Once Upon a Mattress – Theater der Jugend, Vienna

Jana Stelley in Once Upon a Mattress at Theater der Jugend, Vienna

Winnifred oder die Prinzessin auf der Erbse (Once Upon a Mattress) continues at the Theater der Jugend, Vienna until 25 January, 2014.

Even though the Theater der Jugend, Vienna’s number one when it comes to theatre for children and teenagers, is known for mostly presenting plays, the venue has surprised audiences this season with a musical.

Director Werner Sobotka has joined forces with choreographer Simon Eichenberger once again to present the Austrian premiere of the Mary Rodgers/Marshall Barer-penned Once Upon a Mattress, with a book by Barer, Jay Thompson and Dean Fuller, in a translation by Sonja Martin and Frank Bücheler, entitled Winnifred oder die Prinzessin auf der Erbse. The show is a musical retelling of the Hans Christian Andersen classic The Princess and the Pea.

In this modern retelling of the famous tale, Königin Migräne, the evil queen, tries to find the perfect princess for her son, Prinz Furchtlos. To do so, she invites princesses with potential to participate in a Who Wants to be a Millionaire?–type quiz. Even though they seem shaky at first, the contenders get most of the answers right, except for the last one.

In the meantime, Sir Harry and Lady Lerche want to get married, but they can only do so once the Prince has found a bride. Sir Harry sets out to find a suitable Princess for Prinz Furtchtlos and discovers Winnifred, with whom the prince falls instantly in love. She might have all of the right prerequisites to marry a future king, but the queen still tries to trick her by making her sleep in a bed of 20 mattresses, within which is hidden a pea. Only a real princess won’t be able to sleep on a bed like this, but to top it all she gives her a drink which should put her to sleep right away. Winnifred, however, can’t sleep at all, and the queen’s plan fails. This means that there is a happy ending for everyone, except for the queen, who not only fails in her plans, but also loses the sense of speech, while König Sextimus, who had been cursed and couldn’t speak, receives his voice back.

Jana Stelley is a wonderful Winnifred. Her singing is lovely and she is instantly likeable. Stefan Konrad is amusing as Prinz Furchtlos, while Steffi Paschke is an amazing Königin Migräne – evil, funny and in great voice. Sophia Gorgi shines as Lady Lerche. This is one of her first big roles and she is very sweet and harmonises well with Julian Looman (Sir Harry). The latter is funny, flamboyant and very much in love with himself, which works very well. Christian Graf does a good job in the role of the magician. The cast also includes Adnan Mike Taha (the King), Lukas Rose Ruziczka (the minstrel), Daniela Lehner, Alixa Kalasz, Michael Mayer, Kevin Perry, Lukas Strasser and Sarah Baum.

Werner Sobotka is Austria’s number one director of comedies and musical comedies, and this hilarious production is just another confirmation of that. Simon Eichenberger’s choreography is fast-paced, modern and funny.

Christian Frank, who has previously worked on many other Sobotka productions, serves as musical director. The show features beautiful, fairy tale-like sets by Roswitha Wilding-Meisel and lighting design by Michael Grundner. The colourful, somewhat modern, but lovely costumes are designed by another member of ‘Team Sobotka’, Elisabeth Gressel.

Ludovico Lucchesi Palli

www.tdj.at/spielplan/kalender/s/winnifred-oder-die-prinzessin-auf-der-erbse/