Once Upon a Mattress

Act One

Our story begins in a faraway medieval kingdom, very long ago. The kingdom is ruled by Queen Aggravain and her mute husband, King Sextimus the Silent. Sextimus was struck dumb by a witch’s curse when his son was a baby. The curse states that Sextimus will remain silent until “the mouse devours the hawk.”

The court’s Minstrel sings the classic tale of The Princess and the Pea, although he informs the audience that this version is not the truth-- which he ought to know, since he was there (“Many Moons Ago”). In the actual story, the entire court was very upset about an unjust law proclaimed by Queen Aggravain: “Throughout the land no one may wed, ‘til Dauntless shares his wedding bed.” However, every single princess that has applied to marry Dauntless has tried and failed to pass a series of impossible tests put forth by Aggravain and her assistant the Wizard. The knights and ladies of the court are distressed because they all want to marry one another! (“An Opening for a