By Lucy Komisar
In the latest Broadway revival of “Once Upon a Mattress,” Sutton Foster reigns supreme, solidifying her place in the pantheon of American musical theater greats. This whimsical adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Princess and the Pea,” with book by Dean Fuller, Jay Thompson, and Marshall Barer, adapted by Amy Sherman-Palladino, lyrics by Barer, music by Mary Rodgers, proves the perfect showcase for Foster’s incomparable talents.
The show’s opening moments don’t immediately captivate, starting with dolls in a miniature castle. The pompous and nasty Queen Aggravain (the excellently high-pitched Ana Gasteyer) wants to keep marriage from her nebbish, petulant and unhappy son Prince Daunless, (a fine Michael Urie). The mute King (David Patrick Kelly) doesn’t have a say. So, while putting out a call for prospective princess brides, the Queen finds fault with them all. (They appear wearing school windbreakers.) When they get the thumbs down, they are awarded consolation prizes of a plucked chicken, ie, they get the bird. Some of dialogue is pretty silly.
Everything changes with Foster’s entrance as Princess Winnifred. She arrives climbing the castle wall from a moat. She was brought by a local lord, Sir Harry, to enter the marriage stakes, but impatient, she jumped off the horse, ran down the hill and swam the cruddy water. She is caked in mud, and her long hair looks like a ratty bird’s nest. At this point (from stage direction), “She reaches into her decollate and yanks out a still wiggling eel.”
WINNIFRED “Hey – I brought dinner!”
She also has leeches on her back and mini-snakes slithering out of her clothes. She throws the snakes into the audience. Then part of her hair turns out to be a beaver. Andrea Hood’s costume design deserves special mention for Princess Winnifred’s memorable entrance look.
From then on, Foster commands the stage with a tour-de-force performance that combines stellar vocals, physical comedy, and impeccable timing. Her blaring rendition of “Shy” is an instant show-stopper:
Shy! I confess it, I’m shy!
Can’t you guess that this confident air
Is a mask that I wear, cause I’m shy?
And you may be Sure:
way down deep I’m demure.
Though some people I know might deny it,
At bottom I’m quiet and pure!
… And despite the impression I give,
I confess that I’m living a lie,
Because I’m actually terribly timid, and horribly shy.”
This sets the tone for a series of hilarious and memorable moments throughout the production. There is no show till the smashing arrival of Princess Winnifred. Then it is almost all her show.
Director Lear deBessonet keeps the pace brisk and the comedy sharp, allowing Foster to shine in increasingly outrageous scenarios. Whether she’s spitting grapes or lifting weights, she is brilliantly funny.
The supporting cast holds their own, with Ana Gasteyer, an excellent soprano, delivering a delightfully grating performance as the aggravating Queen Aggravain and Michael Urie bringing charm and skillful physical comedy to the role of Prince Dauntless. Nikki Renée Daniels as Lady Larken has a honeyed soprano and star quality, while Will Chase as her fiancé Sir Harry sings in a fine baritone.
Among the rest, Daniel Breaker as the Jester has a good voice, though compared to those others is not a stand-out. And Brooks Ashmanskas as the Wizard is creepy and weird. He seems to belong in another show, one built around himself. David Patrick Kelly is fine as the mute King who communicates with charades, a shtick that is funny at first, but not worth the repetitions.
But to the eponymous climax. The Queen will see if Fred (her preferred nickname is not Winnie) is really a princess by putting a pea under 20 mattresses. If she feels the pea, she is royal! Watch Sutton Foster camp and mug, shifting around on the top of the pile, twisting and kicking. If you compared it to dance, it would be break-dancing. Then a surprise, there’s a little bit more than a pea at issue!
Sutton Foster’s portrayal of Princess Winnifred is destined to become the stuff of Broadway legend.
“Once Upon a Mattress.” Book by Dean Fuller, Jay Thompson, Marshall Barer, adapted by Amy Sherman-Palladino. Lyrics by Barer, music by Mary Rodgers. Directed by Lear deBessonet. Hudson Theatre, 141 West 44th Street (bet Broadway & 6th Ave), New York. Runtime 2hrs20min. Tkts. Opened Aug 11, 2024, closes Nov 30, 2024.