Michael Urie to join Sutton Foster in Broadway revival of ONCE UPON A MATTRESS
Jenny Anderson
Tony Award-winning producers Seaview and Creative Partners Productions have announced that Drama Desk Award winner and SAG Award nominee Michael Urie (Spamalot, HBO’s Shrinking, Ugly Betty) will star alongside Tony Award winner Sutton Foster (Anything Goes, The Music Man) in Once Upon A Mattress on Broadway this summer. Direct from its record-breaking, sold-out run at New York City Center’s Encores! earlier this year, the show returns to Broadway in a new adaptation by Emmy Award winner Amy Sherman-Palladino (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Gilmore Girls), directed by Tony Award nominee and Drama League Award winner Lear deBessonet (Into The Woods). Once Upon A Mattress begins previews Wednesday, July 31, 2024 and opens on Monday, August 12, 2024 at The Hudson Theatre (141 W 44th St), for a limited engagement through November 30, 2024.
Declared a “Critic’s Pick” during its record-breaking run this year, Once Upon A Mattress is the highest-grossing show to date for City Center’s Encores! Series. The New York Times deemed Urie “exactly right” in the role of Prince Dauntless, who “chews the scenery with an infectious gusto.” They also raved, “Sutton Foster makes a banquet of the material... Her glee in taking possession of the stage creates an all-encompassing manic energy that both the audience and her scene partners feed off.” New York Magazine wrote that Foster’s “escalating feats of strength, flexibility, and musicality, are sure to get the heart pumping and the crowd laughing. Let these weirdos rule the kingdom!”
An uproarious update of Hans Christian Andersen’s The Princess and the Pea, the beloved musical Once Upon A Mattress sets an unapologetic free spirit loose in a repressed kingdom, revelling in Winnifred’s ability to charm and transform with willpower, honesty, and a little bit of help from her friends. Full of gloriously catchy melodies like “Shy” and “In a Little While,” the musical first premiered in 1959, with music by Mary Rodgers, lyrics by Marshall Barer, and book by Jay Thompson, Dean Fuller, and Marshall Barer.
The Broadway production will feature Choreography by Drama Desk Award nominee Lorin Latarro (The Who’s Tommy), Scenic Design by Tony Award winner David Zinn (Fun Home, SpongeBob SquarePants), Lighting Design by Tony Award winner Justin Townsend (Moulin Rouge! The Musical), Costume Design by Andrea Hood (Into the Woods), Sound Design by Tony Award winner Kai Harada (Days of Wine and Roses, Merrily We Roll Along), and Hair, Wig, & Makeup Design by J. Jared Janas (Sweeney Todd, &Juliet). General Management is by Wagner Johnson Productions. Casting is by The Telsey Office (Bernard Telsey, CSA; Craig Burns, CSA). Orchestrations are by Tony Award winner Bruce Coughlin (The Light in the Piazza), and Drama Desk Award winner Mary-Mitchell Campbell (Company) will serve as Music Supervisor, Annbritt duChateau as Music Director, and Cody Renard Richard as Production Stage Manager.
Following its Broadway engagement, Foster and Urie will headline the production in Los Angeles for a four-week engagement at Center Theatre Group's Ahmanson Theatre from December 10, 2024 – January 5, 2025.
Tickets are on sale now. Further casting and creative team will be announced at a later date.
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