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Medieval castles were gray and drab for the most part, but not on the stage at Olentangy High School this week.

There the walls and floor of the set for the school's annual musical production are painted fuchsia, purple, green, blue, yellow and pink.

"We wanted to create a sense of whimsy with the set for the audience," director Sarah Tobin said of this year's show, "Once Upon a Mattress."

"This show is bright, comical and fun and we wanted the set to reflect that," she said.

There will be four performances of Rodgers and Hammerstein's "Once Upon a Mattress" planned: 7 p.m. March 1, 2 and 3 and 2 p.m. March 4. Tickets are $6 for students, $5 for senior citizens and $8 for adults and can be ordered by calling the OHS box office at (740) 657-4191.

"I love the set. It's so colorful and gives so much energy to the cast," said Taylor Tackett, who plays Prince Dauntless the Drab.

Production manager Jesy Cordle said they started out looking at playgrounds online and used those ideas to come up with the set design.

"It's really energetic. I've never painted anything like this before," she said. "The sets have so much energy that carries forward what is happening on stage."

"The actors feed off the energy (of the set)," student director Serena LeFevre said.

According to a play synopsis, "Once Upon a Mattress" takes place in a fictional medieval kingdom ruled by the devious Queen Aggravaine, played by Eilis Curran, and a Silent King, played by Bernardo Lopez. The mute king suffers from a curse that can only be reversed, according to legend, "when the mouse devours the hawk."

As the show opens, the residents of the castle complain about an unjust law levied by Queen Aggravaine. The law states that no one may wed until Prince Dauntless the Drab first marries. However, every petitioning princess is sent away after failing an unfair test devised by the Queen and her wizard accomplice.

Lady Larken, played by Kelly Hoppenjans, and Sir Harry, played by Adam Swing, are extremely disturbed by this since Lady Larken is now pregnant with Sir Harry's baby. Sir Harry embarks on a quest to find the last princess in the realm. He soon returns with Princess Winnifred the Woebegone, played by Colleen Young, a brash, unrefined, and muscular princess from the marshlands. She immediately charms Dauntless and most of the townspeople. However, she also succeeds in offending the Queen, who vows to find a way to stop her.

Tackett auditioned for the Dauntless role. "I really enjoy the character," he said. "I have to play him as immature but at the same time introduce a level of comedy because he's a 30-year-old guy who hasn't been introduced to the world, has no idea, obviously, what sex is."

Lopez said playing the king is fun but difficult.

"It's an extremely fun character that involves some hard acting ... it's difficult. You're not just saying a line, trying to make the line sound good," he said. "It's about making the audience and the people you're trying to talk to on stage understand the pantomime."

One of the funniest scenes is the one between Dauntless and the king as the king is trying to explain the birds and the bees through pantomime in the song "Man to Man Talk." It's plays like a crazy game of charades, with Dauntless going from total confusion and bewilderment to the sudden light-bulb-going-off-in-his head understanding of where babies really come from.

While there are some adult themes in the show, they're done with such humor that no one should come away offended, Tackett said.

"It reminds me of 'Shrek' because it carries the overtone of adult themes," he said. "Obviously the kids are going to see Larken, who is pregnant, but they're not going to know what a really big deal it was at the time."

Others appearing in the show are Brett Bender as The Minstrel, Laura Helmers as The Jester, Kevin Doyle as the Wizard, Katie Hoppenjans as Lady Lucille, Andre Rocca as Sir Studley, Amanda Doebriener as Lady Rowena, Ally Trombetti as Lady Beatrice and Stephanie Downing as Princess No. 12.

Also, Anna Rimelspach as Lady Merrill; Grace Moore as Nightengale; Patrick Grandpre, Ben Nagel and Oliver Rogers as knights; Breanna Williams as Lady H.; Kristen Watts as Emily; Jon Dove as Sir Harold; Nick Turon as Sir Luce; Catie Vavrinak as Mabelle; Rachel Kurre as Luce's Lady; Leah Baker, Bri Pride and Kat Triguba as ladies; and Cassie Ryan, Kalicia Day and Abby Beckman as wenches.

Appearing as ladies and knights of the Kingdom are Ben Nagel, Jon Dove, Nick Turon, Oliver Rogers, Joey Smith, Alex Browning, Jorge Ng Zheng, Ally Trombetti, Breanna Williams, Abby Beckman, Brittany Long, Bri Pride, Cassie Ryan, Katelyn Hoffman, Katie Hoppenjans, Rachel Kurre, Erica Green, Grace Moore, Catie Vavrinak, Anna Rimelspach, Kristen Watts, Kat Triguba and Elly Freytag.

Members of the chorus are Kalicia Day, Brittany Bennet, Kathleen Pellington, Sammi Birri, Leah Baker, Whitney Weber, Ashley Boggan and Katy Coriell.

Members of the tech crew are Kris Drane, stage manager; Barrie Farber, Matt Koenig and Colin Kruse, sound; Laura Christobek, Candace Schlaegel, Caitlin Henderson, Anikka Smith and Dominick Craig, publicity; Naomi Harding, Zack Walker, Chris Thacker, Elizabeth Robertson, Erin Holt, Emily Wolford, Lauren Terry, Tre Calhoun, Michelle Freeman, Megan Freeman, Adam Davis, Katelyn McKnight, Cara Maher, Maleah Holderbaum, Tosin Shenbango, Zoey Beckett, Christine Adams, Kaylyn Schneider, Eric Barnes and Paige Taylor, sets; Emily Lanzillotta, Kristin Allen, Paige Roberts, Elizabeth Sensky, Ore Shenbango and Arianne Shank, costumes; Kristina Beyer, Tina Cabarcas, Amanda Hedges, Kelsey Fegan, Andrew Wood and Phillip Payne, props; Precious Barksdale, house manager; Meghan Feasel and Paige Taylor, box office/business manager; Lyubov Grobman, Allyson Boyce, Elise Daniel, Ashley Iler, Courtney Martin and Lauren Claus, make-up; and Tori Baker and Devan Lazlo, lights.