Meet Lucy Knappenberger: The Ritz’s Newest Comedy Queen

An upcoming sophomore at Winter Park High School, Lucy is already making a name for herself in the local theater community—which feels a little unfair, considering most performers spend years developing the kind of comedic timing and stage presence she seems to possess naturally.

As Princess Winnifred in Once Upon a Mattress, Lucy brought the house down. Her facial expressions, physical comedy, and perfectly timed delivery made the character completely unforgettable. She brings an old-Hollywood energy to the stage, with a performance style reminiscent of a young Carol Burnett. Lucy does not simply deliver a joke—she somehow finds two or three more hiding inside it.

Having spent a lot of time backstage capturing content during the production, I was also lucky enough to see the Lucy audiences do not always get to see.

During her song about growing up in a swamp, Lucy was choreographed to turn away from the audience and face the ensemble while performing a spin-stop-spin combination. In the middle of a live performance, she used the approximately half-second when the audience could not see her face to make an absolutely ridiculous expression at her castmates. She then spun back around, immediately returned to Princess Winnifred, and carried on as though she had not just attempted to make the entire ensemble break character.... That is Lucy.

Offstage, Lucy is just as special. She is kind, helpful, hardworking, and refreshingly humble. She genuinely does not seem to realize just how talented she is—which is particularly impressive because everyone else in the room certainly does. We would tell her, but we do not want it going to her head.

Lucy hopes to become a professional actor when she grows up, and based on the talent, work ethic, and natural comedic instincts she is already displaying, we do not think she will have any trouble achieving that goal.

Luckily, Ritz audiences will not have to wait long to see Lucy return to the stage. She will play Grandmama Addams in the upcoming production of The Addams Family Musical at the Ritz Theater on July 24 at 7:00 p.m. Based on what we already know about Lucy’s comedic abilities, Grandmama may have finally met her match.

Come see Lucy here at the Ritz while you still can—before she is famous and we all have to brag about knowing her when!