Sound familiar? Yes, this musical comedy is based on Hans Christian Andersen’s The Princess and the Pea. Desperation has gripped the small kingdom that may soon start shrinking ever smaller. For in this case, not only is the prince unable to marry, but the queen has also decreed that nobody else in the kingdom can marry until her son has a bride. The desperation is especially keen for Lady Larken who had “a moment of weakness” with boyfriend Sir Harry, and needs to get married in the next few months before they have a little Larken or a Harry Jr. Therefore the brave Sir Harry goes out in search of a true princess, going as far as the faraway swamplands, where he finds “a girl named Fred.”

Under Ann Boutelle’s direction, La Jolla High School brought together their drama and music departments to put on a quite lavish production of this musical farce set off against brightly-colored, fantasy-like, humorous sets and costumes by Katherine Ward that included horribly mismatched clothes worn by Prince Dauntless who contends that he can dress himself, and green flippers worn by Princess Fred who uses them to help her “swim the moat.” Margaret Hager provided the hat designs including a shockingly wide and gaudy headdress worn by the Queen that is too much of a wide load to fit through doorways without turning on end.

Stephanie Ward is the goofy but elegantly-voiced Princess Winnifred who isn’t nearly so Shy as she tries to persuade her new would-be kingdom and her innocent-but-eager, would-be prince (Stephen Ravet), but who still pines for her native land in her humorous rendition of The Swamps of Home. Matt Bohrer is the amusingly bold and confident Sir Harry with the humongous helmet, joining in a couple of charming duets with the sublime Lady Larken (Megan Maher) who, when not singing, is often breaking into a pitiful but hilarious bout of crying. And all because of that selfish, conspiring, and talkative Queen Aggravain (Krissy Ochoco). It’s a wonder how her mute husband King Sextimus (Seth Biberstein) is able to get a word in edgewise, but he actually proves to be quite adept at it despite his lack of a voice. A great physical comedian, Seth is a riot as he silently but effectively gets his point across, whether that be making fun of his wife, unsuccessfully chasing after all the other women in the kingdom (even while he is asleep!), miming his way through his part of the trio The Minstrel, The Jester, & I, or trying to give his son a quick course on the birds and the bees. Kyla Thomas fills the role of the Jester with both an excellent vocal and tap performance.

Performed March 5 - 7, 2004.

Rob Hopper
San Diego Playbill

Minstrel: