Once Upon a Mattress
Closing: February 04, 2024Once Upon a Mattress - 2024 Off-Broadway History , Info & More
New York City Center
131 West 55th St. (between 6th and 7th Avenues) New York, NY 10019
In 1959, two as-yet-untested stars made their Broadway debuts: Mary Rodgers, with a gorgeous score that put her on the map, and Carol Burnett, in her first stage role as the brassy, loveable Princess Winifred the Woebegone—or “Fred” to her friends. More than six decades later, musical theater legend Sutton Foster (The Music Man) returns to the City Center stage alongside an all-star creative team to recapture that same infectious energy and joy.
Led by Encores! Artistic Director Lear deBessonet (Into the Woods, Lionel Bart’s Oliver!) and with a new concert adaptation by Amy Sherman-Palladino (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel), Once Upon a Mattress sets an unapologetic free spirit loose in a repressed kingdom, reveling in Fred’s ability to charm and transform with willpower, honesty, and a little bit of help from her friends. Full of gloriously catchy melodies like “Shy” and “In a Little While,” this uproarious update of Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Princess and the Pea” promises both classic charms and new delights.
Once Upon a Mattress - 2024 - Off-Broadway Cast
FEATURED REVIEWS FOR Once Upon a Mattress
ONCE UPON A MATTRESS: SUTTON FOSTER DISTINGUISHES A SO-SO REVIVAL
6 / 10
To little avail. The story still awkwardly jumps from sequence to sequence with spare logic, jokes landing with pea-sized humor. Plenty registers as forced, Queen Aggravain’s character probably the most forced. Tiresome time is given to Prince Harry and Lady Larken with the result that Winnifred disappears for long stretches. Myriad shenanigans serve as time fillers before Winnifred, nickname Fred, finally gets to bed down over the miniscule pea.
The Encores! Once Upon a Mattress Is the Biggest Summer-Camp Show Ever
7 / 10
That tone is a good fit for a shorter run at Encores!, even if this is a case where you might root against a Broadway transfer, given that the raggedy charm that works for a short-run engagement might not be enough to justify a Broadway ticket, and the antics themselves could well wear out a cast. It wears even by Mattress’s own second act, where the convolutions of the plot get arcane and the jokes repeat.
Category
by A.A. Cristi - January 29, 2024
Up next at New York City Center, the Encores! season kicks off with Once Upon a Mattress, running January 24 through February 4, 2024. See star Michael Urie performing 'An Opening For a Princess,' in newly released video of the production below!
by Nicole Rosky - January 25, 2024
Up next at New York City Center, the Encores! season kicks off with Once Upon a Mattress, running January 24 through February 4, 2024. Check out more video highlights of the cast in action!
by Chloe Rabinowitz - January 25, 2024
Read the reviews for Once Upon a Mattress, now playing at New York City Center Encores!
by Nicole Rosky - January 24, 2024
Up next at New York City Center, the Encores! season kicks off with Once Upon a Mattress, running January 24 through February 4, 2024. Check out a first look at the cast in action here!
by Chloe Rabinowitz - January 24, 2024
Check out vide footage from the Encores! production of Once Upon a Mattress.
by Blair Ingenthron - December 23, 2023
Watch the 26-piece Encores! Orchestra, led by Music Director Mary-Mitchell Campbell, play SHY in preparation for ONCE UPON A MATTRESS here!
by Nicole Rosky - December 4, 2023
NEW YORK CITY CENTER announced additional casting for the first production of the 30th Encores! series, Once Upon a Mattress. Find out who will join the star-studded company!
Once Upon a Mattress History
Other Productions of Once Upon a Mattress
| 2024 | Off-Broadway |
Encores! Concert Revival Production Off-Broadway |
Once Upon a Mattress - 2024 Off-Broadway Awards and Nominations
| Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominee |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Featured Performer in a Broadway Musical | Michael Urie |
| 2025 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Revival of a Musical | Once Upon a Mattress |
Videos