Every year, the musical brings in crowds of students, alumni, parents, and other friends of the students to come see them act. This year, the fall musical, Once Upon a Mattress, was a successful first performance in the new theatre.  With a massive cast of sixty-three students this year, Margaret Anne Butterfield, the co-director and conductor of the musical, worked with Lauren Gutstein and many others to create the wonderful performance enjoyed by students, family, and alumni alike.

“This will be an amazing performance,” Ms. Butterfield proclaimed before the show premiered to students on Friday, November 15th. “How can you fail with spectacular music, hilarious dialogue, and enthusiastic actors?” Considering the cast of sixty-three — over triple what the cast was in 2007, the last time Wilmington Friends put on Once Upon a Mattress — Ms. Butterfield admitted that “…some things that would normally be very easy to do, such as costumes, [become] difficult.  A show this big has many moving parts, and it’s a bit like putting together a big machine.” Ms. Butterfield was quick to add that “one of the reasons why the cast is so big this year is because we have people who need their credits, but we also have many who have filled their credit requirements and are doing the musical simply because they enjoy the process of acting.”  Many students who graduate from Wilmington Friends have earned more credits in the performing arts than necessary.

There are both pros and cons to this being the first musical performance in the theatre.  Compared to the old auditorium, the new theatre house has a much larger capacity for seating, and the stage for space to act in. The sound and light department has been completely updated, allowing cooler features for the performances. “It’s as if we were riding a bicycle before, and now we’ve just been handed the keys to a Ferrari,” said Ms. Butterfield. However, Ferraris hardly come with detailed instruction manuals, and this musical was a learning experience as everyone learned how to use all of the exciting new features. “There were some last-minute complications to work around, but overall, the new space is just wonderful.”

After all the performances were complete, Emily Rossi ’17, one of the female leads of the musical, added that she “thought everything went very well. I really enjoyed working with everyone.”  Scott Rhodewalt, a member of the pit band, commended Ms. Butterfield for both directing the students and conducting the pit: “Everyone worked together to do the best they could, both pit band and students.”  Ms. Butterfield agreed, saying that the musical came together well.  “All three performances went very well.  Sunday afternoon’s performance was the most polished of the three, but the Friday morning performance had the best energy.  There is something about performing in front of their peers that inspires the students on stage.”

“One thing that was wonderful to see was how receptive and supportive every audience was, even when mistakes were made and glitches came up,” Ms. Butterfield noted. She brings up an excellent point: the great support from the school community is an aspect unique to Friends School.  Whether performing on stage or sitting in the audience, everyone knows that they have friends and family around to support them.