ONCE UPON A MATTRESS
ONCE UPON A MATTRESS
Once upon a time, in a kingdom far away, lived the domineering Queen Aggravain, the cursed King Sextimus, and the mousy Prince Dauntless. In order to keep him unmarried, the Queen has decreed that only the princess who can pass her impossible test may marry the Prince. After rejecting princess after princess, the Queen has met her match: the brash and charming Winnifred the Woebegone. This hilariously irreverent comedy updates the classic fairytale “The Princess and the Pea” and features some of musical theater’s most beloved melodies like “Shy” and “In a Little While.”
Once Upon a Mattress was written by Mary Rodgers, Marshall Barer, Jay Thompson, and Dean Fuller. First opening Off-Broadway in May 1959, it starred Carol Burnett and transferred to Broadway later that year. It has enjoyed six and a half decades of popularity, including the most recent 2024 New York City Center Encores series production starring Sutton Foster.
Music by Mary Rodgers, Lyrics by Marshall Barer
Book by Jay Thompson, Dean Fuller, and Marshall Barer
Music Directed by Dr. Lauri Young