30 Years of Encores!

Once Upon a Mattress

What's Next at City Center

2025 Encores!

Urinetown | Love Life | Wonderful Town

This series of concert stagings revisits the archives of American musical theater. Centered around The Encores! Orchestra, these revivals are produced with limited runs and rehearsal schedules, spotlighting the vocal talents of star-studded ensembles.

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For complete casting, show information, and all ticketing for the Broadway engagement of City Center’s production of Once Upon a Mattress at the Hudson Theatre, please visit the show’s website.

Dates

Jan 24 – Feb 4, 2024

Recommended for everyone ages 5 and up.

Times

WEEK ONE | Jan 24 – 28, 2024
Wed – Fri 7:30pm
Sat 2 & 8pm | Sun 2 & 7pm

WEEK TWO | Jan 30 – Feb 4, 2024
Tue – Fri 7:30pm
Sat 2 & 8pm | Sun 2pm

Price

Tickets from $45 (fees included)

Run Time

Approximately 2 hours and 15 minutes with one intermission

Accessible Program PDF

Download

About

Ebullient, joyful

The New York Times logo

Musical theater legend Sutton Foster (The Music Man) returns to the City Center stage as Princess Winnifred the Woebegone alongside Michael Urie (Ugly Betty) as Prince Dauntless in this beloved musical fairytale. Full of gloriously catchy melodies like “Shy” and “In a Little While,” this uproarious update of Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Princess and the Pea” also features Nikki Renée Daniels (Lady Larken), J. Harrison Ghee (Jester), Harriet Harris (Queen Aggravain), Cheyenne Jackson (Sir Harry), Francis Jue (Wizard), and David Patrick Kelly (King Sextimus the Silent).

Led by Tony-nominated Encores! Artistic Director Lear deBessonet (Into the Woods, Lionel Bart’s Oliver!) and with a new concert adaptation by Amy Sherman-Palladino (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel), Once Upon a Mattress sets an unapologetic free spirit loose in a repressed kingdom, reveling in Winnifred’s ability to charm and transform with willpower, honesty, and a little bit of help from her friends.

This production of Once Upon a Mattress is dedicated to the memory of City Center Board member Luigi Caiola, who was a true advocate for the arts and a passionate Encores! supporter. Luigi’s legacy will live on here at City Center and across New York’s theaters for years to come.

Want the best seats in the house?

Secure access to premium house seats when you become a Patron starting at $2,500. Please call 212.763.1257 or email Patrons@NYCityCenter.org for more information.

Learn More

Casting and programming subject to change.

Dates

Jan 24 – Feb 4, 2024

Recommended for everyone ages 5 and up.

Times

WEEK ONE | Jan 24 – 28, 2024
Wed – Fri 7:30pm
Sat 2 & 8pm | Sun 2 & 7pm

WEEK TWO | Jan 30 – Feb 4, 2024
Tue – Fri 7:30pm
Sat 2 & 8pm | Sun 2pm

Price

Tickets from $45 (fees included)

Run Time

Approximately 2 hours and 15 minutes with one intermission

Accessible Program PDF

Download

Video & Photos

  • Once Upon a Mattress Production Highlights
    Videography: Bardo Arts/Alex Pearlman, Production Photography: Joan Marcus

  • Once Upon a Mattress | "An Opening for a Princess"
    Videography: Bardo Arts/Alex Pearlman, Production Photography: Joan Marcus

  • Once Upon a Mattress | "Very Soft Shoes"
    Videography: Bardo Arts/Alex Pearlman, Production Photography: Joan Marcus

  • From Left to Right: King Sextimus the Silent (David Patrick Kelly), Prince Dauntless the Drab (Michael Urie), and Queen Aggravain (Harriet Harris) hold court while the Jester (J. Harrison Ghee) and the Company attend.

    Photo by Joan Marcus

  • Princess Winnifred (Sutton Foster) arrives in the kingdom fresh from the swamp.

    Photo by Joan Marcus

  • Princess Winnifred (Sutton Foster) tells everyone how "Shy" she is.

    Photo by Joan Marcus

     

  • Lady Larken (Nikki Renée Daniels) and Sir Harry (Cheyenne Jackson) sing "In a Little While."
    Photo by Joan Marcus

  • Everyone in the kingdom wants Prince Dauntless (Michael Urie, center) to get married.

    Photo by Joan Marcus

  • The Jester (J. Harrison Ghee) sets the scene in "Many Moons Ago."

    Photo by Joan Marcus

  • Queen Aggravain (Harriet Harris) and the Wizard (Francis Jue) craft the perfect "Sensitivity" test.

    Photo by Joan Marcus

  • Prince Dauntless (Michael Urie, center) is in love with a girl named Fred (Sutton Foster, center).

    Photo by Joan Marcus

  • Prince Dauntless (Michael Urie) and King Sextimus (David Patrick Kelly) have a "Man to Man Talk."

    Photo by Joan Marcus

  • Sutton Foster (Princess Winnifred) brings the swamp to the stage in "Shy."

    Photo by Joan Marcus

  • The Wizard (Francis Jue) may have a few tricks up his sleeve...

    Photo by Joan Marcus

  • From Left to Right: King Sextimus (David Patrick Kelly), Lady Larken (Nikki Renée Daniels), and the Jester (J. Harrison Ghee) sing "Normandy."
    Photo by Joan Marcus

  • From Left to Right: Queen Aggravain (Harriet Harris), Prince Dauntless (Michael Urie), Sir Harry (Cheyenne Jackson), and Lady Larken (Nikki Renée Daniels).

    Photo by Joan Marcus

  • Sutton Foster (Princess Winnifred) sings "Shy."

    Photo by Joan Marcus

  • Sutton Foster (Princess Winnifred) tries to get a good night's sleep.

    Photo by Joan Marcus

  • Prince Dauntless (Michael Urie, standing) knows that a genuine princess like Winnifred (Sutton Foster, lying on mattresses) is exceedingly rare.

    Photo by Joan Marcus

  • Inside Encores! Rehearsal: "In a Little While"

  • Inside Encores! Rehearsal: "Many Moons Ago"

  • Inside Encores! Rehearsal: Sutton Foster & Lear DeBessonet on Once Upon a Mattress

  • First Day with The Encores! Orchestra

In the Press

Critic's Pick: Once Upon a Mattress Review: Sutton Foster as a Perfectly Goofy Princess

Perfectly cast from top to bottom

Exceedingly fun

A role Sutton Foster was born to play

Artists

Cast & Credits

Sponsors

For 30 years, musical theater lovers like you have come together in our Encores! audience through a shared love of song and dance. Your gift helps keep extraordinary musicals alive for a new generation of audiences.