Cashmere seniors take the lead in ‘Once Upon a Mattress’

CASHMERE — For seniors Eliana Thomas and Trip Martin, this year’s Cashmere High School musical isn’t just another show. It’s the capstone to years of building, singing, painting sets, memorizing lines — and growing up on stage.

Thomas stars as Princess Winifred and Martin as Prince Dauntless in Once Upon a Mattress, the school’s winter musical and a comedic retelling of The Princess and the Pea that the Cashmere High School Drama Department will present Jan. 30–31 and Feb. 5–7 at 7 p.m. in the Cashmere Middle School Auditorium. The show is directed by Susan Gubsch and features energetic dance numbers, big vocal moments and plenty of broad comedy.

Both leads are seniors, both have been in multiple productions together, and both say this show — and this moment — feels special.

“This will be my eighth show,” Martin said. “I’ve done theater every year I’ve been in high school.”

For Martin, theater started even earlier than that. He first saw a Stage Kids production of The Little Mermaid in second grade and immediately knew he wanted to be part of whatever that world was.

“I saw it and I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, I need to do that,’” he said. He joined Stage Kids soon after and has stayed with theater ever since.

Thomas’ path into theater began later. She didn’t grow up doing Stage Kids, but she had always loved to sing. When she heard that the high school musical her freshman year would be Little Women, she decided to give it a try.

“I loved to read, and I had already read Little Women,” she said. “I just adored the story. So I thought, I guess I’ll just go for it.”

That show became her first musical, where she played Amy March, and she’s been part of every winter musical since.

Since then, the two have shared the stage in a string of productions, including Little Women, Mamma Mia and The Little Mermaid, and now their senior show.

In Once Upon a Mattress, Thomas plays Princess Winifred, an unconventional and determined royal who must pass an absurdly sensitive test devised by Queen Aggravain in order to win Prince Dauntless’ hand.

“It’s so funny,” Thomas said. “It’s such a good show.”

Martin said the cast didn’t know much about the musical at first, but quickly fell in love with it once they started working on it.

“We didn’t really know what it was at first,” he said. “But then you watch it, and it’s just really fun.”

The students have been involved in more than just rehearsals. Like most Cashmere productions, the cast and crew also helped build and paint the set.

“We all came in and helped,” Thomas said. “I painted the stairs.”

Between them, the two seniors have also done a wide range of productions. In addition to the musicals, Martin has appeared in several fall plays, including 12 Angry Jurors, Sabrina Fair, And Then There Were None, and this year’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, in which he played Lysander.

For both, theater has become more than just an extracurricular.

“I’ve always loved to sing,” Thomas said. “I just sing around the house.”

And Martin said the collaborative nature of theater is part of what’s kept him coming back.

“Everybody pitches in,” he said.

This year’s cast also features a deep bench of returning performers. Lexi Lutton plays Queen Aggravain, with Dylan Cornea as King Sextimus. Makenna Fritz appears as Lady Larken, joined by newcomer Emmett Brown as Sir Harry. Maren Peterson plays the Jester, Kalli Miller appears as the Wizard, and Ellie Weber plays the Minstrel.

The rest of the cast includes Addy Aguigui, Layne Bagley, Zoë Caruso, Naomi Corbaley, Jillian Daweritz, Azura Dugger, Adrian Fernandez, Ayden Gasbar, Laila Graham, Avonlea Hemmer, Georgia Hemmer, Aiden Lambert, Mileigh Loomis Robertson, Sophia Marrón, Micah Meloy, Hayden Miller, Tily Richmond, Mari Smith, Emily Swanson, Izzy Thomas and Emerson Thomason.

Tickets are $15 for adults and $8 for students and seniors. They are available at the Cashmere High School office during school hours, or at the door on performance nights, with the box office opening at 6:15 p.m.

Now, as seniors, Thomas and Martin get to lead one more show together before graduation.

Both said they’re excited for audiences to see it — and for the chance to share one more curtain call with the program that’s been such a big part of their high school lives.

“It’s going to be really fun,” Martin said.

Andrew Simpson: 509-433-7626 or andrew@ward.media