A Note from the Director...
Good evening! Thank you for attending MBHS's production of Once Upon A Mattress. As many of you know, it takes countless hours and multiple volunteers to produce a musical of this magnitude. We are extremely thankful for those parents, teachers, and community members who volunteered their time, talents and donated food for the cast and crew. Without these supportive parents, teachers and community members, shows like this would not be possible. Many of our students are making their MBHS stage debut as well as performing in their very first musical! We are very proud of the work they have put into their performance.
I have found myself blessed and humbled to work with our wonderful choreographer Christie Karavan. Ms. Karavan has been instrumental in sharing with the students Jay Thompson's great sense of humor (book writer of Once Upon A Mattress). Ms. Christie worked with Jay for many years and knew him very well. It has been such a pleasure having her on our production team this year.
When selecting the musical for this year, we wanted to do something that was light, humorous, and held a strong, positive message. Once Upon A Mattress certainly checks all of these boxes. Winnifred teaches us to be kind and strong in who we are. In this time of instant gratification, or lack thereof, it is important to remember whose opinions we put value into. I remember what it was like to be a teenager, during the dinosaur era before Instagram, Snapchat and even Wi-Fi. I don’t think Tik Tok would’ve happened over dial-up. I also remember how hard it was to hear the many criticisms my peers had regarding myself. I can only imagine how difficult it is for our teenagers now, who can never seem to escape from the vast array of criticisms from multiple platforms and people they may have never met in person. Now more than ever, we need to teach our teens how to balance their time on their devices as well as whose opinions they should place value in. As Sir Harry says: “We none of us are perfect.”
Thank you again for sharing your evening with us.
We truly hope you enjoy the show!
Julia Ann Heckathorn
Lady Larken, Notre Dame High School, 1999
