DONIPHAN Students at Doniphan-Trumbull High School school will present the classic play "Once Upon a Mattress," at 7 p.m. Friday, April 11, and Saturday, April 12, in the school's west gym.

"Once Upon a Mattress" is the story of "The Princess and the Pea" with a twist. Several princesses are interviewed but none can be found to suit Queen Aggravain. Everyone in the kingdom wants Prince Dauntless to marry because no one is allowed to get married until he does. Princess Winnifred then appears on the scene. She immediately charms Prince Dauntless but offends the Queen. Princess Winnifred must pass the test so that she and Prince Dauntless can wed. The test? She must feel a pea under 20 soft downy mattresses.

The play is directed by Jane Garfield and Don Alcorn.

Tickets are $5 for adults and $3 for students.

'Prayers for the People' at the Merryman

KEARNEY The Robert M. Merryman will host an encore performance of Kathryn Benzel's production of "Prayers for the People" at 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 11.

The show features Nebraska's own former Poet Laureate, Ted Kooser, Charles Peek and Mike Adams. NET will be filming the production for later broadcast.

"Prayers for the People" celebrates Carl Sandburg's songs, poetry and proverbs from the Great Plains and Nebraska by bringing to the public Sandburg's own style of reading a poem and playing a song from his famous "songbag." Peek creates a "Prairie Home Companion' atmosphere and Adams and his "Sandtones" sing the familiar "songbag" folksongs and play the fiddle.

General admission tickets are $15 and can be purchased online at www. pickmytickets.com or by calling the box office at (308) 698-8297.

In addition to the performance at the Merryman, workshops are being offered on April 10 and 11. For information, call Kate Benzel at (308) 865-8294.

Hastings College Symphonic Band, Wind Ensemble to perform

HASTINGS The Hastings College Symphonic Band and Hastings College Wind Ensemble will perform in concert at 3 p.m. Sunday, April 6, at First Presbyterian Church, 621 N. Lincoln Ave.

Daniel Laing, assistant professor of music, directs the bands.

The Hastings College Symphonic Band will perform Reed's "A Festival Prelude, "Williams' "English Folk Song Suite," and Sousa's arrangement of "Grainger's Country Gardens."

The Hastings College Wind Ensemble will play Mennin's "Canzona," Persichetti's "Divertimento," Chance's "Elegy" and Sousa's "Pathfinder of Panama."

There is no admission charge.

Takcs Quartet, pianist Joyce Yang to perform at Lied Center

LINCOLN Recognized as one of the world's premier string quartets, the Takcs Quartet will perform with award-winning pianist Joyce Yang at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, April 10, at the Lied Center for Performing Arts

Members of the quartet are Edward Dustinberre and Kroly Schranz, violin; Geraldine Walther, viola; and Andrs Fejr, cello. Based at the University of Colorado, the quartet performs 80 concerts a year, performing throughout Europe as well as in Australia, New Zealand, Japan and Korea.

Joining the quartet for this performance will be Joyce Yang, the silver medalist and youngest competitor at the Twelfth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in 2005. Born in Seoul, Korea, Yang began playing piano at age 4. By age 10 she had entered the Korean National Conservatory before coming to the United States and studying at the Juilliard School.

Tickets are $36 with student discounts available; call the box office at (800) 432-3231 or check the Web site at www.liedcenter.org.

Hastings College to host jazz festival, two jazz concerts

HASTINGS Hastings College will host its annual jazz festival, featuring two nights of free jazz music open to the public, and a two-day jazz clinic for high school students, on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday.

In honor of the college's 125th anniversary, the festival will feature an alumni big band directed by John Mills of Greeley, Colo., who was Hastings College jazz program director from 1974-1980.

Hastings College and Lochland Country Club will collaborate for an evening of music from 7 to 9 p.m. Sunday, at Lochland Country Club. The evening will include jazz improvisation and a jam session featuring Hastings College alumni and other musicians from across the country,

The Hastings College Jazz Ensemble, under the direction of Marc LaChance, associate professor of music, will open the jazz concert, at 7:30 p.m. Monday in French Memorial Chapel. The second half of the evening will feature the alumni big band directed by Mills.

Students from 14 high schools will work with guest clinicians Monday and Tuesday. Schools participating in the clinic include Hastings High School, Grand Island Northwest High School, Superior High School, Gretna Public School, Norris High School (two groups), Perkins County Schools (Grant), Lawrence-Nelson High School, Springfield-Platteview High School, Nebraska City High School, Holdrege High School, Overton High School, Grand Island Public School (two groups), Sterling High School, and Lincoln High School (two groups).

Clinicians for the jazz festival high school workshop will be Michael Lewis, Timothy Glesmann and Mills.

Everything's coming up roses at the Lied

LINCOLN It's the story of the quintessential stage mother, her dreams for herself and her daughters, and the daughter who dared live her own dream. One of the greatest musicals of all time, "Gypsy," is coming to the Lied Center for Performing Arts at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 8.

Based on the memoirs of entertainer Gypsy Rose Lee, "Gypsy" tells the story of Rose, an overbearing stage mother who is determined to make her girls the stars of vaudeville. Rose overwhelmingly favors her younger daughter, June, who headlines the act, while Louise is relegated to the chorus. Rose's attention eventually turns to her older daughter, but it is Louise herself who discovers her own talent and becomes a bigger star than Rose ever dreamed possible.

"Gypsy" features some of the biggest songs in Broadway history, including "Everything's Coming Up Roses," "Rose's Turn," "Some People" and "Together, Wherever We Go."

Tickets range from $35 to $45 with student discounts available; call the box office at (800) 432-3231 or check the Web site at www.liedcenter.org.

Piano quartets presented in two parts

KEARNEY The Piano Quartets of W.A. Mozart and Gabriel Faure will be presented in two parts during installments of the Concerts-on-the-Platte series at the University of Nebraska at Kearney.

Part 1 will be presented at 7:30 p.m. Thursday (today) in the UNK Fine Arts Recital Hall and will include Mozart's "Piano Quartet No. 1 in G Minor, K. 478" and Faure's "Piano Quartet No. 1 in C Minor, Op. 15. Part 2 will follow at 7:30 p.m. Monday.

Featured performers will be Ting-Lan Chen, violin; Deborah Shuster, viola; Irina TIkhonova, cello; and Nathan Buckner, piano.

There is no admission charge; for more information, call (308) 865-8618.

Hastings Museum announces new program

HASTINGS Starting this month the monthly Senior Tea and Tour program at the Hastings Museum of Natural and Cultural History will be known as the Morning at the Museum.

While the Senior Tea and Tour was designed for senior citizens, Morning at the Musuem will offer a large-format film, a planetarium show, museum viewing and refreshments for one low price to museum lovers of all ages.

At the April 8 program, the day will begin with refreshments at 9 a.m. in the Diorama Hall. Guests will then view a new large-format film, "Sea Monsters: A Prehistoric Adventure" at 10 a.m., followed by a new sky show in the J.M. McDonald Planetarium at 11 a.m. and museum viewing at their leisure, including the traveling exhibit, "Hatching the Past: Dinosaur Eggs and Babies."

Cost for the program is $5 for museum members and $7 for non-member and reserveations are due by Saturday; call (402) 461-4629 or (800) 508-4629, option zero.

'Mud, Seeds, Sun and Fun' just for preschoolers

HASTINGS The Hastings Museum of Natural and Cultural History will host Preschool Playday at 10 a.m. Tuesday and Saturday, April 12, as part of its monthly program for preschool-aged children and their favorite adult. This 45-minute program is an active learning experience designed especially for children ages 3 to 5 and focuses on having fun while learning.

Preschoolers are invited to bring their favorite adult to "Mud, Seeds, Sun and Fun" where children can learn about how things grow.

Regular museum admission or museum membership covers the cost of Preschool Playday. Reservations are requested by Monday for the Tuesday program and by April 11 for the Saturday program. For more information or to make reservations, call Visitor Services at (402)461-4629 or (800) 508-4629, option zero.

College senior to present vocal recital

KEARNEY University of Nebraska at Kearney senior tenor Joseph Knispel will perform a senior vocal recital at 7:30 p.m Saturday in the UNK Fine Arts Recital Hall.

Knispel will be accompanied by Todd Thalken on piano and tenor Patrick York will be a guest vocalist. Pieces performed will include works from Stephen Sondheim, Stephen Schwartz and Adam Geuttel.

There is no admission charge. For more information, call (308) 865-8618.