'Princess and the Pea' to premiere this Saturday

February 19, 2007 —

by Brandon Kish

Anya (Katie Muirhead) looks to her father for approval as Alexi (Andrew Switalski) proposes to her. Alexi's mother, Catherine (Alyssa Kindy), looks on. "The Princess and the Pea" opens on campus Saturday, Feb. 24.

This week SVSU's Theatre Department will be staging a production of "The Princess and the Pea," a play set in Russia that will feature Katie Muirhead as Princess Anya and Andrew Switalski as the Czar Alexi. In all, 23 actors - all of them SVSU students - make up the cast.

This classic tale, originally written by Hans Christian Anderson, is a story of a prince trying to find his bride. To make sure that the princess he found was a true princess, the prince slips a pea under her mattress. Since the princess could feel the pea, the prince knew that she was a true princess.

SVSU's adaption of "The Princess and the Pea," written by Travis Tyre, is set in Imperial Russia.

The main characters will possess qualities of famous historical Russian figures. For example, Alexi's mother is based on Catherine the Great, while Anya was based on the author's real-life friend.

Even though the play is a tale of the prince and princess, it communicates the essence of political problems in 1990's Russia.

The play is written for children, and a week of morning performances will be put on for school groups. It will be stage manager Mathew Easterwood's first experience as a stage manager.

"This has definitely been an eye-opening experience," Easterwood explains. "It has been stressful but interesting. It's enlightening in its own way."

Andrew Switalski will perform his first lead in a college production as the Czar, Alexi.

"This has been a really great experience," Switalski said. "The cast has been awesome and so have the directors." Switalski also performed in "A Christmas Carol" put on by SVSU in December.

The first performance will take place Saturday, Feb. 24 at 3 p.m., followed by another performance at 8 p.m.

There will also be a performance Sunday afternoon at 3 p.m. The following week, morning performances at 9:30 a.m. will be held for school groups.

Tickets are available at the SVSU box office. General admission is $7. Students with ID will pay $5; the cost for children under 12 is $3.