Curtain raising on ‘Once Upon a Mattress’ production by Lethbridge Musical Theatre

Lethbridge Musical Theatre is getting ready to raise the curtain on its latest production of Once Upon a Mattress.

The fun, family-friendly fairytale is a version of Hans Christian Andersen’s classic The Princess and the Pea.

The musical cast has 24 local performers, along with seven orchestra members.

“Everyone gets so serious in the hustle and grind of day-to-day, and this is such a fun fairytale farce that gives a little bit into the fantasy of ‘things are silly and goofy and even in the grimistic of times of not finding a princess, we can still pull together and have those beautiful moments together and be human beings,’” said Mayson Merkl, Princess Winnifred the Woebegone

“It is important to Lethbridge Musical Theatre to have the community support this,” said Laurie Mitchell, Once Upon a Mattress director.

“One of their main missions is to provide an opportunity for unprofessional people to be able to have a near-professional experience, and being able to perform on a stage like this, with a set like this and professional musicians and so on, is a real benefit to learning those kinds of things.”

Tickets are on sale through visitlethbridgearena.com or at the Yates Theatre box office.

Once Upon a Mattress runs from Saturday through Nov. 1.