Carol as Queen Aggravain in Once Upon a Mattress
East Aurora High School
November 21 - 23, 2008
The East Aurora High School Fine Arts Department puts on a fall musical each year. Carol landed one of the leads, Queen Aggravain in Once Upon a Mattress. This play is based on the fairy tale The Princess and the Pea. One interesting note is that Carol Burnett, at different points in her career, played both female leads. Early in her career she was Princess Winifred. Later she played Queen Aggravain.
Of course I am biased, but I was very impressed with Carol's performance. At one point during the first night's performance, the Director met her backstage as she came off and swapped her battery pack. He told her that her mic was dead, but she was projecting so well he could hear her at the back of the house!
Carol made an excellent scheming, conniving, and overbearing queen. The only question is -- was she acting?
Click here to view a selection of photos from the evening
Here are some video clips. They are in WMV format; I think you need to have Windows Media Player to view them. I apologize about the quality; they're taken from a bit too far away, and with a small digital camera which made it harder to keep steady.
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| Carol's Solo | Queen Aggravain preparing Princess Winifred for bed | Carol's final scene; the legend was that the king would not be able to speak until "the mouse devoured the hawk" |