She Swam the Moat in Once Upon A Mattress

Nov 5, 2024 by Two Sues On the Aisle

By Two Sues on the Aisle, Susie Rosenbluth and Sue Weston

Once Upon a Mattress, set in 15th-century Europe, reimagines Hans Christian Andersen’s fairytale of the Princess and the Pea and will leave you rolling with laughter. It is a good old-fashioned slap-stick musical comedy, with witty lyrics and ridiculous situations that fit together and deliver an inspirational message of self-determination and breaking free.

Setting the Stage

A spell left King Sextimus the Silent (David Patrick Kelly) mute until the mouse devours the hawk. This leaves the Queen Aggravain (Ana Gasteyer) the ruler, responsible for finding a ‘true princess’ to marry her pampered-childlike son, Prince Dauntless (Michael Urie).

Each princess is given an impossible test, which they ultimately fail. Prince Dauntless the Drab whines at the Queen “You asked a princess to do long division, and it hasn’t been invented yet,” to which his mother replies, “Drink your cocoa, darling” and he does. The Queen has no intention of giving up the throne, and Dauntless is in no position to object.

No one in the kingdom can marry until Dauntless is wed. This creates an issue for Lady Larken (Nikki Renee Daniels) who finds herself expecting. She sends Sir Harry (Ben Davis) past the mountains and the badlands to find a suitable princess. He discovers Princess Winnifred the Woebegone (Sutton Foster) from the marshland.

The Characters

The kingdom is a colorful mix of personalities, the Queen is domineering and arrogant with a shrill voice, who expects to be served. The king, a mute, communicates through pantomime, is colorful, and lovingly teaches Dauntless about the birds and the bees in the song Man to Man Talk. Prince Dauntless is an immature whiny and wimpy adult-child, unable even to climb the stairs. Sir Harry is handsome but not very bright. Lady Larken is capable and dedicated, choosing to run away rather than having Sir Harry be embarrassed. Add to the mix, an excentric Wizard, former vaudevillian performer (Brooks Ashmanskas), and Jester (Daniel Breaker) who recounts the true story of the princess and the pea (because he was there). Finally, Princess Winnifred, known as Fred, entered the castle by swimming the moat and scaling the wall, to the amazement of all.

Fred is not the iconic picture of a princess. She was covered with mud with leeches on her back and a squirrel in her hair. She grew up in the marshes where things were different, nobility bathed annually and had one outfit. She was determined to succeed and pass the Queen’s test, lifting weights and studying history.

Fred’s spunk and determination shocks the townspeople and awakens something within the Prince.

The Challenge

Fred is secretly given a sensitivity test, if she sleeps through the night, she fails.

The Queen throws a dance party in her honor, then gives her a beverage that will make her drowsy, before leading Fred to a bed of 20 plush mattresses with one small pea at the bottom. Fred finds the bed lumpy and doesn’t sleep a wink all night, tossing and turning.

This was one of our favorite sequences. Sutton’s performance was hilarious, perched high atop a tower of mattresses, trying the most ridiculous positions to get comfortable. In the morning, when the Queen tries to disqualify Fred, Dauntless stands up to his mother, breaking the spell, rendering the Queen speechless, and restoring his father’s voice.

The townspeople had learned about the challenge and had placed items between the mattresses, including a sword, a pitchfork, and even a knight. Yet even after these items were removed, Fred was unable to sleep. Once Dauntless removes the pea, she falls into a deep sleep.

For Children of All Ages

Like all fairy tales, Once Upon a Mattress ends happily ever after. It is full of silly bits like Fred stuffing grapes into her mouth letting the juice drip down her chin, tossing leaches into the audience, and munching on soap while the pieces fall into her pocket. The production was high energy and endearing showing us that amazing things can happen with determination, after all, she swam the moat.

Once Upon a Mattress is a reimagining of a timeless classic that restores faith in love and laughter.

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Two Sues on the Aisle bases its ratings on how many challahs (1-5) it pays to buy (rather than make) to see the play, show, film, book, or exhibit being reviewed.

Once Upon A Mattress received 5 Challahs

Run Time 2 Hours and 15 Minutes including an intermission

At the Hudson Theatre in Manhattan until November 30, 2024