Still More Theater Saturday - Once Upon a Mattress & Forbidden Broadway

We were given complimentary tickets to Once Upon a Mattress for review purposes. Any and all opinions expressed here are our own. 

What: Once Upon a Mattress 

Where: Hudson Theatre

             141 W. 44th St.

              New York, NY

Who: Recommended for Ages 5 and Up

When: Through November 30, 2024

Me -  Once Upon a Mattress was a highly entertaining and funny show. It had the whole audience laughing out loud from start to finish. The already humorous plot and script were elevated by the phenomenal cast.  For starters, Sutton Foster is at her peak. Even when she's the sole cast member on stage with no lines, she keeps the audience in stitches.

We saw the understudy, Daniel Beeman, in the role of the Prince, and he was incredible as well. His line delivery, physical comedy, and facial expressions were hilarious.  He had the perfect energy for the role. While the entire cast was great, the other two who stood out most were Ana Gasteyer as Queen Aggravain and Will Chase As Sir Harry.

The music is not memorable, but it's fun within the context of the show., and the singing from the whole cast was great. 

If you don't enjoy shows that are very in your face with their comedy, then you probably would not enjoy this. Otherwise, if you're looking for a lively boisterous and very fun show, I would highly recommend seeing this one before its limited run ends.

Mom - Once Upon a Mattress, the musical story of The Princes and the Pea, originally served as the vehicle for the legendary, Carol Burnett's entry on the theatrical scene when she appeared in the role of Princess Winnifred. Later, Sarah Jessica Parker made the role her own in a Broadway revival of the show. Now, it's Sutton Foster's turn. This is clearly a role she was born to play, and she indelibly puts her stamp on the role, She so completely inhabits this character to hilarious effect that even when she is alone on stage you can't take your eyes off her for a minute because you might miss something. Her performance is equally mesmerizing and funny.

The rest of the cast is filled out with other top Broadway names like Michael Urie, Brooks Ashmanksas, Will Chase, Nikki Renee Daniels, and more. They are all quite good and quite funny as well, but none of their performances outshine their leading lady's. Some of the supporting cast members have been with the show since it debuted last summer as part of City Center's Encores series, where it was equally as amusing. The new cast members fit seamlessly into the ensemble, and the show hasn't missed a beat in the transfer.

Among the performers who are new to the production is Ana Gasteyer as Queen Aggravain. Gasteyer's previous best-known performance on Broadway was in the iconic role of Elphaba in Wicked, which is not by any stretch of the imagination what one would consider a comedic role. However, here she gets the opportunity to show off the comedy jobs she perfected on six seasons of Saturday Night Live.

All in all, the show is a complete delight. If you are looking for a fun, uplifting, hysterical show, you cannot do better than this one. You are not going to want to miss it!

And that's our view. For more about Once Upon a Mattress or to purchase tickets, visit onceuponamattressnyc.com.

XXX

We have been given complimentary tickets to Forbidden Broadway: Merrily We Stole a Song for review purposes. Any and all opinions expressed here are our own,

What: Forbidden Broadway: Merrily We Stole Song

Where: Theatre  555

             555 W. 42nd St.

             New York, NY

Who: Recommended for Ages 10 and Up

When: Through December 1. 2024

Me:  Forbidden Broadway: Merrily We Roll Along is an extremely funny show. So much. of it is so relatable if you go to shows a lot. However, even if you don't it's still a really funny show. The performances are so good. The cast does an incredible job of taking on the various characters and famous performers. You should definitely see this show!

Mom - This edition of the beloved theatrical parody series may just be the best one yet. If you are at all familiar with what's been going on in the theater world in the past year, the brilliantly written songs in this show are sure to give voice to exactly what you are thinking. I cannot count the number of times we looked at each other and nodded our heads in silent agreement with the words we were hearing. 

The four-member cast skillfully takes on a variety of theater (and nontheater) heavyweights including Ben Platt, Bernadette Peters, and Hilary Clinton.  Shows parodied include & Juliet, The Outsiders, and Wicked. The show also skewers things like Lincoln Center and theater etiquette (or the lack thereof). Everything you can possibly think of that is happening now on Broadway and/or has happened in the recent past is covered here. They even make fun of themselves by poking fun at the fact that although this version of the show was originally announced for a Broadway run, it is appearing Off-Broadway as usual instead.

All in all, the entire show is an absolute blast! If you have enjoyed Forbidden Broadway's productions in the past, you are really going to love this one. If you haven't, but you love theater this show is the perfect hilarious introduction to the series. 

And that's our view, For more about Forbidden Broadway: Merrily We Stole a Song or to purchase tickets, visit www.forbiddenbroadway.nyc.

Tune in tomorrow for this week's Sunday Scoop.

Photo credits:

All Once Upon a Mattress production photos by Joan Marcus

All Forbidden Broadway: Merrily We Stole a Song production photos by Carol Rosegg

Images used in this post have been sent to us from publicists, artists, and/or  PR firms and are used by permission. If there is a problem with the rights to any image,  contact us here, and we will look into the matter.