Once Upon a Mattress

Last updated

Once Upon a Mattress
OnceUponAMattress.jpg
Original cast recording
Music Mary Rodgers
Lyrics Marshall Barer
Book Jay Thompson
Marshall Barer
Dean Fuller
Amy Sherman-Palladino (2024 production)
BasisFairy tale The Princess and the Pea
Productions1958 Camp Tamiment, PA
1959 Off-Broadway
1959 Broadway
1960 US Tour
1960 West End
1964 U.S. Television
1972 U.S. Television
1996 Broadway revival
2005 U.S. Television
2024 Encores!
2024 Broadway revival

Once Upon a Mattress is a musical comedy with music by Mary Rodgers, lyrics by Marshall Barer, and book by Jay Thompson, Dean Fuller, and Marshall Barer. It opened off-Broadway in May 1959, and then moved to Broadway. The play was written as a humorous adaptation of the 1835 Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale "The Princess and the Pea".

Contents

Once Upon a Mattress was first written as a shorter play at the Tamiment adult summer camp resort. The play was later expanded for the Broadway stage. Initial reviews of the play were mixed, but critics and actors alike were surprised by the show's enduring popularity. Once Upon a Mattress is a popular choice produced by top-level high school and university music and drama programs.

Production history

Broadway (1959-1960)

The original production opened on May 11, 1959, at the off-Broadway Phoenix Theatre [1] (later a multi-plex cinema on the Lower East Side), transferred later that year to Broadway at the Alvin Theatre (the modern Neil Simon Theatre) and then to several other Broadway theaters, finally playing at the St. James Theatre, for a total run of 470 performances. [2] The musical was directed by George Abbott and choreographed by Joe Layton. Once Upon a Mattress marked the Broadway debut of comedian Carol Burnett, who originated the role of Princess Winnifred. Also featured were Joseph Bova, Allen Case, Jack Gilford and Matt Mattox. Jane White played the role of Queen Aggravain. Jack Gilford played King Sextimus The Silent and was later replaced by Will Lee, Gilford's standby, before the show's Broadway move. The musical received a Tony Award nomination for Best Musical as well as a Best Leading Actress nomination for Carol Burnett. When Burnett left the show on June 25, 1960, veteran television actress Ann B. Davis took over the leading role beginning June 27. [3] [4] [5] A few days later the show announced it was closing July 2; Davis played eight performances as Winnifred. [6]

US National Tour (1960)

In August 1960, soon after the closing of the Broadway run, rehearsals were called for a seven-month US tour which would move from city to city by train, truck and bus. Jack Sydow stepped from his role as King into the position of Director. Dody Goodman played Winnifred at first, then Imogene Coca picked up the role. Carol Arthur understudied them both, and played the Nightingale of Samarkand. [7] Fritzi Burr played the Queen and Buster Keaton played the King. Keaton's wife Eleanor was placed in the chorus. Keaton warmed up to the cast of younger actors, freely dispensing grandfatherly advice and chocolates. [8]

West End (1960)

A London production of the musical opened at the Adelphi Theatre on September 20, 1960, where it ran for 24 performances. The cast included Jane Connell as Winnifred, Robin Hunter as Dauntless, Milo O'Shea as the King, Bill Kerr as the Wizard, Bill Hayes as the Minstrel, and Max Wall as the Jester. [9] EMI Records took the cast into the recording studio and recorded a London Cast album. This was issued on an HMV LP. The album was included on a CD titled Once Upon a Mattress issued by Sepia Records in 2010. [10]

Subsequent revivals

A Broadway revival opened on December 19, 1996, at the Broadhurst Theatre and closed on May 31, 1997, after 35 previews and 188 regular performances. It starred Sarah Jessica Parker as Winnifred, David Aaron Baker as Dauntless, Lewis Cleale as Sir Harry, Heath Lamberts as the King, Lawrence Clayton as the Minstrel, David Hibbard as the Jester, Tom Alan Robbins as Master Merton and Jane Krakowski as Lady Larken. [11] The production was nominated for the 1997 Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical. [11]

The musical opened Off-Broadway, produced by the Transport Group, at the Abrons Arts Center on December 13, 2015, for a limited run which ended on January 3, 2016. Directed by Jack Cummings III, the cast featured Jackie Hoffman as Princess Winnifred, John Epperson as Queen Aggravain, Jessica Fontana as Lady Larken, David Greenspan as The King, and Hunter Ryan Herdlicka as The Minstrel. [12]

From January 24 until February 4, 2024, a concert production was staged as part of the New York City Center Encores! series. The production had a book adaptation by Amy Sherman-Palladino and direction by Lear deBessonet. Among the cast were Sutton Foster as Winnifred, Michael Urie as Dauntless, Nikki Renée Daniels as Lady Larken, Cheyenne Jackson as Sir Harry, Harriet Sansom Harris as the Queen, David Patrick Kelly as the King, Francis Jue as the Wizard, and J. Harrison Ghee as the Jester. This production cut the role of the Minstrel as well as the song "The Minstrel, the Jester, and I", and made the Jester non-binary using they/them pronouns, with an implied romance between the Jester and the Wizard. [13]

In May 2024, it was announced that the production would transfer to Broadway in summer 2024. The show began previews on July 31 at the Hudson Theatre with an opening night on August 12. [14] Foster and Urie reprised their respective roles of Winnifred and Dauntless [15] and Daniels and Kelly reprised their respective roles of Lady Larken and the King. New to the cast were Brooks Ashmanskas as the Wizard, Daniel Breaker as the Jester, Will Chase as Sir Harry, and Ana Gasteyer as Queen Aggravain. [16] The show ran through November 30 and then transferred to the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles for a four-week engagement lasting from December 10, 2024 to January 5, 2025. [17] [18] On Broadway, the production received mostly positive reviews with The New York Times giving the production a Critic's Pick and praising both Foster and Urie in their roles while others including Variety noted that Foster was overall awkward in the role. [19] [20] [21]

Television adaptations

1964

The first television adaptation was aired on June 3, 1964, on CBS. The production was videotaped in black and white in front of a live audience and featured Burnett, Bova, Gilford, and White from the original Broadway cast, as well as new principals Bill Hayes as the Minstrel, Shani Wallis as Lady Larken and Elliott Gould (in his first appearance on any screen) as the Jester. Due to the reduced running time of 90 minutes, several songs and scenes were either cut or shortened. [22] The character of Sir Harry was written out, and the Minstrel was rewritten to be Lady Larken's love interest, with the conflict concerning them being downplayed to a secret marriage.

Carol Burnett and Ken Berry in the 1972 television production. Carol Burnett Once Upon a Mattress 1972.JPG
Carol Burnett and Ken Berry in the 1972 television production.

1972

The second television adaptation was broadcast on December 12, 1972, on CBS. This production, videotaped in color, included original Broadway cast members Burnett, Gilford and White, and also featured Bernadette Peters as Lady Larken, Ken Berry as Prince Dauntless, Ron Husmann as Sir Harry, Wally Cox as The Jester, and Lyle Waggoner as Sir Studley. It was directed by Ron Field and Dave Powers. [23] Again, several songs were eliminated and characters were combined or altered. Since the parts of the Minstrel and the Wizard were cut from this adaptation, a new prologue was written with Burnett singing "Many Moons Ago" as a bedtime story. [22] In 2016, the special was included as a bonus feature on the DVD Carol + 2: The Original Queens of Comedy. [24]

2005

The third television version, which aired on December 18, 2005, on ABC in the United States as part of The Wonderful World of Disney and was released on DVD two days later, starred Carol Burnett as Queen Aggravain, Denis O'Hare as Prince Dauntless, Tom Smothers as King Sextimus, Tracey Ullman as Princess Winnifred, Zooey Deschanel as Lady Larken, and Matthew Morrison as Sir Harry. [25] It was directed by Kathleen Marshall and executive produced by Burnett and Martin Tudor. [25] A prologue, cut from the DVD release, features a girl looking for Winifred, her favorite princess, at Disneyland, and meets a woman (Burnett) who tells her "the real story." The Minstrel was cut from this version, except "Normandy," which was changed to a love duet between Larken and Sir Harry. A new song, "That Baby of Mine" was written for Burnett.

Plot

Act I

A fictional medieval kingdom in 15th-century Europe is ruled by the devious Queen Aggravain and the mute King Sextimus the Silent. King Sextimus suffers from a curse cast by a witch that can only be reversed "when the mouse devours the hawk." The Minstrel sings of the Princess and the Pea ("Many Moons Ago"), but reveals the story to be fake, though he knows the true tale because he was there when it happened. The princess in the story is not the first princess tested to see if she is worthy of marrying Prince Dauntless the Drab—she is the thirteenth princess. The day the Minstrel arrives at court, the Queen, alongside her confidant, the Wizard, is testing Princess #12 with an unfair quiz. To the Queen's delight, the princess misses the last question: "What was the middle name of the daughter-in-law of the best friend of the blacksmith who forged the sword that killed the Beast?" and is given a rubber chicken by Sir Studley. The populace of the castle complains about an unjust law levied by Queen Aggravain: "Throughout the land no one may wed, 'till Dauntless shares his wedding bed." However, every petitioning princess is sent away after failing unfair tests devised by the Queen. It seems that no one is good enough to marry Prince Dauntless ("An Opening for a Princess").

The crisis escalates when the leading knight of the realm, Sir Harry, discovers that his girlfriend, Lady Larken, is pregnant. Though Lady Larken says that she will run away so he will never have to face embarrassment and the loss of his station, Sir Harry decides that he will set out to find a princess himself ("In a Little While"). He petitions the Queen who immediately says no, but when Dauntless manages to speak up and beg, she gives in.

The Minstrel tells the audience that in the original story, the princess arrived at the castle on a stormy night ("Many Moons Ago - Reprise"), but in the true story, it was not night at all—and the princess only looked as though she went through a storm. Princess Winnifred the Woebegone, a brash and unrefined princess from the Marshlands, was so eager to arrive that she swam the castle moat. She immediately charms Dauntless, Studley, and the knights and most of the kingdom ("Shy"). However, she also earns the utter loathing of the evil Queen, who vows to stop her.

The King discovers Larken's pregnancy and pantomimes this to his confidants, the Minstrel and the Jester. He tells them not to say a word, but they both are more worried about the King letting it slip, because even though he is mute, he can still communicate ("The Minstrel, the Jester, and I"). Later, the Queen, assisted by the Wizard, designs a test for Winnifred based on something they are sure she doesn’t have at all—sensitivity. They will place a tiny pea beneath twenty thick downy mattresses. If Winnifred is unable to sleep due to the pea, then she will be sensitive enough to marry Dauntless ("Sensitivity").

Meanwhile, Winnifred tells Dauntless and the ladies in waiting about her home in the swamp ("The Swamps of Home") and meets the King, and they immediately like each other. Then, after spilling a purple vase filled with fresh new baby's breath, Winnifred is caught cleaning the mess by Lady Larken who mistakes her for a chambermaid. Soon Harry gets mad at Larken for her mistake and they get in a fight. Larken vows that she will run far far away where she will never see him again.

The King, the Minstrel and the Jester catch Larken trying to run away, and they try to stop her but in the end decide to help her escape to Normandy ("Normandy"). Later that night, the Queen throws a ball so Winnifred can dance the most exhausting dance in the world: "The Spanish Panic". The Queen hopes that Winnifred will tire herself, but the plan fails. Winnifred is the last one standing as everyone collapses from exhaustion at the dance's climax. She asks Dauntless to try to give her a clue as to what the test might be, but he's not sure. He brings out a huge barbell that one of the princesses was asked to lift, but even he cannot lift it. Winnifred does easily and Dauntless admits that he loves her. Winnifred mentions that her nickname is Fred and Dauntless sings of his love for her as she practices numerous tasks she might have to do for the test, including singing, dancing, wrestling, acting, playing the Minstrel's lute, pantomiming and drinking herself unconscious ("Song of Love").

Act II

Later that night, the Queen leads the knights and ladies as they carry the twenty mattresses to Fred's room ("Quiet"), and she catches the Minstrel, the Jester, the King, and Larken (disguised in Dauntless' clothes) running away. The Minstrel tries to protect Larken by saying he was escaping with Larken against her will. The Queen declares that the Minstrel will be banished by daybreak. Fred and Dauntless study for the test, and Fred convinces Larken to fix things with Harry. Larken leaves to find Harry, Dauntless bids Fred goodnight, and now she is left alone. While studying a fairy tale, she complains about how other fairy tale princesses had it easy and how she wants to live happily ever after ("Happily Ever After"). King Sextimus has a man to man talk with Dauntless about the birds and the bees completely in pantomime ("Man to Man Talk"). The Jester and Minstrel trick the Wizard into telling them of the test and the Jester reminisces about his father's dancing days ("Very Soft Shoes").

Sir Harry and Lady Larken run into each other and they confess that their love is stronger than ever ("Yesterday I Loved You"). When Fred is finally ready for bed, the Queen tries to make her even more sleepy by attempting to hypnotize her with a hypnotic mirror, burns poppy and mandragora incense, forces her to drink a sleeping draught, and finally brings in the Nightingale of Samarkand to sing her to sleep ("Nightingale Lullaby"), but Winnifred is kept wide awake. It seems that there is some "lump" under the mattresses that is keeping her from relaxing. She starts counting sheep.

The next morning, Dauntless dresses in his finest to see Winnifred pass the test, but the Queen tells him to his great disappointment that the test has already happened and what it was. She says that since Winnifred has not yet emerged from her room, she must still be sleeping and therefore has failed. Dauntless is heartbroken until Winnifred drowsily stumbles into the throne room while still counting sheep; she hasn't slept a wink. Everyone is ecstatic that Winnifred has passed but the Queen insists that Dauntless should not throw himself away on Winnifred. Dauntless has had enough of his mother's attempts to control his life and finally yells, "I told you to shut up!". The curse on King Sextimus is lifted (the "mouse", Dauntless, has metaphorically devoured the "hawk", Queen Aggravain). Aggravain discovers that she cannot talk and the King can, so Dauntless and Winnifred are free to be married. The King forces the Queen to hop, skip, and jump around the room to everyone's amusement, and with this, she is forced to step down.

Finally the real reason why Winnifred passed the test is revealed: after learning about the test, the King, Minstrel, and Jester stuffed the mattresses full of weapons, jousting equipment, and other sharp items. All the items are removed by the Jester in the finale ("Finale"). After the items are removed, Winnifred still has trouble sleeping until Dauntless takes the pea out from under the mattresses; she then falls asleep almost immediately, proving that she was indeed a true princess. Everyone, in classic fairy-tale tradition, lives happily ever after.

Characters

Musical numbers

Cast

CharacterOff-BroadwayBroadwayU.S. National Tour [26] West EndU.S. Television SpecialU.S. Television SpecialBroadway RevivalU.S. Television SpecialTransport GroupEncores!Broadway Revival
19591960196419721996200520152024
Princess Winnifred Carol Burnett Dody Goodman Jane Connell Carol Burnett Sarah Jessica Parker Tracey Ullman Jackie Hoffman Sutton Foster
Prince Dauntless Joseph Bova Jack Sydow Robin Hunter Joseph Bova Ken Berry David Aaron Baker Denis O'Hare Jason SweetTooth Williams Michael Urie
Queen Aggravain Jane White Fritzi Burr Thelma Ruby Jane White Mary Lou Rosato Carol Burnett Lypsinka Harriet Sansom Harris Ana Gasteyer
Lady LarkenAnne Jones Carol Arthur Patricia Lambert Shani Wallis Bernadette Peters Jane Krakowski Zooey Deschanel Jessica FontanaNikki Renée Daniels
Sir Harry Allen Case Chet SommersBill Newman Ron Husmann Lewis Cleale Matthew Morrison Zak Resnick Cheyenne Jackson Will Chase
King Sextimus Jack Gilford Will Lee Buster Keaton Milo O'Shea Jack Gilford Heath Lamberts Tom Smothers David Greenspan David Patrick Kelly
Jester Matt Mattox Harold Lang Max Wall Elliott Gould Wally Cox David Hibbard Michael Boatman Cory Linger J. Harrison Ghee Daniel Breaker
MinstrelHarry Snow John Baylis Bill Hayes Lawrence ClaytonHunter Ryan Herdlicka
WizardRobert Weil Willy Switkes Bill Kerr Jack Fletcher Edward Hibbert Jay Rogers Francis Jue Brooks Ashmanskas

Notable Broadway cast replacements

1959 production

1996 production

2024 production

Awards and nominations

Original Broadway production

YearAward ceremonyCategoryNomineeResult
1960 Tony Award Best Musical Dean Fuller, Jay Thompson, Marshall Barer and Mary Rodgers Nominated
Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical Carol Burnett Nominated
Theatre World Award Won

1996 Broadway revival

YearAward CeremonyCategoryNomineeResult
1997 Tony Award Best Revival of a Musical Nominated

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Julie Andrews</span> British actress, singer, and author (born 1935)

Dame Julie Andrews is an English actress, singer, and author. She has garnered numerous accolades throughout her career spanning over eight decades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, two Emmy Awards, three Grammy Awards, and six Golden Globe Awards as well as nominations for three Tony Awards. One of the biggest box office draws of the 1960s, Andrews has been honoured with the Kennedy Center Honors in 2001, the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award in 2007, and the AFI Life Achievement Award in 2022. She was made a Dame (DBE) by Queen Elizabeth II in 2000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carol Burnett</span> American comedian and actress (born 1933)

Carol Creighton Burnett is an American comedian, actress, and singer. Her comedy-variety series, The Carol Burnett Show, which originally aired on CBS, was one of the first to be hosted by a woman. Burnett has performed on Broadway, on television, and in dramatic and comedic film roles. She has received numerous awards and accolades, including seven Golden Globe Awards, seven Primetime Emmy Awards, a Tony Award, and a Grammy Award. Burnett was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2005, the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor in 2013, and the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award in 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glinda</span> The Wonderful Wizard of Oz character

Glinda is a fictional character created by L. Frank Baum for his Oz novels. She first appears in Baum's 1900 children's classic The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, and is the most powerful sorceress in the Land of Oz, ruler of the Quadling Country South of the Emerald City, and protector of Princess Ozma.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scarecrow (Oz)</span> Character in L. Frank Baums fictional Land of Oz

The Scarecrow is a character in the fictional Land of Oz created by American author L. Frank Baum and illustrator W.W. Denslow. In his first appearance, the Scarecrow reveals that he lacks a brain and desires above all else to have one. In reality, he is only two days old and merely naïve. Throughout the course of the novel, he proves to have the brains he seeks and is later recognized as "the wisest man in all of Oz," although he continues to credit the Wizard for them. He is, however, wise enough to know his own limitations and all too happy to hand the rulership of Oz to Princess Ozma and become one of her trusted advisors, though he typically spends more time having fun than advising.

The Wicked Witch of the West is a fictional character who appears in the classic children's novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900), created by American author L. Frank Baum. She is killed by Dorothy; in Baum's subsequent Oz novels, the Wicked Witch of the West is occasionally referred to.

<i>Spamalot</i> Musical comedy play by John Du Prez and Eric Idle

Spamalot is a stage musical with score by John Du Prez and Eric Idle, with lyrics and book by Idle. Based on the 1975 film Monty Python and the Holy Grail, the musical offers a highly irreverent parody of Arthurian legend, with the title being a portmanteau of Spam and Camelot.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sutton Foster</span> American actress (born 1975)

Sutton Lenore Foster is an American actress. She is known for her work on the Broadway stage, for which she has won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical twice, in 2002 for her role as Millie Dillmount in Thoroughly Modern Millie, and in 2011 for her performance as Reno Sweeney in Anything Goes, a role which she reprised in 2021 for a production in London and for which she received a nomination for the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical. Her other Broadway credits include Grease, Little Women, The Drowsy Chaperone, Young Frankenstein, Shrek the Musical, Violet, The Music Man, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, and Once Upon a Mattress. On television, Foster played the lead role in the short-lived ABC Family comedy-drama Bunheads from 2012 to 2013. From 2015 to 2021, she starred in the TV Land comedy-drama Younger.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jack Gilford</span> American actor (1908–90)

Jack Gilford was an American Broadway, film, and television actor. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for Save the Tiger (1973).

Shani Wallis is an English actress and singer, who has worked in theatre, film, and television in both her native United Kingdom and in the United States. A graduate of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, she is known for her roles in the West End and for the role of Nancy in the 1968 Oscar-winning film musical Oliver!

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Princess and the Pea</span> Fairy tale by H. C. Andersen

"The Princess and the Pea" is a literary fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen about a princess who is tested to become the wife to a lonely prince. The tale was first published with three others by Andersen in a cheap booklet on 8 May 1835 in Copenhagen by C. A. Reitzel.

<i>Jane and the Dragon</i> (TV series) Television series

Jane and the Dragon is a CGI children's animated television series based on the books of the same name by Martin Baynton. The show is directed by Mike Fallows and the motion capture is directed by Peter Salmon; it is co-produced by Weta Workshop in New Zealand and Nelvana Limited in Canada. The series follows the comedic exploits of Jane—an adolescent girl training to be a knight—and her friend Dragon—a talking, flying, 300-year-old, fire-breathing dragon. The program originally aired on YTV in Canada and on ABC in Australia. It also aired on the Qubo weekend lineup from September 9, 2006 until 2021, when the network shut down. It can be seen on Five in the UK. In American broadcasts, it bears the E/I bug. Episodes are available as part of the "Kids Suite" sold via Bell/Rogers in Canada and are broadcast on Tuesdays on Disney Junior on the Disney Channel. It has also been on Treehouse TV.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ann B. Davis</span> American actress (1926–2014)

Ann Bradford Davis was an American actress. She achieved prominence for her role in the NBC situation comedy The Bob Cummings Show (1955–1959), for which she twice won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series, but she was best known for playing the part of Alice Nelson, the housekeeper in ABC's The Brady Bunch (1969–1974).

<i>Blazing Dragons</i> Canadian-French TV series or program

Blazing Dragons is an animated television series created by Terry Jones and Gavin Scott, and produced by Nelvana and Ellipse Animation. A coinciding graphic adventure video game was released for the original PlayStation and Sega Saturn in 1996 by Crystal Dynamics. The video game features the voice talents of several celebrities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jane Connell</span> American actress and singer (1925–2013)

Jane Sperry Connell was an American actress and singer.

Deborah Weems was an American actress and singer. She is best remembered for her recurring roles on the children's television program Captain Kangaroo.

Joseph Bova was an American actor. He worked in early television, having a children's show on WABC-TV in New York, and played Prince Dauntless in the Broadway musical Once Upon a Mattress, starring Carol Burnett.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jane White</span> American actress (1922–2011)

Jane White was an American actress and singer best known for her Broadway and off-Broadway stage performances. She won Obie Awards in 1966 for her performance in a Shakespeare in the Park productions of Love's Labour's Lost and Coriolanus and in 1971 for sustained achievement.

Daniel Breaker is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for playing Donkey in Shrek the Musical.

Once Upon a Mattress is a 2005 made-for-television musical comedy film directed by Kathleen Marshall. The teleplay by Janet Brownell is based on the 1959 musical of the same name, which in turn was based on the 1835 fairytale The Princess and the Pea by Hans Christian Andersen. It stars Carol Burnett, Denis O'Hare, and Tracey Ullman and features Tom Smothers, Matthew Morrison, Edward Hibbert, Michael Boatman, and Zooey Deschanel. It aired on December 18, 2005 on ABC as the eighth episode of the forty-seventh season of The Wonderful World of Disney and is the last original television movie from that series. It received moderate to positive reviews and was nominated for two Primetime Emmy Awards.

References

  1. Whittemore, Tim. "Once Upon A Mattress". Musical Heaven. Retrieved April 22, 2009.
  2. IBDB. "Once Upon a Mattress" . Retrieved December 5, 2011.
  3. "Daily News 15 Jun 1960, page 79". Newspapers.com. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
  4. "Once Upon a Mattress – Broadway Musical – Original | IBDB". www.ibdb.com. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
  5. "Newsday (Suffolk Edition) 24 Jun 1960, page 78". Newspapers.com. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
  6. "Daily News 01 Jul 1960, page 111". Newspapers.com. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
  7. DomDeluise.com Carol Arthur
  8. Meade, Marion (1997). Buster Keaton: Cut to the Chase. Da Capo. p. 284. ISBN   0-306-80802-1.
  9. "Unsung Heroines". Archived from the original on June 15, 2008. Retrieved May 29, 2024.
  10. "Sepia Records". Sepia Records. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved August 18, 2015.
  11. 1 2 Once Upon a Mattress Playbill (vault), accessed December 4, 2019
  12. Clement, Olivia. "'Once Upon a Mattress' Revival, Starring Jackie Hoffman, Opens Tonight" Playbill, December 13, 2015
  13. New York City Center. "Once Upon a Mattress - Encores!". New York City Center. Retrieved January 26, 2024.
  14. The Broadway League. "Once Upon a Mattress – Broadway Musical – Original". IBDB. Retrieved May 20, 2024.
    "Once Upon a Mattress (Broadway, Hudson Theatre, 2024)". Playbill. August 13, 2024. Retrieved August 13, 2024.
  15. mattressmusical (May 29, 2024). "[Confirmation of Urie casting]". Instagram. Retrieved May 29, 2024.
  16. Culwell-Block, Logan (July 8, 2024). "Ana Gasteyer Will Rule Over Once Upon a Mattress". Playbill. Retrieved July 8, 2024.
  17. Evans, Greg. 'Once Upon A Mattress' Starring Sutton Foster Sets Broadway Run, L.A. Engagement To Follow, Deadline Hollywood, May 17, 2024
  18. Culwell-Block, Logan. Once Upon a Mattress Finishes Broadway Run November 30; Los Angeles Is Next, Playbill, November 30, 2024
  19. "Once Upon a Mattress". Did They Like It?. Retrieved August 15, 2024.
  20. Vincentelli, Elisabeth (August 13, 2024). "Sutton Foster and Michael Urie Reunite in the Zany 'Once Upon a Mattress'". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved August 15, 2024.
  21. D'Addario, Daniel (August 13, 2024). "'Once Upon a Mattress' Review: Sutton Foster Is an Awkward Fit in a Musical That's Not Quite Broadway Royalty". Variety. Retrieved August 15, 2024.
  22. 1 2 Mandelbaum, Ken (January 6, 2006). "Insider: DVDs: Many Moons Ago". Broadway.com. Retrieved April 22, 2009.
  23. "Once Upon a Mattress 1972". Turner Classic Movies . Atlanta: Turner Broadcasting System (Time Warner). Retrieved October 29, 2016.
  24. amazon - Carol+2 DVD
  25. 1 2 "Once Upon a Mattress". Turner Classic Movies . Atlanta: Turner Broadcasting System (Time Warner . Retrieved October 6, 2016.
  26. "Credits for Once Upon a Mattress (First National Tour, 1960) | Ovrtur". ovrtur.com. Retrieved May 22, 2024.