The latest revival to open on Broadway is the classic “Once Upon a Mattress” with music by Mary Rogers, her first Broadway show, and an adapted book by Amy Sherman-Palladino, from the original by Jay Thompson, Marshall Barer and Dean Fuller. As soon as the on-stage orchestra begins the overture, the audience is reminded of, or in many cases introduced to, music reminiscent of the Golden Age of musical theatre. This current “bare bones” incarnation is yet another transfer from the Encores staged concert series, and is sufficiently directed by Lear deBessonet, relying heavily on broad slapstick humor. There are two major problems that plague this production. The first being that it is still a staged concert with minimal sets and costumes, evocative of a high school or stock production, lacking the substance and flair of Broadway. The second obstacle is the fact that it is not the best written musical to begin with, lacking strong structure, and developing too many superfluous subplots. The most appealing aspect of this current creative construction are some outstanding stellar performances.

The plot is an adaption of the Hans Christian Anderson fairy tale, The Princess and the Pea. This version introduces the domineering Queen Aggravain (a menacing Ana Gasteyer), who insists that her son Prince Dauntless (a forlorn Michael Urie), marry a real princess. She develops absurd tests that fair maidens will never pass, assuring that the prince will never marry, and she will keep her reign. The problem is that no woman in the kingdom may marry, until the prince finds his princess.    This causes a major problem for Lady Larkin (a delightful Nikki Renee Daniels), who is unwed and pregnant. The father is Sir Harry (a scattered Will Chase), who goes into the swamp country in search of a princess for the prince, and returns with Princess Winnifred (an astounding Sutton Foster), who abandons the knight and swims the moat to enter the castle. This unlikely candidate is put to the sensitivity test, and must sleep atop twenty soft mattresses, not knowing a pea has been placed underneath the bottom mattress to disturb her sleep. Crazy antics proceed, and it does end happily ever after.

The original production starred the then unknown Carol Burnett, and her brilliant performance skyrocketed her to stardom, becoming a household name. This revival has cast a Broadway star, the indomitable Sutton Foster. Here Sutton Foster proves once again, not only does she have powerful vocals, athletic prowess, and proficient dance skills, but she soars as a captivating comedian. Big, broad, relentless antics and physicality abound in this over-the-top performance. Another stand out performer is David Partick Kelly as King Sextimus the Silent, who is cursed and cannot speak until the “mouse devours the hawk” (actually, until Dauntless devours his mother Queen Aggravain). He is warm and charming, and his expressions and gestures are hysterical throughout, especially when he has his father and son talk with Prince Dauntless about the “birds and the bees”.

Direction by Lear deBessonet keeps a steady pace and allows the actors to exercise their comedic talents with little restraint. The choreography by Lorin Latarro is adequate, but hindered by the lack of space as sharing the stage with the orchestra leaves a limited and confined area downstage. Lighting designer Justin Townsend and costume designer Andrea Hood complement each other flooding the stage with bright primary colors, punctuating the sense of a fanciful Fairy Tale. The costumes seemed a bit low budget and could have been improved upon for this Broadway production. As mentioned previously, subplots and a couple of musical numbers seem out of place or unnecessary, especially those dealing with Wizard (an endearing Brooks Ashmanskas) and Jester (a charming Daniel Breaker). Bottom line, even with its shortcomings it is a highlight of the season so far, just to see the talented Sutton Foster pass the test and prove that she is certainly Broadway nobility!