Lakeland Union High School Brings Fairy Tale Comedy to Life

The stage lights are warming up at Lakeland Union High School this weekend. Students have transformed the Minocqua campus into a fairy-tale kingdom for their spring production of “Once Upon a Mattress,” a comedic twist on the classic Princess and the Pea story that celebrates being unapologetically yourself.

It’s the kind of community event that reminds us why high school theater matters in the Northwoods. These aren’t polished Broadway performers — they’re our neighbors’ kids, pouring months of after-school hours into something that exists for just one magical weekend.

A Royal Comedy With Northwoods Heart

“Once Upon a Mattress” flips the stuffy fairy tale on its head. Princess Winnifred isn’t your typical delicate royal — she’s quirky, bold, and determined to win over Prince Dauntless despite his overbearing mother’s schemes.

Queen Aggravain, played by student Viviana Stiegler, devises an impossible sensitivity test: Winnifred must detect a single pea hidden beneath twenty mattresses. The scheming queen doesn’t want any marriage happening if she can help it.

“It is a really fun retelling of the story with really quirky characters who are really larger than life,” explains Claire Kafka Duda, director of the LUHS Theatre Department. The production features challenging dance numbers alongside vocal performances, demanding everything from comic timing to physical stamina.

Months of Rehearsal Come Together

The cast has been rehearsing nearly every day since January. That’s the reality of putting on a musical — it’s not just memorizing lines, it’s coordinating choreography, harmonies, blocking, and about a hundred technical details most audience members never notice.

Stiegler describes the mounting pressure as showtime approaches: “It’s a lot of pressure but then you do it consistently for about a week and a half and it all starts falling together. With an actual audience we got to lock in and make everything perfect.”

Senior Marshall Czlapinski took an unconventional path to the stage. He didn’t plan on auditioning until the very first day.

“It was kind of a spur of the moment decision. I just wanted to get something new in my life and have some fun so I thought I might as well.”

That spontaneity captures something essential about small-town theater. Sometimes the best experiences come from taking a chance on something completely outside your comfort zone.

Why Theater Matters in Small Communities

Lakeland Union High School serves roughly 718 to 900 students from twelve towns scattered across Oneida and Vilas Counties. When you’re pulling kids from that wide a geographic area, theater becomes more than entertainment — it’s a gathering place.

Duda emphasizes the deeper purpose behind productions like this one. Theater gives students the chance to step into someone else’s shoes, build genuine empathy, and collaborate on something bigger than any individual contribution.

Here’s what goes into making theater happen at a rural high school:

• Coordinating rehearsals around sports seasons, part-time jobs, and family obligations
• Building sets with limited budgets and volunteer labor
• Managing costumes, lighting, sound, and stage management with student crews
• Creating marketing materials to draw community members off their couches
• Balancing the needs of seasoned performers with absolute beginners

“It is so many pieces of the puzzle that we have to fit together,” Duda notes. “It’s a huge undertaking of collaboration and that’s the beauty of theater — we put a lot of time and effort for just one magical weekend.”

A School With Strong Roots

LUHS opened its doors in 1957, serving what was then a rapidly growing tourism economy in the heart of the Northwoods. The school has evolved considerably since those early Lumberjack Conference days, now competing in the Great Northern Conference across 25 sports alongside robust academic programs.

The LUHS District Foundation supports student opportunities including arts programming, helping ensure that kids in smaller communities get experiences their urban counterparts might take for granted. It’s funded by alumni, local businesses, and families who understand that investing in young people pays dividends long after graduation.

Theater programs particularly benefit from community support. Unlike sports with gate receipts and concession sales, musicals often operate on shoestring budgets supplemented by ticket sales that barely cover royalties and materials.

One More Chance to Catch the Show

If you’re in the Minocqua area this Sunday, the final performance runs at 2 p.m. at Lakeland Union High School. It’s the last opportunity to see months of student work come alive on stage.

Live theater has an unrepeatable quality. Every performance is slightly different — a line delivered with fresh energy, a dance step that lands perfectly, an unexpected audience reaction that shifts the entire mood. Ya know, that’s part of what makes it special.

These students will remember this production for decades. The late rehearsals, the pre-show jitters, the moment when everything clicked during dress rehearsal. For some, it’ll be their only time on stage. For others, it might spark a lifelong passion.

Supporting local school productions does more than fill seats. It tells young people their creative work has value, that their community shows up when it matters. In a region where winter can feel endless and entertainment options sometimes run thin, that sense of connection means everything.

So if you’ve been looking for something to do this Sunday afternoon, consider heading over to LUHS. Bring the family. Laugh at the absurdity of twenty mattresses stacked on stage. Watch students who’ve transformed themselves into larger-than-life characters for one magical weekend in the Northwoods.