Show Synopsis:
In this retelling of the "Princess and the Pea" fairytale, Queen Aggravain keeps rejecting bride after bride for her son Prince Dauntless. Her husband King Sextimus has been cursed as a mute, so she rules the kingdom until her son marries, and she is in no hurry to give up her power. Sir Harry offers to go on a quest for a princess because his girlfriend Lady Larken is pregnant and they are unmarried, but they are not allowed to marry until Dauntless has married his princess. Harry finds Princess Winnifred of the Swamplands, who is not exactly typical princess material, but starts to capture Dauntless's heart. Sensing trouble, Queen Aggravain decides to test Winnifred's "sensitivity" and see if she can feel a pea underneath twenty mattresses, and hosts a huge ball with a lot of wine to tire her out. Lady Larken contemplates running away to Normandy to hide her pregnancy, but the Queen forces her to stay, and Larken realizes she loves Harry. The Minstrel, the Jester, and the Wizard, who are all fond of Winnifred and do not care for Queen Aggravain, stuff jousting equipment into Winnifred's mattresses so that she cannot sleep, and she wins Dauntless' hand. When Aggravain tries to fight the outcome, Dauntless tells her to shut up, and he ends the curse that has kept his father mute by passing it onto his mother. Larken and Harry plan to be married and Winnifred finally gets a good night's sleep.	

Character:
Princess Winnifred the Woebegone, a feisty, stubborn, socially awkward, and optimistic young woman; her heart is in the right place.

Song Context:
Winnifred is getting ready for bed, but is nervous about pleasing everyone in the kingdom. She starts reading a book of stories about other princesses but finds that that reading about other girls' happy endings does not make her feel any better. She desperately wants to have a little bit of the happiness she has read about, and even though Dauntless is not the world's most desirable man, she very much wants to wed him.	

Fun Facts:
1) This musical was based on Hans Christian Andersen's famous fairytale "The Princess and the Pea." 
2) This musical was originally developed by Mary Rodgers, Marshall Barer, and Jay Thompson at a resort in the Poconos for a weeklong run before New York producers decided to expand it for an Off-Broadway run. 
3) Carol Burnett?s rise to stardom began with her Broadway debut as Winnifred the Woebegone. She was nominated for a Tony Award for her performance, reprised her role for the first two film adaptations, and almost 50 years later, produced and played Queen Aggravain in the 2005 film adaptation.