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Once Upon a Mattress| Book: | Jay Thompson, Marshall Barer and Dean Fuller | | Music: | Mary Rodgers | | Lyrics: | Marshall Barer | | Director: | Gerald Gutierrez | | Choreographer: | Liza Gennaro | | Sets: | John Lee Beatty | | Costumes: | Jane Greenwood | | Lighting: | Pat Collins | | Sound: | Tom Morse | | Musical Direction and Vocal Arrangements: | Eric Stern | | Orchestrations: | Bruce Coughlin | | Dance Arrangements: | Tom Fay | | Music Coordinator: | John Miller | | Wig and Hair Design: | Paul Huntley | | Opened: | 12/96 at the Broadhurst Theater | | Cast: | Sarah Jessica Parker, Heath Lamberts, Jane Krakowski, Mary Lou Rosato, Lewis Cleale, Lawrence Clayton, Tom Alan Robbins, David Hibbard and David Aaron Baker |
 Once Upon a Mattress Joan Marcus |
This once-upon-a-time farce follows poor Prince Dauntless (Baker), who's still a bachelor thanks to his overbearing mother, a shrew who insists that each of his potential brides-to-be pass an impossible gauntlet of tests (12 candidates have already failed). Parker is the intrepid and adorable Winifred who sleeps on a fantastic 20-layer bed as her climactic challenge in the pre-nuptial tryouts. The versatile actress lends her considerable musical talents to several peppy blues- and scat-inspired numbers, though her voice sometimes sounds more whiney than winsome. While the musical's Freudian overtones are slyly amusing, director Guttierez represses the vaudeville potential of the work, settling on a woefully repetitive score and flat choreography. Try as she might, Parker can't carry the show with her trademark pluck. For that kind of wish, Once Upon a Mattress just may require a fairy godmother.
Information Please® Database, © 2007 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. More on Once Upon a Mattress from Infoplease:
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