On March 7 and March 8, Oyster Bay-East Norwich Middle/High School proudly presented its spring musical, “Once Upon a Mattress,” to enthusiastic audiences in the school auditorium.
The two-night run showcased the talents of dozens of students both onstage and behind the scenes and served as the culmination of months of dedicated rehearsal, preparatio and construction. By all accounts, the hard work paid off. Audiences were captivated from curtain up to curtain call, rewarding the cast and crew with thunderous applause.
Based on Hans Christian Andersen’s beloved fairy tale “The Princess and the Pea,” “Once Upon a Mattress” features a score by Mary Rodgers, with lyrics by Marshall Barer and a book by Jay Thompson, Dean Fuller and Marshall Barer. The show originally opened on Broadway in 1959 and has enjoyed several successful revivals over the decades, most recently as a concert production at New York City Center in 2024, with two-time Tony Award winner Sutton Foster in the role of Princess Winnifred.
The production was directed and choreographed by Teriann Chiappardi and produced by Erica Giglio Pac, with assistant direction by Virginia Kemp. Music direction was shared by Victoria Devine, who led vocal preparation and Matthew Sisia, who directed the orchestra. The production and design team consisted of Maria Randazzo, Alexander Dollin and Erik Chocianowski.
