The Broadway portion of this year’s “Books and Broadway for my Birthday” trip into New York City was the revival of Once Upon a Mattress playing for a limited engagement at the Hudson Theater. I was originally supposed to see this production when it was at New York City Center as part of the Encores! series, but work travel got in the way and I sold my ticket to a friend, who loved the show. So I was especially excited when it transferred to Broadway and the Hudson (where we saw Merrily We Roll Along last year) with most of the City Center cast.
The production maintains the music and lyrics of Mary Rodgers and Marshall Barer, with Amy Sherman-Palladino adapting the original book by Jay Thompson, Marshall Barer, and Dean Fuller. I’ve only seen one other production of Once Upon a Mattress, and that was a middle school production with my niece in the cast. Of course, I’ve seen the clips of Carol Burnett as Winifred in the original 1959 production. But my memory of the show was dim, so I have no idea what changes Sherman-Palladino may have made. So for me, it was very much like seeing the show for the first time.
You won’t be shocked to hear if you know me at all: I loved it! Absolutely the best choice of show to see after a full day of hiking around Manhattan buying books (when the security guard waved his flashlight into my backpack, he raised his eyebrow. I said “yeah. It’s books all the way down.” He laughed.). The show is light, funny, touching; the music swings from the romantic to the goofily energetic and back multiple times. Great Prologue by the Jester, great opening number (“Opening for a Princess”), fun act one finale (“Song of Love”), etc.
City Center Encores! productions typically have the orchestra on stage with the cast rather than under the stage or visible at the sides of the stage, highlighting that the music is as important as the talking, singing, and dancing. For this production, the orchestra is slightly above and behind the action. Conductor Annbritt duChateau and her musicians were such a natural part of the staging that I sometimes forgot they were there. They sounded fantastic under Mary-Mitchell Campbell’s music supervision. Lorin Latarro’s choreography was terrific – frenetic when it needed to be (“Spanish Panic”) and subtle when it needed to be (“Yesterday I Loved You”). I believe Lear deBessonet has directed most of the Encores! productions that have transferred to Broadway in the past few years. She directed the Encores! production of Oliver! last year that I loved so much (and reviewed). She has a wonderful knack for picking the right person for each role and teasing great performances out of them, and this production was no exception.
Sutton Foster. Much has been made of Carol Burnett saying that Sutton is the perfect choice among current Broadway performers for Princess Winifred, and I can’t disagree with her. She was endearing, walked the line between slapstick and over-the-top slapstick (which can be precarious) perfectly. Her “Shy” was brassy and loud, her “The Swamps of Home” more subtly comedic, her “Happily Ever After” sweet. I am hard pressed to think of another musical where the lead character’s “11th hour number” isn’t a song but a three-minute-long piece of pantomime (as Winifred tries to fall asleep but just can’t get comfortable); Sutton delivered the silent physical comedy goods without veering into overblown physicality. (This was my first time seeing Sutton on stage. I know. I know. It won’t be my last, I’m sure.)
Michael Urie is adorable as Prince Dauntless. Not an easy task with the way the character is written for most of the play (henpecked, spineless, a bit dim) but he made it work. Musically, he gets to shine in the act one closer (“Song of Love”) and in the middle of act two (“Man to Man Talk”). In the first number, he is adorably infatuated with Winifred; in the latter, he is adorably slow to pick up what his father is silently trying to tell him. What I’m saying is that Michael Urie is adorable. Always. But especially as Dauntless.
Ana Gasteyer plays the willful, controlling Queen Aggravain. I really, really, really disliked the Queen – which tells you that Gasteyer is brilliant in the role. David Patrick Kelly has perhaps the hardest part in the show, making us care for King Sextimus the Silent without ever uttering a word. It’s a role that in other hands could be (here’s that phrase again) over the top and possibly even offensive but in Kelly’s hands is subtle and lovable. Nikki Renee Daniels and Will Chase as the young lovers Lady Larkin and Sir Harry complimented each other well (both of their duets, “In A Little While” and “Yesterday I Loved You” were sweet, earnest highlights).
If anyone comes close to stealing the show from Foster and Urie, though, it is Daniel Breaker as the Jester. His delivery of the Prologue (“Many Moons Ago”) set the stage for the evening, but his “Very Soft Shoes” pretty near broke my heart. The number is a paean to the Jester’s father, who preceded him in show business. The Jester is surrounded by dancers (including one who is a vision of the father), but I don’t think my eyes left Breaker once during the number. His body language, facial expressions, and vocal delivery all touched me and brought back memories of my father (who was not a dancer, but that’s beside the point). Not gonna lie – I got very emotional.
Once Upon a Mattress runs at the Hudson Theatre in New York until November 30, 2024, after which it is apparently transferring to the Ahmanson Theater in Los Angeles. Don’t be “Shy” – go see it!
I’ve always loved live theater, and in the past couple of years I’ve been making a stronger effort to see more of it. Theater Thursday is an occasional series where I talk about live theater, both shows I’ve seen recently and shows I’ve loved in the past.