Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre’s third show of the 2021-’22 season will be the hilarious musical comedy ONCE UPON A MATTRESS – a rowdy and mildly adult twist on Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Princess and the Pea.” This “fractured fairy tale” will be directed by one of Chicago’s funniest ladies, Landree Fleming. Fleming has played such classically comic musical theater roles as Penny in HAIRSPRAY (at Paramount Theatre), Frenchy in GREASE, and Kira in XANADU (the latter two at American Theater Company). Fleming does stand-up comedy, performs with her musical sketch comedy group Off Off Broadzway, and appears on her podcast Deep Dish. She was Assistant Director for BEAUTY AND THE BEAST (Paramount), NOISES OFF (Windy City Playhouse), and FIRST LADY SUITE (Circle Theatre).
Joining Fleming on the creative team will be Jeff Award winners Jenna Schoppe as Choreographer and Theo Ubique Resident Music Director Jeremy Ramey. ONCE UPON A MATTRESS will be performed March 11 – May 1, 2022. Press opening performances are Sunday, March 20, 2022, at 7:00 pm and Monday, March 21, 2022, at 7:30 pm.
In this offbeat version of Andersen’s fairy tale, the domineering Queen Aggravain has created impossible tests of any princess who might seek to marry her son, Prince Dauntless. This is a problem for the people of the kingdom, as the Queen has decreed no one shall marry until Prince Dauntless is wed. It’s a particular problem for the leading knight of the realm, Sir Harry, who discovers that his girlfriend, Lady Larken, is pregnant. When Winnifred the Woebegone arrives, this brash and unrefined princess from the marshlands becomes the last best hope of the Kingdom to end Queen Aggravain’s virtual ban on marriage.
Leading the cast as Winnifred is Sonia Goldberg (she/they), an actress, writer, musician, and teaching artist who last fall was the understudy for Bethany Thomas in Northlight Theatre’s acclaimed one-woman musical SONGS FOR NOBODIES. Goldberg followed that assignment as the easily fooled Malvolio in Midsommer Flight’s TWELFTH NIGHT. Queen Aggravain will be played by Anne Sheridan Smith (she/her), whose many credits include SOUTHERN GOTHIC with Windy City Playhouse and FUN HOME with Victory Gardens. Prince Dauntless, the son against whom Queen Aggravain plots to keep him an ineligible bachelor, will be played by August Forman (they/them), winner of a Jeff Award for supporting actor in GIRL IN THE RED CORNER for Broken Nose Theatre, where they are an ensemble member.
The anxious couple Sir Harry and Lady Larkin will be AMDA graduate Michael Metcalf (he/him) and Parker Guidry (they/them). Guidry was seen pre-pandemic in Kokandy Productions’ HEAD OVER HEELS. The cast also will include Andrew Fortman (he/him, King Sextimus the Silent), Michael M. Ashford (he/him, Jester), Jasmine Lacy Young (she/her, Poet), J Alan (J/her, Wizard/Dance Captain), Sarah J. Patin (they/she, ensemble, U/S Winnifred and Poet), Nathe Rowebotham (they/them, ensemble, U/S Jester, Wizard), Peter Ruger (he/him, ensemble, U/S Harry, Dauntless, King), and Laura Sportiello (she/her, ensemble, U/S Lady Larkin, Queen Aggravain).
Click here or on image below to download cast headshot grid.
Top row L-R: J Alan, Michael M. Ashford, August Forman, Andrew Fortman, Sonia Goldberg.
Middle row L-R: Parker Guidry, Michael Metcalf, Sarah J. Patin, Nathe Rowbotham, Peter Ruger.
Bottom row L-R: Anne Sheridan Smith, Laura Sportiello, Jasmine Lacy Young.
The production team will include Mara Ishihara Zinky (she/her, Scenic Designer), Uriel Gómez (he/him, Costume Designer), Piper Kirchhofer (she/her, Lighting Designer), Rick Sims (he/him, Sound Designer), Rowan Doe (they/he, Props Designer), Evan Tyrone Martin (he/him, Asst. Director), J Alan (J/her, Asst. Choreographer), Nicholas Reinhart (he/him, Production Manager), Jayce Lewis (they/them, Stage Manager), Amy Rappa (Asst. Stage Manager), Macy Kloville (she/her, Audio Engineer), Christopher Pazdernik (any, Managing Director/Casting Director), and Fred Anzevino (he/him, Artistic Director).
ONCE UPON A MATTRESS began its life in 1958 as a 45-minute comedy sketch at an adult summer camp, with music by Mary Rodgers (Richard Rodgers’ daughter) and lyricist/librettists Marshall Barer and Jay Thompson. Though intended for only a one-week run, it was held over and got the attention of New York producers who mounted an expanded version of it off-Broadway in 1959. The show transferred to Broadway later that year, where it was directed by the legendary George Abbott and starred a young Carol Burnett as Winnifred. It played on Broadway for over a year, moving between five different theaters and receiving Tony Award nominations for Best Musical and Best Actress (Carol Burnett). After the close of the Broadway run, it was produced for television, first in 1964 and again in 1972, with Ms. Burnett reprising her role both times. It was revived on Broadway in 1995, with Sarah Jessica Parker starring as Winnifred.
Single tickets for ONCE UPON A MATTRESS will go on sale beginning February 9 at www.theo-u.com. Prices are $35.00 for previews March 11-20, and $42.00- $54.00 for regular performances March 24-May 1. Optional three course prix fixe dinners are available for $29.00 per person, per show. Dinner reservations must be placed one week in advance of the desired performance date.
Theo Ubique is requiring all audience members to be fully vaccinated from COVID-19 this season. Photo ID and proof of vaccination (photos or photocopies are acceptable) will be required at the door.
LISTING INFORMATION
ONCE UPON A MATTRESS
Music by Mary Rodgers; Book by Jay Thompson, Dean Fuller, and Marshall Barer;
Lyrics by Marshall Barer
Directed by Landree Fleming
Music Direction by Jeremy Ramey
Choreography by Jenna Schoppe
March 11 – May 1, 2022
Press Opening Sunday, March 20, 2022, at 7 pm and Monday, March 21, 2022, at 7:30 pm
Ticket prices previews (Fridays – Sundays, March 11-20): All seats $35.00
Ticket prices regular run (Thursdays – Sundays March 24 – May 1): Thurs. & Sun. $42.00 bar seats, $45.00 riser seats, $50.00 table seats; Fri & Sat: $46.00 bar seats, $49.00 riser seats, $54.00 table seats. Dinner is $29.00 additional, with reservations required one week in advance.
Senior discount (65+) $5.00 off ticket prices.
(Starting one hour before curtain, all unsold seats will be released for $20.00)
Curtain Times: Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 7:30 pm; Sundays at 7:00 pm.
All performances will be held at the Howard Street Theatre, 721 Howard Street, Evanston
More information at www.theo-u.com or by phone at 773-939-4101 Weds-Sun Noon – 5 pm.
Theo Ubique is requiring all audience members to be fully vaccinated from COVID-19 this season. Photo ID and proof of vaccination (photos or photocopies are acceptable) will be required at the door.
Winnifred the Woebegone is just a simple swamp princess looking to win the heart of Prince Dauntless. But can she pass the impossible test Queen Aggravain has in store for her? Carried on a wave of wonderful songs, by turns hilarious and raucous, romantic and melodic, this rollicking spin on the classic tale “The Princess and the Pea” provides some side-splitting shenanigans.
BIOS
Landree Fleming (She/Hers, Director) She has assisted on productions for Paramount Theatre, Windy City Playhouse, and Circle Theatre. Select Chicago acting credits include Frenchy in GREASE (Marriott Theatre) Kira in XANADU (American Theater Company), Penny in HAIRSPRAY (Paramount Theatre), and Ira Glass in the staged reading of WAIT, WAIT, DON’T KILL ME! at Chicago Shakespeare Theater. She’s also worked at Drury Lane, Porchlight Music Theatre, Theatre at the Center, Griffin Theatre, and Adventure Stage Chicago. She’s appeared on CHICAGO P.D., CHICAGO MED, and is a member of the podcast ENCOUNTER PARTY!, whose Season 1 spent 7+ weeks on Apple Podcast’s New & Noteworthy Charts, and Season 2 has charted in 50 countries for Comedy Fiction.
Jeremy Ramey (He/Him, Resident Music Director) is a concert pianist, conductor and music director based in Chicago. In 2019, Jeremy received his tenth Jeff nomination and sixth Jeff Award for his work on THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY. He had previously received Jeff awards for THE LIGHT IN THE PIAZZA, SMOKEY JOE’S CAFE, RENT, and THE MOST HAPPY FELLA, all with Theo Ubique. In 2016, he won his second Broadway World Award for Music Direction for his work on BETTE, LIVE AT THE CONTINENTAL BATHS with the production company Hell in a Handbag. He received his training in piano performance and music at Rhodes College, Northwestern University and The Juilliard School of Music.
Jenna Schoppe (she/her, Choreographer) Jenna’s previous choreographic endeavors include YANK!: A WWII LOVE STORY (Pride Films and Plays - 2018 Jeff Award for Best Choreography), NUNSENSE, CALL ME MADAM, DO RE MI and THE RINK (Porchlight Music Theatre), MAMMA MIA, (Highland Park Players), BOBBIE CLEARLY (Steep Theatre) and THE PRODUCERS (Nightblue Performing Arts - Jeff Award Nomination).
ABOUT THEO UBIQUE
Theo Ubique was founded in 1997 by artistic director Fred Anzevino. Productions were first staged at the Heartland Studio Theatre, and from 2004 to May 2018, at No Exit Café, where the company began focusing on musicals and revues, reigniting the cabaret theatre trend in Chicago. The company moved to the Howard Street Theatre, a venue owned and developed for Theo Ubique by the City of Evanston, in fall of 2018. Theo Ubique has produced more than sixty shows and won 64 Jeff Awards, having received 154 nominations. The company also earned three After Dark Awards.