Once Upon a Mattress 2024
Opened: January 24, 2024Closing: February 04, 2024
Once 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
In a Role Sutton Foster Was Born To Play, the Broadway Star Carries the New ‘Once Upon A Mattress’
8 / 10
Yet it’s Ms. Foster who truly carries the show, albeit with sparkling assistance from Mr. Urie in their scenes together. All of this leading lady’s leading assets are on display here, from her sometimes underused capacity for dry, sly humor to that Energizer Bunny-like exuberance. The latter fuels rollicking and very funny production numbers, starting with a show-stopping “Shy” — performed upon Winnifred’s entrance after swimming a moat, as she’s still pulling leeches and other small animals from her body and hair.
Once Upon A Mattress Encores Review
9 / 10
But, unlike the early concerts in the series, it would be hard to argue that the acting and dancing play second (or eighth) fiddle. None of the lead actors read from the scripts on music stands; they are fully costumed, they and the ensemble are fully choreographed. Encores no longer sees its primary mission as offering a second listen to long-dormant musicals with great scores and poor books. One now suspects that the producers are always hoping for a Broadway transfer, such as happened, most spectacularly, with “Chicago.” Even officially, as its page on the City Center website puts it, “This series of concert stagings revisits the archives of American musical theater…spotlighting the vocal talents of star-studded ensembles.” It’s hard to complain when the vocal talent is so abundant, as in “Once Upon A Mattress,” and it’s matched by so much comic talent.
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Video: Michael Urie Performs 'An Opening For A Princess' In Encores! ONCE UPON A MATTRESS
by A.A. Cristi - January 29, 2024
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!
Video: Watch More Songs from Encores! ONCE UPON A MATTRESS
by Nicole Rosky - January 25, 2024
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!
Review Roundup: ONCE UPON A MATTRESS Opens at New York City Center Encores!
by Chloe Rabinowitz - January 25, 2024
by Chloe Rabinowitz - January 25, 2024
Read the reviews for Once Upon a Mattress, now playing at New York City Center Encores!
Photos: First Look at Sutton Foster, J. Harrison Ghee & More in ONCE UPON A MATTRESS
by Nicole Rosky - January 24, 2024
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!
Video: See Sutton Foster & More in Highlights From Encores! ONCE UPON A MATTRESS
by Chloe Rabinowitz - January 24, 2024
by Chloe Rabinowitz - January 24, 2024
Check out vide footage from the Encores! production of Once Upon a Mattress.
VIDEO: Watch the First Day with The Encores! Orchestra for ONCE UPON A MATTRESS
by Blair Ingenthron - December 23, 2023
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!
Nikki Renée Daniels, J. Harrison Ghee, Cheyenne Jackson & More Join Encores! ONCE UPON A MATTRESS
by Nicole Rosky - December 4, 2023
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 |
Videos