‘ONCE UPON A MATTRESS’: Sutton Foster. Photo: Joan Marcus.

ONCE UPON A MATTRESS
Book by Jay Thompson, Marshall Barer & Dean Fuller
Music by Mary Rodgers
Lyrics by Marshall Barer
Adapted by Amy Sherman-Palladino
Directed by Lear deBessonet
Hudson Theatre
141 W 44th Street
https://onceuponamattressnyc.com/

By Scott Harrah

Once Upon a Mattress recently transferred from a hit City Center Encores! production earlier this year to Broadway. It is the perfect vehicle for two of Broadway’s most delightful musical comedy talents: Michael Urie and Sutton Foster. With a crisp new adaptation by Amy Sherman-Palladino of “Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” fame, this latest revival of the Mary Rodgers/Marshall Barer classic is one of the summer’s hottest shows.

Once Upon a Mattress is the story of a fictional medieval kingdom. The musical focuses on Princess Winnifred the Woebegone (Sutton Foster), an awkward, gawky woman from a mystical swamp kingdom who is chosen to be the bride of Prince Dauntless the Drab (Michael Urie). Queen Aggravain (Ana Gasteyer), Prince Dauntless’ mother, is determined to ensure her son remains unmarried and devises impossible tests for Princess Winnifred to pass. The queen has been sabotaging all potential matches to maintain control of the kingdom. Her husband King Sextimus the Silent (David Patrick Kelly) is powerless because he was made mute by a curse cast by a witch. Princess Winnifred—or “Fred” as she prefers to be called—is not the first princess to be tested to see if she is a worthy bride. Queen Aggravain has already rejected several princesses that her son wanted to marry. She devises what she thinks will be a foolproof test, with the help of the Wizard (Brooks Ashmankas): Winnifred must sleep on a huge stack of mattresses with a tiny pea underneath one and if she is truly “royalty,” she will be hyper-sensitive and not sleep and, thus, pass the test. Otherwise, if she actually sleeps, the “test” will show she’s merely a commoner and, therefore, cannot marry the prince.

The musical is mostly famous for launching the career of comedienne Carol Burnett when she originated the role of Princess Winnifred when Once Upon a Mattress opened on Broadway in 1959. Based on the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale The Princess and the Pea, the saga is a lighthearted spoof of the storybook genre. It was last revived in 1996 with Sara Jessica Parker in the lead role, and a 2005 TV version starred Tracey Ullman. So, the show has always been a vehicle for its leading lady, and this iteration is perfect for Broadway and TV veteran Sutton Foster. Ms. Foster shows off talents many never knew she had, such as her natural gift for physical comedy. With her many pratfalls and slapstick moves—from eating grapes to lifting weights—she has much more to do onstage than in her role as Marian the Librarian in the 2022 revival of The Music Man, in which she was often overshadowed by mega star Hugh Jackman. When she belts out the show’s signature song “Shy,” one can see why Once Upon a Mattress was such an important career starter for Carol Burnett, but Ms. Foster manages to give her own unique interpretation of Princess Winnifred. The musical is Ms. Foster’s from the moment she arrives, wet and dirty from the moat, jumps into the castle and into the prince’s life.

Michael Urie, as Prince Dauntless, is outstanding as always. Is there chemistry between Mr. Urie and Ms. Foster? Not really, but it doesn’t matter, because this is a goofy musical that never takes itself seriously. In his tights, crown and cape, Mr. Urie is a lovable nerdy prince.

Other standouts include Nikki Renée Daniels as Lady Larken, the girlfriend of Sir Harry (Will Chase). Ms. Daniels has a beautiful coloratura voice and she and Mr. Chase are in rapturous harmony on such duets as “In a Little While” and “Yesterday I Loved You.” “Saturday Night Live” alum Ana Gasteyer plays a caustically mean Queen Aggravain.

Daniel Breaker as the Jester, and Brooks Ashmankas as the Wizard, fare less well in supporting roles in which they ham it up with goofy antics, but Once Upon a Mattress is supposed to be an absurdist musical comedy so there’s nothing wrong with screwball high jinks.

David Zinn’s sets are fairly spartan, featuring the orchestra right on stage above the action. Director Lear deBessonet gets consistently good performances from the cast, and one thing is certain: This revival of Once Upon a Mattress features one of Sutton Foster’s best comic performances to date.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published August 17, 2024
Reviewed at August 15, 2024 press performance

‘ONCE UPON A MATTRESS’: Michael Urie, Sutton Foster & cast. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘ONCE UPON A MATTRESS’: David Patrick Kelly, Michael Urie & Ana Gasteyer. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘ONCE UPON A MATTRESS’: The cast. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘ONCE UPON A MATTRESS’: Daniel Breaker & Brooks Ashmankas. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘ONCE UPON A MATTRESS’: Sutton Foster, Michael Urie & cast. Photo: Joan Marcus.

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‘THE MUSIC MAN’: Hugh Jackman, Sutton Foster & cast. Photo: Julieta Cervantes.

THE MUSIC MAN
Book, music & lyrics by Meredith Willson
Based on a story by Meredith Willson & Franklin Lacey
Directed by Jerry Zaks
Choreographed by Warren Carlyle
Winter Garden Theatre
1634 Broadway at 50th Street
(212-239-6200), www.MusicManOnBroadway.com

By David NouNou

Americana at its very best.

I have been called a traditionalist, and I am proud of it. Being one of the few remaining dinosaurs who saw the original version of The Music Man in 1959 at the Majestic Theatre, starring Robert Preston and Barbara Cook, I can’t say I was overwhelmed by it. I was only a little boy, I thought it was too long and I didn’t understand the lingo being spoken on stage.  The things that excited me most were so many people dancing, singing and having a good time on stage. I was dazzled by the sets and costumes. I actually wanted to learn to play a musical instrument so I could be a part of the show and play in Professor Harold Hill’s band.

This brings us to 2022. I never learned to play a musical instrument, but over the years I’ve come to appreciate the complexities of what it takes to write a musical. This is a period piece for sure and for modern audiences it may seem stilted. However, one must see it from the context of when it was written and about the times in which it was written. Meredith Willson, being a native of Iowa, wrote a beautifully complex and textured tale about the people he knew best at the turn of the 20^th century in the small town of River City, Iowa. He also wrote the entire score which defines all the characters and their attitudes in the score.

Into this small, sleepy, and unfriendly town storms Professor Harold Hill (Hugh Jackman), trying to sell these cold and gullible folks musical instruments and band uniforms for their children. Once he fleeces his sheep, he usually runs out of town with the money and leaves them with no band. In this instance, there is a little hitch by the name of Marian the librarian (Sutton Foster) who is on to Professor Hill’s antics. In turn, one gets to meet all the colorful townspeople and their quirks.

Once you get accustomed to the lingo used—the likes of jokes from Captain Billy’s whiz bag, Sen-Sen, “so’s your old man,” dime novels, libertine men, “scarlet women and shameless music”—and get in step with the proceedings, it becomes a joyride from start to finish.

This revival brings back to life the magic that was Broadway. A musical that has an orchestra pit, an actual visible conductor, and an orchestra playing real instruments that you can hear and feel the music with no prerecorded and overmiked tracks. An actual live orchestra and a stageful of marvelous performers acting, singing, hoofing and giving it their all. What a joy to finally see a revival or any musical with a cast of 42 people filling the stage and each playing their designated role and not have to watch 20 people going in and out of different characters and play chorus members as well.

Hugh Jackman may not be Harold Hill of 1912, but he is certainly Professor Hill for 2022 and hopefully for years to come. His charm and energy are boundless, he sings sublimely, looks divine, and he is a hoofing Harold Hill. What more can you ask of the man?

Sutton Foster gives us a different interpretation of Marian Paroo, the librarian. Unlike any of her predecessors who came off as sweet and ladylike, this young lady takes no guff from any one, stands her ground, and isn’t waiting for a white knight to rescue her. She is in complete control.

The townsfolk are priceless: Marie Mullen as wise Mrs. Paroo is an Irish charmer; Jayne Houdyshell as Mrs. Shin, the Mayor’s wife, is a showstopper with every move and glance. Jefferson Mays as Mayor Shin is perfect at getting flummoxed easily. The quartet of Phillip Boykin, Eddie Korbich, Nicholas Ward and Daniel Torres is impressive, and their harmonizing is a constant delight throughout the show. One will especially fall in love with Benjamin Pajak as Winthrop Paroo; that was the role I was willing to learn an instrument for when I was a kid and wanted to be in the show to play Winthrop.

To my glee, Warren Carlyle has kept the infectious period dances and his excellent dancers of all ages keep in step. Jerry Zaks, usually an expert director on extravaganzas, could have decluttered the sets a bit and instructed Santo Loquasto, the designer, a more realistic vision than just a side of a barn or painted backdrops. These are mere trifles for an evening that explodes with joy and heart; the musical theatre’s cup has runneth over.

Please indulge me in being able to thank my parents for taking me to the theatre at an early age and introducing me to the magic that was Broadway to such an extravaganza as The Music Man. Watching Hugh Jackman and Sutton Foster and the rest of the glorious cast took me back decades to being a small child who wanted to learn the cornet so he could be in a show. I urge parents to take their children to see this glorious version of The Music Man and know what magic Broadway can create if done well, and who knows— maybe someday your kids will thank you, too.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published February 16, 2022
Reviewed at February 15, 2022 press performance.

‘THE MUSIC MAN’: Hugh Jackman, Sutton Foster & cast. Photo: Julieta Cervantes.

‘THE MUSIC MAN’: Hugh Jackman (center) & cast. Photo: Julieta Cervantes.

‘THE MUSIC MAN’: Jefferson Mays (center) & cast. Photo: Julieta Cervantes.

‘THE MUSIC MAN’: (left to right) Phillip Boykin, Nicholas Ward, Hugh Jackman, Daniel-Torres & Eddie Korbich. Photo: Julieta Cervantes.

‘THE MUSIC MAN’: The cast. Photo: Julieta Cervantes.

‘THE MUSIC MAN’: The cast. Photo: Julieta Cervantes.

‘THE MUSIC MAN’: Shuler Hensley. Photo: Julieta Cervantes.

‘THE MUSIC MAN’: Benjamin Pajak & Marie Mullen. Photo: Julieta Cervantes.

‘THE MUSIC MAN’: Sutton Foster. Photo: Julieta Cervantes.

‘THE MUSIC MAN’: Jayne Houdyshell. Photo: Julieta Cervantes.

‘THE MUSIC MAN’: Hugh Jackman & Sutton Foster. Photo: Julieta Cervantes.

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ON THE ROAD TO A DREAM: Sutton Foster & Annie Golden in ‘Violet.’ Photo: Joan Marcus

VIOLET
Music by Jeanine Tesori
Book & lyrics by Brian Crawley
Based on The Ugliest Pilgrim by Doris Betts
Directed by Leigh Silverman
American Airlines Theatre
227 West 42nd Street
(212-719-1300), www.roundabouttheatre.org

By David Nounou

Violet poses the question of which cross is harder to bear; the visible scar on a face that people wince at every time they look at you, or the scar that burrows in the heart since childhood that acts as a defensive shield against the outside world? In reality, they are intertwined and are demons that a person with a deformity has to deal with on a daily basis. Twelve years earlier the blade of the ax that her father was chopping wood with slips loose and slashes across her face leaving a permanent scar. However, we, the audience don’t see it, we have to imagine it. Throughout her long bus trip from North Carolina to Oklahoma, Violet is accompanied by her inner thoughts of her younger self and her father. She is on her way to Oklahoma to see a faith healer who can help her erase her scare and hopes he gives her the hair of Elke Sommer, the eyes of Gene Tierney, the eyebrows of Ava Gardner, the skin of Rita Hayworth, and the cheekbones of Ingrid Bergman. Damn, I hope I got it right.

Of course on the ride, Violet (Sutton Foster) comes to meet three people, and naturally they all wince upon first seeing her, but as they get to know her better, they see her inner beauty and her frailties. First is a talkative older lady getting off in Memphis (Annie Golden) who tries to shield her from other folks, mainly two soldiers Violet encounters on her journey. They are stationed in Fort Smith, Tennessee. The soldiers are Flick (Joshua Henry),  the black man who appreciates her for her strength and determination; and Monty (Colin Donnell),  the white soldier who appreciates her for the hurt in her eyes. Flick has the timidity that was inflicted on him because of his color since he was a young boy, but Monty is the brassy, good-looking all-American boy who gets everything with a wink and a smile.

As in any road trip, there are stops along the way. In Memphis, it’s a night out with the boys; and finally, in Oklahoma it is off to see the TV evangelist of the day, replete with all the gospel traditions of all-singing, all-dancing revival meeting, and it’s a long one. It’s all a kind of female Elephant Man meets Leap of Faith and Kathie Lee Gifford’s Scandalous with redemption in the end that it’s better to have the beauty and confidence on the inside than what glitters on the outside.

This is a new role for Sutton Foster, not the one we usually see as the bubbly all-singing, all- dancing as in Anything Goes or The Drowsy Chaperone. It is a serious role and she delivers it earnestly and still manages to give her sunny smile in the end. Joshua Henry is in great voice and has the show-stopping number “Let It Sing,” and Colin Donnell, who was in Anything Goes with Ms. Foster, is handsome as ever. If you would enjoy a bus ride through the South in 1964, then you would enjoy Violet.

ONE NIGHT OF PASSION: Sutton Foster & Collin Donnell in ‘Violet.’ Photo: Joan Marcus

Violet was nominated for four Tonys, including: Best Musical Revival, Best Musical Actress – Sutton Foster, Best Musical Supporting Actor – Joshua Henry and Best Director – Leigh Silverman.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published April 26, 2014
Reviewed at press performance April 25, 2014

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