrie calling upon numerous departments to assist with the ambitious goal of hosting this year’s show on Foxcroft Academy grounds. Students from Jane Blay’s Art Club are painting all the backdrops, John Sylvester and his welding class are building a 20- by 40-foot motorized backdrop suspension system, Jack McLeod and his electronics class are wiring the suspension system while his woodworking class is building a 12-foot-tall bed, Brad Martin’s geometry class assisted in the planning and construction of a giant human-sized birdcage, Susan Stevens fixed all of the torn stage curtains and sewed two new 20- by 40-foot backdrops, the custodial staff is hanging new theater lighting and helping to fix all the curtains, and two students from Mia Morrison’s class — Ivy Zhang and Daniel Lee — created an excellent poster to help promote the show.
“This has been a real cross-curricular, interdisciplinary effort,” said Guthrie, “and I believe that many people around school are noticing what can be accomplished when we bring together a group of students and staff with this much collective talent and energy.” Guthrie was also quick to note that parents have stepped up in a big way, building some of the set pieces and donating a ton of paint, while Webber Ace Hardware has provided countless items at huge discounts and Pleasant River Lumber has donated all the wood needed to build props.
Including intermission, the show runs for approximately 150 minutes.