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0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? e-edition | subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW Those selfies could be used against you in court ... Medford police: Man killed in shooting on Iowa Street ... Three Democrats, two Republicans vie for Oregon secretary of state job ... Those selfies could be used against you in court ... Medford police: Man killed in shooting on Iowa Street ... Three Democrats, two Republicans vie for Oregon secretary of state job ... REVIEW Randall's substitute play 'Once Upon a Mattress' carries the day Comment By Bill Varble for the Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Bill Varble for the Mail Tribune Posted Apr. 30, 2016 at 12:14 PM Updated Apr 30, 2016 at 12:16 PM By Bill Varble for the Mail Tribune Posted Apr. 30, 2016 at 12:14 PM Updated Apr 30, 2016 at 12:16 PM » Social News “I’ve always been .. SHY!” Mia Gaskin sings at the top of her lungs to the Queen, the Prince and the assembled knights and ladies of this mythical kingdom. “I confess it, I’m SHY!!” The joke is that Gaskin’s character, Princess Winnifred the Woebegone, is anything but. A veritable force of nature, she comes from the swamp, baby, where the fashionable colors are earthy browns and greens, and she gained entry to the castle by swimming the moat. What the intrepid Winnifred — Fred to her friends — wants is to marry Prince Dauntless the Drab (Brad Zentgraf), whose mother, the harridan Queen Aggravain (Catherine Hansen), will do anything to prevent such an outcome. Fred isn’t the first princess to vie for Dauntless’s hand. She is in fact the 13th. The first dozen failed to pass impossibly difficult, unfair tests devised by the devious Queen. The Randall Theatre’s sunny new production of the venerable Broadway musical “Once Upon a Mattress,” which opened Friday night, is itself a story straight out of an old MGM musical. The show originally planned for May, the Tony Award-winning “Pippin,” was scratched when producers suspended the rights because they were considering a national tour. So Randall regular Bob Herried, who would wind up directing, suggested to Artistic Director Robin Downward that they substitute “Mattress,” the 1959 Broadway hit with music by Mary Rodgers, lyrics by Marshall Barer and a book by Barer, Dean Fuller and Jay Thompson. Harried reasoned that actors already cast for “Pippin,” another play with castles, kings and princes, would fit nicely into the fractured fairy tale that is “Mattress.” Call it kismet. “Mattress” is one of the best things I’ve ever seen at the Randall, with a large cast singing and dancing like crazy on the most massive set ever built on this stage, a fantastical fairy-tale castle interior that changes colors with its moods under the sway of Kelly Latham’s enchanted lighting. The role of the older generation in comedy is to block the union of young lovers. Usually that’s a father. Here it’s the deliciously malevolent queen, who has issued a proclamation that, “Throughout the land no one may wed, ‘till Dauntless shares his wedding bed.” This is particularly inconvenient for Lady Larkin (Meagan Kirby), who is pregnant by her beau, Sir Harry (Austin Kelly), and could be forced to flee the kingdom. Meanwhile, King Sextimus the Silent (David Hagemaier) has been stricken mute with a curse that can only be reversed “when the mouse devours the hawk.” This creates the opportunity for funny sign-language folderol, especially when the King must explain the birds and the bees to dim-bulb Dauntless. The play is based on the fairy tale “The Princess and the Pea,” and its ongoing popularity with community and student theater groups suggest that maybe it was ahead of its time, anticipating the twisted likes of “The Princess Bride” and assorted Monty Python schtick. The songs are an integral part of the action, revealing character and/or advancing the plot. The lyrics are smart (“The Swamps of Home,” “Normandy”), funny and full of complex wordplay. The dancing is highly energetic and often a hoot (see the delightfully silly “Spanish Panic"). Harried’s direction emphasizes the strength of the female characters. No wilting damsels in distress here. After all, Fred is our tireless, weight-lifting, kick-butt heroine. Gaskin’s portrayal manages to be simultaneously radiant and funny. And Aggravain is a formidable, if funny, antagonist. And the court jester, who comically speaks truth to power, a la Shakespearean clowns, is played by a woman (Deborah Downward, who in addition to her comic chops, dances). There are more riches here than space to describe them, one of which involves a sight gag related to the title. So fare thee well to “Pippin,” whose disappearance led to this rollicking twist on an old war horse from the Golden Age of Broadway. Reach freelance writer Bill Varble at varble.bill @gmail.com. By Bill Varble for the Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Bill Varble for the Mail Tribune Posted Apr. 30, 2016 at 12:14 PM Updated Apr 30, 2016 at 12:16 PM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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