The Broadway revival of Once Upon a Mattress, the first musical of the 2024 – 2025 season, is a fun, rollicking goodtime. This edition was first seen last winter as one of the Encores! presentations. Starring Broadway’s reigning queen of comedy, Sutton Foster, the show is a comedic gem. Carol Burnett rocketed to stardom in the initial production of the musical back in 1959. Ms. Foster is probably one of the few stage actresses that can come close to equaling the legendary comedienne’s performance.
Sutton Foster in the Broadway revival of Once Upon a Mattress.
The score, with music by Mary Rodgers and lyrics by Marshall Barer, is tuneful with witty, clever lyrics. The original book by Marshall Barer, Jay Thompson, and Dean Fuller has been gussied up and slightly updated by Amy Sherman-Palladino. The story plays like an extended Fractured Fairy Tale, the animated series from the 1960’s. Here the librettists riff on Hans Christian Anderson’s The Princess and the Pea.
Prince Dauntless (Michael Urie) is searching for a bride, which will then allow all other couples in the kingdom to marry. All the candidates, up to this point, have been rejected by his mother, Queen Aggravain (Ana Gasteyer) because they cannot pass her unpassable tests. Enter Princess Winnifred the Woebegone (Sutton Foster), an unlikely possibility hailing from the northern swamplands. Dauntless is smitten, even though her demeanor and behavior are rather peculiar. The Queen is not amused and enlists her Wizard (Brooks Ashmanskas) to help squash her son’s desires. The King, Sextimus the Silent (David Patrick Kelly), who cannot speak, is unable to aid his son. The Jester (Daniel Breaker), an droll narrator, works behind-the-scenes, to help the young prince. Adding to the shenanigans is the secondary love story of Sir Harry (Will Chase) and Lady Larken (Nikki Renée Daniels). Everything comes to a head when Princess Winifred must pass a test of sleeping through the night and not detecting a small pea inserted under the bottom of a stack of mattresses. I think most of us know what happens.
Sutton Foster in the Broadway revival of Once Upon a Mattress.
The cast for Once Upon a Mattress is outstanding. Ms. Foster, gangly and a free-spirit, is always a triple threat. She enlivens the musical whenever she is on stage with her no-holds barred tomfoolery, vocalizing, and marvelous dancing. The Act I ending “Song of Love” is a tour de force production number, encapsulating all her talents. Michael Urie, in a role so perfectly matched with his comedic talents, is ideal as the hopeless Prince Dauntless. He and Ms. Foster make for a winning pair. Ana Gasteyer’s Queen Aggravain adds a dash of malevolent wickedness to the show. Brooks Ashmanskas, always a welcome addition to any show, is comically inept as Wizard. Daniel Breaker, showing a satisfying restraint, is wonderful as Jester. Will Chase is delightful as the good-natured ninny, Sir Harry, Nikki Renée Daniels is divine as the beautiful Lady Larken. And what a voice! David Patrick Kelly provides warmth and tenderness as King Sextimus the Silent.
Michael Urie and Sutton Foster in the Broadway revival of Once Upon a Mattress.
Director Lear DeBessonet, who shepherded a previous Encores! production to Broadway – the brilliantly conceived 2022 revival of Stephen Sondheim’s Into the Woods – works her magic once again for Once Upon a Mattress. The show moves along at a breezy pace, giving the bevy of comedic performers room to weave their magic spell.
Choreography Lorin Latarro, who has been a very busy choreographer on Broadway and in regional theater, creates both exuberant dance numbers as well as more subdued dance routines for the cast. She does ensure Ms. Foster has her moments to be in the spotlight and strut her stuff.
David Zinn’s Scenic Design incorporates a minimal castle motif of black and white checkered flags hanging from the rafters along with the upper half of a parapet, which separates the large on-stage “pit band,” under the superb guidance of Musical Director Mary-Mitchell Campbell. Costume Designer Andrea Hood has fashioned regal gowns in vivid colors and a spectacularly muddy garb for Princess Winnifred’s initial appearance. The men’s outfits, also in bright hues, are suitable for medieval times.
Once Upon a Mattress, an enchanting and entertaining musical.
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