Faithful readers will know that I reviewed Once Upon a Mattress just under three weeks ago at Lakeshore Players, and I wasn’t overly enthusiastic about it. So why would I sit through it again so soon?

Because it’s being mounted by one of my favorite theater companies, Unlabeled Theatre Co.

This company exists to create opportunities for adults with disabilities to participate in theater. Every role is performed by an actor with a cognitive and/or physical disability or who is neurodivergent, paired with a neurotypical Shadow Partner. Together, the two performers share the role, performing it in unison. It sounds like it shouldn’t work, but it absolutely does, and it’s beautiful.

My chief concern with the Lakeshore Players production was the source material, which I found unfocused and nearly three hours long with an intermission. The first thing this production does right is cut the show down to a sharp, focused 70 minutes with no intermission. Gone is all the extraneous business, none of it missed. Unlabeled’s production hits all the key plot points, makes the story much easier to follow, and still includes all the best songs. About the only thing I missed was some comic business between the Queen and her son that helps clarify her motivations.

The plot adapts the familiar fairy tale of The Princess and the Pea, told in a fractured fairy tale style. In this kingdom, no one can marry until the Prince does. His mother, the Queen, devises such diabolical tests that every princess fails, largely because she has an unhealthily close relationship with her son and doesn’t actually want him to marry. Among those desperate to find the Prince a bride are Sir Harry and the pregnant Lady Larkin. Sir Harry ventures over the mountains and through the woods, not to Grandmother’s house, but to the swampy kingdom of the Marshlands and returns with Princess Winnifred, setting the Queen’s test in motion.

The cast is terrific and received a boisterous, well-deserved standing ovation. We often focus on our own enjoyment of a show, which is important, of course. But in a production like this, what stands out first is how much the cast is enjoying themselves, and that joy is infectious. It made the evening even more rewarding, if that’s possible. I can only imagine the pride the Shadow Partners feel watching their partners rise to the occasion and fully realize their potential as performers and storytellers. There may not be a more fulfilling acting experience in the Twin Cities.

Attending an Unlabeled Theatre Co. production feels like receiving a gift, a rare and meaningful one. It reminds us of the true power of theater: not just to entertain or instruct, but to create, to connect, and to share joy. You can’t watch this cast without recognizing the value of inclusivity and the sense of purpose these actors bring, not just in performing, but in performing well. They are fulfilling that deeply human need to tell stories and to foster empathy.

In a world where it can be hard to understand how people can remain unmoved by cruelty or contradiction, experiences like this matter. If anything can shift perspective, even just a little, it might be something like this: an honest, joyful, inclusive act of storytelling.

The last Unlabeled Theatre production sold out its entire run, and tonight’s performance had only a handful of empty seats. Get your tickets now, this is the kind of show that can restore your faith in humanity.

Once Upon a Mattress runs through May 24th at the Gremlin Theatre in St. Paul. For more information and tickets, visit https://unlabeledtheatre.org/

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