Once Upon a Mattress

Many moons ago, in a (not-so) far off place, Weber Drama Students put on their spring musical, Once Upon a Mattress. Port Washington families enjoyed a comedic retelling of The Princess and the Pea on March 21, 22, and 23, which required months of constant preparation, practice, and dedication. Whether it was putting the dance together for the grand finale, or blocking a short scene, none of it was easy. 

For those who haven’t seen the show, Once Upon a Mattress takes place in the year 1428. It is about a young prince, Dauntless, who is trying to get married, but the queen creates difficult tests to prevent this from happening. Until Princess Winnifred comes along. She is very different from your traditional princess, she even swam the moat! To see if she was a true princess, the queen placed one pea underneath 20 soft, downy mattresses. If the princess felt that pea and she stayed awake, then she was a true princess and could marry the prince. Fortunately, she did, and they all lived happily ever after.

In total, there were almost 130 people involved in the production, and it was spectacular. The Drama Club’s production was funded by HEARTS PW, an organization dedicated to funding and supporting the arts in Port Washington. This year, the program was given additional funding through the Gina Farasciano Community Theater Grant. In an email interview with Eric Gewirtz, the president of HEARTS PW, he shared that “This special fund was first established in 2020 following the passing of Gina Farasciano, and allows HEARTS PW to provide a grant for a community theater program each year in our grant program. With this special initiative, HEARTS PW helps keeps alive the memory and legacy of Gina Farasciano, a gifted actress and loving family member, who was involved in many community theater productions herself, including supporting arts funding. Each year’s grantee receives $1000 to support their program. HEARTS PW was proud to support the Weber Drama Club production this year.” 

When he was asked if he felt any special connection with this program, he said “This program was created around the time I took on the Board leadership role of HEARTS PW, and I am proud of the work we have done to raise money, provide funds to school and community groups to support live theater, and keep the legacy of Gina Farasciano alive so spirit can inspire others in the future.”

As the show came to a close, the dedication and teamwork of the Weber Drama Students were evident throughout the performances. Many individuals contributed to the success of the production, and their hard work did not go unnoticed. A thank you goes out to Mrs. Friedman and Mrs. Portmore-Davies for their hard work and dedication.

If you did not get a chance to see the show, you can watch it at tinyurl.com/burnettOUAM25 (Carol Burnett cast, pictured above) or at tinyurl.com/fosterOUAM25 (Sutton Foster cast). These links will not work on school Chromebooks. For more information, see the article on the YouTube Ban.