April 11 and 12 at 7 p.m., a cast including Katherine Kirby as Princess Winnifred, Bret Supranowicz as Prince Dauntless the Drab, Taylor Coster as King Sextimus, Allisa Wickham as Queen Agravain, Joshua Zecher-Ross as Sir Harry, Ardis Barrow as Lady Larkin, Adam Ross as the Jester, Darin Riedel as the Minstrel, and Andrew Holt as the Wizard will perform the first musical ever Lenox Memorial High School has seen within living memory.
LMHS actors have moved away from their traditional spring play with Shakespeare & Co. to perform the story of Prince Dauntless, who cannot marry until a princess passes his mother's string of tests. No one else can marry until the prince does, by royal decree. Sir Harry and Lady Larkin have good reason to want the ban lifted, as soon as possible. Princess Winnifred, who can wrestle as well as she sings, swims the moat to run the queen's gauntlet. And the mute king tries to explain the facts of life to his son - in pantomime . . . .
Also for the first time, LMHS has a guest director. Jennifer Jordan has been teaching for the past 10 years. She recently began teaching at Berkshire Community College, and leads a workshop in he CAP program at Richmond School. Once Upon a Mattress was the first musical she did in high school. It was doubly important to her, she said, because her New Milford, Conn. high school leaned heavily toward athletics, and gave few opportunities for arts of any kind until this play came along. Jordan played Princess Winnifred "from the land of the foggy foggy dew, where walking in the meadow in the morning is like walking through glue."
Once Upon a Mattress is"a whacked out version of the Princess and the Pea", Jordan said, written by Richard Rogers' daughter Mary. "It's so enjoyable and fun, nothing heavy or too serious." Jordan thought people needed that, especially now. "And you have complete artistic license with a fairy tale. You can do anything you want with it."
The cast has been rehearsing since Feb. 25, piecemeal. The school had no structure in place to teach the actors singing and dance; Jordan has been inventing as she went along, with a great deal of support. LMHS's new band director, Johnathan Cade, has worked with musicals before, and joined in the push to do one at the high school. Jordan recruited her mother, Arlene Begelman, as guest choreographer. Begelman was a ballet dancer in New York City, and now runs a performing arts school in Connecticut.
Cade, on trumpet, will also join pianist Amy Renak and a percussionist to perform the instrumental music during the play. During rehearsals, Joshua Zecher-Ross has been accompanying the cast on piano.
Leslie John-Roche spent hours making the costumes, Jordan said. She had hoped to borrow costumes from BCC, but they did not fit. One cast member's parent was designing the mattresses, with paint on canvas. Al Saldarini, manager of the Duffin Theatre, did lights for the show. Kayla Corby, art teacher at LMHS, designed the sets; Philip O'Rourke in the wood shop supplied the column bases, and the cast and their parents have helped paint, nail and saw.
The school had no budget for the play, Jordan said; she and the cast have gained support here too. Parents have donated money as well as time. Kirby and her parents organized a pancake fundraiser (with bananas and chocolate chips and strawberry syrup) that did well. Cast members got ads from local businesses.
Rabbi Deborah Zecher, mother of Sir Harry and the Jester, organized the ad campaign, gave the cast information about selling ads, and helped them get started.
Zecher was instrumental in moving the musical forward this year, Jordan said. Zecher had been pushing for a musical, because her children wanted to do musical theater. Jordan moved to the Berkshires from Ohio in July. She talked to Bruce Walker, the principal at LMHS, while looking around for theatrical opportunities. He introduced her to Zecher, and Jordan talked with Zecher over the summer while Jordan worked with Barrington Stage Company.
High school, Jordan added, was her favorite age to teach. High school students were not inhibited. They were each coming into their own individuality. This cast, she said, were incredibly mature. "Most of the principles are 15-years-old." They came to rehearsal with a heady mix of idealism, passion and play, and they were very open, she said.
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Berkshire County Homes Celebrating Holiday Cheer
By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
There's holiday cheer throughout the Berkshires this winter.
Many homeowners are showing their holiday spirit by decorating their houses. We asked for submissions so those in the community can check out these fanciful lights and decor when they're out.
We asked the homeowners questions on their decorations and why they like to light up their houses.
In Great Barrington, Matt Pevzner has decorated his house with many lights and even has a Facebook page dedicated to making sure others can see the holiday joy.
Located at 93 Brush Hill Road, there's more than 61,000 lights strewn across the yard decorating trees and reindeer and even a polar bear.
The Pevzner family started decorating in September by testing their hundreds of boxes of lights. He builds all of his own decorations like the star 10-foot star that shines done from 80-feet up, 10 10-foot trees, nine 5-foot trees, and even the sleigh, and more that he also uses a lift to make sure are perfect each year.
"I always decorated but I went big during COVID. I felt that people needed something positive and to bring joy and happiness to everyone," he wrote. "I strive to bring as much joy and happiness as I can during the holidays. I love it when I get a message about how much people enjoy it. I've received cards thanking me how much they enjoyed it and made them smile. That means a lot."
Pevzner starts thinking about next year's display immediately after they take it down after New Year's. He gets his ideas by asking on his Facebook page for people's favorite decorations. The Pevzner family encourages you to take a drive and see their decorations, which are lighted every night from 5 to 10.
In North Adams, the Wilson family decorates their house with fun inflatables and even a big Santa waving to those who pass by.
The Wilsons start decorating before Thanksgiving and started decorating once their daughter was born and have grown their decorations each year as she has grown. They love to decorate as they used to drive around to look at decorations when they were younger and hope to spread the same joy.
"I have always loved driving around looking at Christmas lights and decorations. It's incredible what people can achieve these days with their displays," they wrote.
The Wilsons' invite you to come and look at their display at 432 Church St. that's lit from 4:30 to 10:30 every night, though if it's really windy, the inflatables might not be up as the weather will be too harsh.
In Pittsfield, Travis and Shannon Dozier decorated their house for the first time this Christmas as they recently purchased their home on Faucett Lane. The two started decorating in November, and hope to bring joy to the community.
"If we put a smile on one child's face driving by, then our mission was accomplished," they said.
Many homeowners are showing their holiday spirit by decorating their houses. We asked for submissions so those in the community can check out these fanciful lights and decor when they're out.
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