Paco's POV

Paco’s POV:
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (Week 5)

Francisco José “Paco” Cosió Marron

YAA is excited to have the return of a beloved blog column called Paco’s POV. Our wonderful Orchestra Manager, Francisco José “Paco” Cosió-Marron, will be writing these regularly to give you a bit more background on the production we are currently working on, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Check back often to get your fill of Paco’s POV!

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Good morning all!

Here is an interesting tidbit of history evoked by one of MCYO's pieces in the repertoire of this fall's concert that I thought you might find interesting and enjoy. We are doing the overture to Adolphe Adam's opera: Si j'étais roi (if I were a king.)

 If you have had the opportunity to follow the music scene at the Strathmore the past few years, you may remember that the Young Artists of America did a musical, Les Misérables, based on a Victor Hugo novel of the same name that told the story of life in Paris between 1815 and the early 1830s. In many ways, it details the youth of Adolphe Adam and the miseries that he survived to become a prolific composer of operas and ballets. As the saying goes: “that which does not kill us makes us stronger” may well have applied to our composer.

He was a mere 12 year old when Wellington beat Napoleon at Waterloo and brought down the French Empire which caused Paris several years of incredibly difficult economic times and started a series of “revolutions” which culminated in Adam’s life with the 1848 revolt that shut down the theaters and cultural scene in Paris and across France leaving our composer destitute with massive debts that he attempted to pay off in the last eight years of his life. In between these cataclysmic events he wrote many popular numbers for vaudevilles in his early years, a large number of piano arrangements, transcriptions and potpourris of favorite operatic arias, and numerous light songs and ballads as well as several grand operas and ballets.

In France, during Adam's lifetime, Le chalet was his most popular opera. Other operas he wrote included Le postillon de Lonjumeau, Le toréador and Si j'étais roi. The last being a tongue-in-cheek commentary on how life might have otherwise been, if only.....

Although he was a prolific composer of opera, Adam wrote ballet music even more fluently. He commented that it was fun, rather than work. Giselle is the best known though he wrote four others that have survived till today and are performed by ballet companies around the world including La jolie fille de Gand, La filleule des fées and Le corsaire. Little of Adam's religious music has entered the regular repertory, with the exception of his Cantique de Noël, "Minuit, chrétiens", known in English as "O Holy Night".

His greatest operatic success, Le Chalet, actually opened just a year and a half after the barricades of the June rebellion of 1832 that Hugo highlights and uses as the denouement in his novel occurred. That he continued to compose through all that befell him and Paris speaks volumes to his strength of character and his deep creative desire.

The prospects of cross pollination between YAA and MCYO grow as both of these organizations continue to flower and develop.

Enjoy!

P

Paco's POV

Paco’s POV:
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (Week 4)

Francisco José “Paco” Cosió Marron

YAA is excited to have the return of a beloved blog column called Paco’s POV. Our wonderful Orchestra Manager, Francisco José “Paco” Cosió-Marron, will be writing these regularly to give you a bit more background on the production we are currently working on, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Check back often to get your fill of Paco’s POV!

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My dear YAA Community,

By now you should have heard/listened to a rendition of our Fall production several times to get it in your ears, on your lips and fingers and in your soul. And, I am sure, you are practicing. Here is one YouTube link of the whole opus:

Here are some fun factoids that will give the scale and breadth of impact that our musical and biblical themes have had on humanity and civilization. From Genesis to Judges, there's hardly a story in the books of the Old Testament which hasn't inspired an opera or oratorio, or a verse that hasn't been set to music. It is good to remember that for a greater part of the last five millennia, a majority of people did not know how to read and write and, if they were to be reached by “influencers” of their day, it was done through the arts, paintings, buildings, theater and music. Hence ‘civilization’ is reflected in the pyramids, temples, basilica and cathedrals that were built and adorned with gorgeous art and which served as a venue for the musical compositions that related the stories and ideas to the masses.

Just in the past 500 years, composers created theater and oratorios retelling the stories of the bible in a way their audiences could relate to. Some were born from the “new found” interest in lands and discoveries of their time. Étienne Méhul: La Légende de Joseph en Egypte was written after Napoleon's expedition to Egypt in 1798, when all of France was intrigued by this ancient land and its stories. Méhul’s opera was a critical success and in 1810 it was awarded a prize for the best piece staged by the Opéra-Comique in the previous decade. It was rarely staged however until there was a new French production in Paris to mark the bicentenary of the French Revolution in 1989. This invasion by the French in North Africa rendered a critical clue to our pasts with the find of the Rosetta stone which allowed folks to translate and make comprehensible ancient texts.

The Rosetta Stone is a granodiorite stele inscribed with three versions of a decree issued in Memphis, Egypt in 196 BC during the Ptolemaic dynasty on behalf of King Ptolemy V Epiphanes. The top and middle texts are in Ancient Egyptian using hieroglyphic and Demotic scripts respectively, while the bottom is in Ancient Greek. The decree has only minor differences between the three versions, making the Rosetta Stone key to deciphering the Egyptian scripts.

Our story was taken up about two centuries prior to these events by Handel who wrote an oratorio titled: Joseph and his Brethren which was based on Joseph’s complicated filial relationships, as told in the final thirteen chapters of the Book of Genesis, contains all the makings of good theater: jealousy, violence, sexual predation, trickery, imprisonment, mistaken identities, deception, and an exotic locale. Handel and his librettist, James Miller, made the story too complicated to be recounted in a single musical evening, and the glorious music of Handel’s oratorio on the subject, Joseph and His Brethren, is seldom played.

Webber and Rice knew their target audience very well and created an opus with lyrical themes to cover most popular interests and kept the story clipped and short which is why this production continues to be performed. Now PRACTICE.

See you soon.

Paco

Paco's POV

Paco’s POV:
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (Week 3)

Francisco José “Paco” Cosió Marron

YAA is excited to have the return of a beloved blog column called Paco’s POV. Our wonderful Orchestra Manager, Francisco José “Paco” Cosió-Marron, will be writing these regularly to give you a bit more background on the production we are currently working on, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Check back often to get your fill of Paco’s POV!

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Greetings YAA Community!

I am loathe to distract you from what 'I am sure' is a day of study, reading and PRACTICE but since Mr. Sanz raised the question yesterday which made it a bit evident that you hadn't read the script synopsis before practice, I thought I would break down some of the queries he posed. He asked if anyone could name the colors on Joseph's gold lined 'technicolor' coat. As you don't have the script/score here they are:

The colors of Joseph’s coat: “It was red and yellow and green and brown and scarlet and black and ochre and peach and ruby and olive and violet and fawn and lilac and gold and chocolate and mauve and cream and crimson and silver and rose and azure and lemon and russet and grey and purple and white and pink and orange and red and yellow and green and brown and blue. 

Did you know that Jacob and his sons are mentioned and honored in all three great religions of the “book” (the stories of the Torah, Pentateuch, and Koran): Judaism, Christianity and Islam. The Muslims hold as a holy site Jacob’s well in Nablus as well as the home of Abraham in Hebron. They know Jacob as Yaqub ibn Ishaaq ibn Ibrahim (Jacob son of Isaac, grandson of Abraham.) Jacob’s twelve sons lend their names to the twelve tribes of Israel and, as Mr. Sanz was most interested in listings yesterday at rehearsal, here are the 12 brothers in order of birth: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Dan, Nepthali (sometimes spelled with an a instead of the e), Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulon, Joseph and Benjamin. Joseph was the first born of Jacob’s favorite wife, Rachel (he had four wives: Leah, Bilhah, Zilpah, and Rachel) who bore her two sons (Joseph and Benjamin) late in Jacob’s life.

I hope this will tickle your interest today. Remember the original story of Joseph can be found in most bibles in Genesis 37:2 thru 50:26.

Enjoy a restful and mentally stimulating day.

Paco

Paco's POV

Paco’s POV:
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (Week 2)

Francisco José “Paco” Cosió Marron

YAA is excited to have the return of a beloved blog column called Paco’s POV. Our wonderful Orchestra Manager, Francisco José “Paco” Cosió-Marron, will be writing these regularly to give you a bit more background on the production we are currently working on, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Check back often to get your fill of Paco’s POV!

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My Dear YAA Community,

It was a pleasure getting together with you and hearing you "live." We have a very interesting musical adventure ahead of us and not much time to get the material under thumb, breath, heart, mind and soul so please take the time to read the synopsis below, listen to the musical and practice. We have only 10 rehearsals and just under 7 weeks to get this prepared (and three of those rehearsals will be with the singers) which is a very compressed time frame. I am sending you the synopsis again so that you can know the story that you are telling through music.

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (often colloquially known as Joseph) is a musical comedy with lyrics by Tim Rice and music by Andrew Lloyd Webber. The story is based on the "coat of many colors" story of Joseph from the Bible's Book of Genesis. The show has only a few lines of spoken dialogue; it is almost entirely sung-through. Its family-friendly story, familiar themes and catchy music have resulted in numerous stagings.

The original story of Joseph can be found in most bibles in Genesis 37:2 thru 50:26

Synopsis of the script and score of this musical is from Wikipedia

Act I

A Narrator opens the show by introducing Joseph, the dreamer ("Prologue"). Joseph sings an inspiring, but seemingly meaningless song to the audience ("Any Dream Will Do"). The Narrator then draws the audience's attention to Joseph's father Jacob and his 12 sons ("Jacob and Sons"). Jacob favors Joseph over his other sons, and he gives Joseph a multi-colored coat to show his affection for him. Joseph is ecstatic about this gift ("Joseph's Coat"), while his brothers look on with jealousy.

The brothers’ jealousy is compounded by Joseph's dreams, which suggest that he is destined to rule over them ("Joseph's Dreams"). To stop this from happening, they try to kill him by throwing him down a well, before changing their minds and selling him as a slave to some passing Ishmaelites. The Narrator comments on how powerless Joseph was to stop this ("Poor, Poor Joseph").

To hide what they have done, Joseph's brothers and their wives tell Jacob that his beloved son has been killed. As proof, they show him Joseph's coat, which they have torn to pieces and covered in goat's blood ("One More Angel in Heaven"). When the devastated Jacob exits, the brothers and wives cheerfully celebrate Joseph's departure (“Hoedown”).

Meanwhile, Joseph is taken to Egypt, where he is bought as a slave by the wealthy Potiphar. He works hard and is promoted, eventually running the household. Joseph catches the eye of Mrs Potiphar and although he turns down her advances, Potiphar sees them together and jumps to the wrong conclusion ("Potiphar"). Heartbroken, he throws Joseph in jail.

A miserable Joseph laments his situation ("Close Every Door"). Two prisoners, both former servants of the Pharaoh, are put in his cell. Joseph interprets their strange dreams and predicts the Butler will return to Pharaoh's service, while the Baker will be executed. As Joseph questions his predictions, the other prisoners encourage Joseph to follow his own dreams ("Go, Go, Go Joseph").

Act II

The Narrator opens the second act with news that there's a glimmer of light for Joseph in jail: Pharaoh himself had a run of crazy dreams and nobody can interpret them (“Pharaoh Story”). Pharaoh's (now freed) Butler tells him of Joseph's skills deciphering dreams ("Poor, Poor Pharaoh"). Pharaoh has Joseph brought to him and describes his dream involving seven fat cows, seven skinny cows, seven healthy ears of corn, and seven dead ears of corn ("Song of the King").

Joseph deduces that there will be seven plentiful years of crops followed by seven years of famine ("Pharaoh's Dreams Explained"). Impressed with what he hears, Pharaoh puts Joseph in charge of preparations for the famine and the former slave becomes the second most powerful man in Egypt, Pharaoh's right-hand man ("Stone the Crows").

Meanwhile, Joseph's family back home is now starving and poor, having lost their farm and living off of scraps in a brothel. Joseph's brothers regret what they did to him and how they lied to their father, thinking that things might have turned out differently if Joseph was still with them ("Those Canaan Days"). Hearing that Egypt still has food, they travel there to beg for supplies ("The Brothers Come to Egypt").

In Egypt, the brothers beg for food from Joseph, not realizing who he is ("Grovel, Grovel"). Joseph gives them sacks of food, but plants a golden cup in the one belonging to Benjamin, his youngest brother. When the brothers attempt to depart, Joseph stops them, accusing them of theft. Each brother empties his sack ("Who's the Thief?”), and when the cup is found in Benjamin's sack Joseph accuses him of stealing. The other brothers beg Joseph to take them prisoner instead and let Benjamin go free ("Benjamin Calypso").

Joseph sees that his brothers have changed and reveals who he really is ("Joseph All the Time"). Joseph sends for his father Jacob ("Jacob in Egypt"). Upon meeting Jacob for the first time in years, Joseph sings "Any Dream Will Do" again, and the lyrics are revealed to be a vague overview of the story. Jacob gives Joseph his coat back ("Give Me My Colored Coat")

Thank you for your enthusiasm and cooperation today as we got most administrative issues resolved. See you on Thursday. Remember, according to the COVID protocols YAA administration has set up and presented in the informational meeting Friday evening, if you are absent for "any illness" that may have similar symptoms to COVID you must get a negative result PCR test before being allowed back in to rehearse. These often take 48 to 72 hours for the results to return, so plan accordingly.

Biblical stories have served as the basis or platform for many musicals including Webber and Rice’s Jesus Christ Superstar, Stephen Schwartz’s Godspell, The Prince of Egypt and Children of Eden, Richard Rodgers and Martin Charnin’s Two by Two (Danny Kaye played Noah), King David by Menken and Rice, Les Dix Commandements, a French-language musical comedy written by Élie Chouraqui and Pascal Obispo just to name a few. The tradition goes back to before Handel’s The Queen of Sheba and has been a staple of both the theater and church productions ever since.

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (often colloquially known as Joseph) is a musical comedy with lyrics by Tim Rice and music by Andrew Lloyd Webber. The story is based on the "coat of many colors" story of Joseph from the Torah, Qur’an, and the Bible's Book of Genesis. The show has only a few lines of spoken dialogue; it is almost entirely sung-through (think popular or comic opera). Its family-friendly story, familiar themes, and catchy music have resulted in numerous stagings.

The original story of Joseph can be found in most bibles in Genesis 37:2 thru 50:26

Synopsis of the script and score of this musical is from Wikipedia

Act I

A Narrator opens the show by introducing Joseph, the dreamer ("Prologue"). Joseph sings an inspiring, but seemingly meaningless song to the audience ("Any Dream Will Do"). The Narrator then draws the audience's attention to Joseph's father Jacob and his 12 sons ("Jacob and Sons"). Jacob favors Joseph over his other sons, and he gives Joseph a multi-colored coat to show his affection for him. Joseph is ecstatic about this gift ("Joseph's Coat"), while his brothers look on with jealousy.

The brothers’ jealousy is compounded by Joseph's dreams, which suggest that he is destined to rule over them ("Joseph's Dreams"). To stop this from happening, they try to kill him by throwing him down a well, before changing their minds and selling him as a slave to some passing Ishmaelites. The Narrator comments on how powerless Joseph was to stop this ("Poor, Poor Joseph").

To hide what they have done, Joseph's brothers and their wives tell Jacob that his beloved son has been killed. As proof, they show him Joseph's coat, which they have torn to pieces and covered in goat's blood ("One More Angel in Heaven"). When the devastated Jacob exits, the brothers and wives cheerfully celebrate Joseph's departure.

Meanwhile, Joseph is taken to Egypt, where he is bought as a slave by the wealthy Potiphar. He works hard and is promoted, eventually running the household. Joseph catches the eye of Mrs Potiphar and although he turns down her advances, Potiphar sees them together and jumps to the wrong conclusion ("Potiphar"). Heartbroken, he throws Joseph in jail.

A miserable Joseph laments his situation ("Close Every Door"). Two prisoners, both former servants of the Pharaoh, are put in his cell. Joseph interprets their strange dreams and predicts the Butler will return to Pharaoh's service, while the Baker will be executed. As Joseph questions his predictions, the other prisoners encourage Joseph to follow his own dreams ("Go, Go, Go Joseph").

Act II

The Narrator opens the second act with news that there's a glimmer of light for Joseph in jail: Pharaoh himself had a run of crazy dreams and nobody can interpret them (“Pharaoh Story”). Pharaoh's (now freed) Butler tells him of Joseph's skills deciphering dreams ("Poor, Poor Pharaoh"). Pharaoh has Joseph brought to him and describes his dream involving seven fat cows, seven skinny cows, seven healthy ears of corn, and seven dead ears of corn ("Song of the King").

Joseph deduces that there will be seven plentiful years of crops followed by seven years of famine ("Pharaoh's Dreams Explained"). Impressed with what he hears, Pharaoh puts Joseph in charge of preparations for the famine and the former slave becomes the second most powerful man in Egypt, Pharaoh's right-hand man ("Stone the Crows").

Meanwhile, Joseph's family back home is now starving and poor, having lost their farm and living off of scraps in a brothel. Joseph's brothers regret what they did to him and how they lied to their father, thinking that things might have turned out differently if Joseph was still with them ("Those Canaan Days"). Hearing that Egypt still has food, they travel there to beg for supplies ("The Brothers Come to Egypt").

In Egypt, the brothers beg for food from Joseph, not realizing who he is ("Grovel, Grovel"). Joseph gives them sacks of food, but plants a golden cup in the one belonging to Benjamin, his youngest brother. When the brothers attempt to depart, Joseph stops them, accusing them of theft. Each brother empties his sack ("Who's the Thief?”), and when the cup is found in Benjamin's sack Joseph accuses him of stealing. The other brothers beg Joseph to take them prisoner instead and let Benjamin go free.

Joseph sees that his brothers have changed and reveals who he really is ("Joseph All the Time"). Joseph sends for his father Jacob ("Jacob in Egypt"). Jacob gives Joseph his coat back ("Give Me My Colored Coat").

Getting this show into our ears, minds and souls is going to take very focused time and effort. As that is the one thing we are short of, TIME, please take a moment to listen to the music and become familiar with the story before rehearsal tomorrow.

We are so looking forward to seeing, hearing and evolving with you this fall. It will be an amazing experience.

Paco

Paco's POV

Paco’s POV:
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (Week 1)

Francisco José “Paco” Cosió Marron

YAA is excited to have the return of a beloved blog column called Paco’s POV. Our wonderful Orchestra Manager, Francisco José “Paco” Cosió-Marron, will be writing these regularly to give you a bit more background on the production we are currently working on, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Check back often to get your fill of Paco’s POV!

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My Dear YAA Community,

Welcome to the marvelous adventure we will prepare (live and in person) this fall for presentation at the The Clarice in November. As we are on a short schedule, we have to hit the ground running!

There is much to be said about this show including talking about the fun that Webber and Rice had creating it. They used several "styles" of music including the Rock and Pop of the King, French cabaret, western ballad, and more. If you have not yet listened to the show, there are several renditions available on YouTube including the one below:

Biblical stories have served as the basis or platform for many musicals including Webber and Rice’s Jesus Christ Superstar, Stephen Schwartz’s Godspell, The Prince of Egypt and Children of Eden, Richard Rodgers and Martin Charnin’s Two by Two (Danny Kaye played Noah), King David by Menken and Rice, Les Dix Commandements, a French-language musical comedy written by Élie Chouraqui and Pascal Obispo just to name a few. The tradition goes back to before Handel’s The Queen of Sheba and has been a staple of both the theater and church productions ever since.

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (often colloquially known as Joseph) is a musical comedy with lyrics by Tim Rice and music by Andrew Lloyd Webber. The story is based on the "coat of many colors" story of Joseph from the Torah, Qur’an, and the Bible's Book of Genesis. The show has only a few lines of spoken dialogue; it is almost entirely sung-through (think popular or comic opera). Its family-friendly story, familiar themes, and catchy music have resulted in numerous stagings.

The original story of Joseph can be found in most bibles in Genesis 37:2 thru 50:26

Synopsis of the script and score of this musical is from Wikipedia

Act I

A Narrator opens the show by introducing Joseph, the dreamer ("Prologue"). Joseph sings an inspiring, but seemingly meaningless song to the audience ("Any Dream Will Do"). The Narrator then draws the audience's attention to Joseph's father Jacob and his 12 sons ("Jacob and Sons"). Jacob favors Joseph over his other sons, and he gives Joseph a multi-colored coat to show his affection for him. Joseph is ecstatic about this gift ("Joseph's Coat"), while his brothers look on with jealousy.

The brothers’ jealousy is compounded by Joseph's dreams, which suggest that he is destined to rule over them ("Joseph's Dreams"). To stop this from happening, they try to kill him by throwing him down a well, before changing their minds and selling him as a slave to some passing Ishmaelites. The Narrator comments on how powerless Joseph was to stop this ("Poor, Poor Joseph").

To hide what they have done, Joseph's brothers and their wives tell Jacob that his beloved son has been killed. As proof, they show him Joseph's coat, which they have torn to pieces and covered in goat's blood ("One More Angel in Heaven"). When the devastated Jacob exits, the brothers and wives cheerfully celebrate Joseph's departure.

Meanwhile, Joseph is taken to Egypt, where he is bought as a slave by the wealthy Potiphar. He works hard and is promoted, eventually running the household. Joseph catches the eye of Mrs Potiphar and although he turns down her advances, Potiphar sees them together and jumps to the wrong conclusion ("Potiphar"). Heartbroken, he throws Joseph in jail.

A miserable Joseph laments his situation ("Close Every Door"). Two prisoners, both former servants of the Pharaoh, are put in his cell. Joseph interprets their strange dreams and predicts the Butler will return to Pharaoh's service, while the Baker will be executed. As Joseph questions his predictions, the other prisoners encourage Joseph to follow his own dreams ("Go, Go, Go Joseph").

Act II

The Narrator opens the second act with news that there's a glimmer of light for Joseph in jail: Pharaoh himself had a run of crazy dreams and nobody can interpret them (“Pharaoh Story”). Pharaoh's (now freed) Butler tells him of Joseph's skills deciphering dreams ("Poor, Poor Pharaoh"). Pharaoh has Joseph brought to him and describes his dream involving seven fat cows, seven skinny cows, seven healthy ears of corn, and seven dead ears of corn ("Song of the King").

Joseph deduces that there will be seven plentiful years of crops followed by seven years of famine ("Pharaoh's Dreams Explained"). Impressed with what he hears, Pharaoh puts Joseph in charge of preparations for the famine and the former slave becomes the second most powerful man in Egypt, Pharaoh's right-hand man ("Stone the Crows").

Meanwhile, Joseph's family back home is now starving and poor, having lost their farm and living off of scraps in a brothel. Joseph's brothers regret what they did to him and how they lied to their father, thinking that things might have turned out differently if Joseph was still with them ("Those Canaan Days"). Hearing that Egypt still has food, they travel there to beg for supplies ("The Brothers Come to Egypt").

In Egypt, the brothers beg for food from Joseph, not realizing who he is ("Grovel, Grovel"). Joseph gives them sacks of food, but plants a golden cup in the one belonging to Benjamin, his youngest brother. When the brothers attempt to depart, Joseph stops them, accusing them of theft. Each brother empties his sack ("Who's the Thief?”), and when the cup is found in Benjamin's sack Joseph accuses him of stealing. The other brothers beg Joseph to take them prisoner instead and let Benjamin go free.

Joseph sees that his brothers have changed and reveals who he really is ("Joseph All the Time"). Joseph sends for his father Jacob ("Jacob in Egypt"). Jacob gives Joseph his coat back ("Give Me My Colored Coat").

Getting this show into our ears, minds and souls is going to take very focused time and effort. As that is the one thing we are short of, TIME, please take a moment to listen to the music and become familiar with the story before rehearsal tomorrow.

We are so looking forward to seeing, hearing and evolving with you this fall. It will be an amazing experience.

Paco

Paco's POV: Once Upon a Mattress Overview

YAA is excited to have the return of a beloved blog column called Paco’s POV. Our wonderful Orchestra Manager, Francisco José “Paco” Cosió Marron, will be writing these regularly to give you a bit more background on the production we are currently working on, Once Upon a Mattress. Check back often to get your fill of Paco’s POV!

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Dear YAAOrchestra,

Now that we’ve a couple of solid orchestra rehearsals under our belts and you’ve heard the pitiful renditions of the lyrics from Mr. Sanz and myself, you should be ready to delve into the story, the roots behind the story, the composer and some of the wonderfully ironic and idiosyncratic characteristics of our main characters: Winnifred and Dauntless, the author – Hans Christian Andersen, the composer, Mary Rodgers and the lyricist, Marshall Barer.

Starting with what you have heard and have learned, the incalculably exquisite wordsmithing of the lyrics by Marshall Barer (1923 – 1998) created lines full of ironic turns of phrases. In the opening lines,

“Many moons ago in a far-off place lived a handsome prince with a gloomy face for he did not have a bride. Oh, he sighed "Alas" And he pined, Alas, but, alas, the prince couldn't find a lass who would suit his mother's pride.”

He sets out the dilemma/conflict of the story in two short sentences and using homonymic turns of the phrase ‘alas and alack’ between exclamations, nouns and verbs we learn that we lack a lass.

If you’ve not read the script, YAA has provided here.

The composer is pure Broadway royalty. Mary Rodgers (1931 – 2014) was the daughter of Richard Rodgers (Rodgers and Hart, or Rodgers and Hammerstein) Though she collaborated with the likes of Stephen Sondheim and Sammy Cahn and had many of her songs recorded by Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra and others, her first musical foray Once Upon a Mattress may have been her most successful venture on the Great White Way (Broadway.)

Hans Christian Andersen (1805 – 1875) was a Danish author; a prolific writer of plays, travelogues, novels, and poems, though he is best remembered for his fairy tales. His most famous fairy tales include "The Emperor's New Clothes," "The Little Mermaid," "The Nightingale," "The Steadfast Tin Soldier", "The Red Shoes", "The Princess and the Pea," "The Snow Queen," "The Ugly Duckling," "The Little Match Girl," and "Thumbelina." His version of The Princess and the Pea was one of his shorter stories and almost a throw-off as there were several similar fairytales that already existed when he first read it as a child (possibly the Swedish version.) Even so, it caught the eye and imagination of Mary and Marshall.

Dauntless: an adjective meaning – showing fearlessness and determination (save maybe in the face of his mother, the queen, Aggravain.) Dauntless had matured and was past the marrying age because he could not find a bride that would suit his mother, how aggravating is that to our tale.

Winnifred the Woebegone is our heroine. The indefatigable and undeniably indelicately aggressive yet shy princess-frog “that came from the land of the foggy, foggy dew where walking through the meadow in the morning is like walking through glue!”

Remember that the premise of this story is, according to the King and Queen, is that true royalty can only be tested by one's sensitivity; the ability to be upset by a pea under a stack of mattresses. And consider the young lady who swims a moat, wrestles like a Greek, drinks like a lord, etc. and you begin to see the ironic comedy of the play.

Paco Cosio-Marron

YAAOrchestra Manager