Once upon a mattress musical

The Princess Winifred was oh so shy this past week during Palisade’s long-awaited “Once Upon A Mattress” Musical. Practicing since November, the Drama Department put their hearts and souls into this musical and it definitely showed. They performed on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday night last week with two of the nights having full houses. The story is based off of the Princess and the Pea with a few added storylines and catchy songs to go along. The three hours of singing, acting, and dancing was entertaining and humorous. Emily Shamblin was the star of the stage, playing the lead Princess Winifred herself. “My favorite part was the process,” she says, “being a lead I got to be a big part of the process so I never had an off time which was kind of cool.” Emily has been in theater since 5th grade, first with community theater and then in school. This is her first year in choir and her favorite song to perform was “Shy.” Teagan Brannan played Prince Dauntless, the other lead. Alivia Sanchez was the humorous Minstrel, Blake Larson played the loud Jester, and Jaeda Rogal played the perfect Queen. Along with many other talented performers, this musical brought the Drama Department closer together. The week of  the actual performance was the so-called “tech week,” where volunteer students who run lights and backstage crew are added into the show. This week in particular was the most tiring, but students and performers were able to pull through. The songs “I’m In Love with a Girl Named Fred,” “In A Little While,” and “The Minstrel, The Jester, and I” were some catchy favorites. Overall, the musical was a smashing success and we congratulate all the hard work, time, and effort put into this masterpiece. “I can’t wait for next year's play and musical,” Emily says, “I know it’s going to be good.”