Once Upon a Mattress NYC Reviews and Tickets
Show-Score Member Reviews (105)
See it if you like old-fashioned musicals with hints of modern/irreverent twists. Or if you want to spend a couple hours with a big smile on your face
Don't see it if you're a traditionalist, or a sourpuss.
See it if You wanted the chance to see a trouper like Jackie Hoffman in a great comic performance. Bonus points for a fun turn from Lypsinka.
Don't see it if OK it's a bit long and a bit thin on the story side,. but the winning lead performances made up for that.
See it if You enjoy fluffy and funny
Don't see it if You lack taste
See it if You love Jackie Hoffman, Lypsinka or the show's magical score.
Don't see it if You're expecting a genius, revelatory night at the theater. It's a just-okay production of a really sweet (but twee) musical.
See it if you are a fan of Jackie Hoffman.
Don't see it if you are not a fan of this musical, or in need of a little more conceptual weight to a show.
See it if Jackie Hoffman & Lypsinka float your boat. They're Serta-nly swell. Zak Resnick, Cory Lingner & Ryan Hunter Herdlicka Sealy in the charm.
Don't see it if a pea or 2 of lumpy staging keep you from enjoying a good night's entertainment. Most performances lack the distinctive edge of the leads.
See it if you need a OUAM fix. The show is delightful fluff, but this production never soared. I liked the projected sets, but others didn't.
Don't see it if you want a stellar version. Lypsinka overdoes it. Hoffman is sweet, but lacks presence and voice. The cast needs some diversity.
See it if you like quirky classic musicals performed with a wink.
Don't see it if you don't like shtick.
Critic Reviews (22)
"Absolutely nothing about this wacky, malfunctioning carousel ride of a production is predictable, and against the odds, everything about it works…If Cummings, Hoffman, Epperson, and company have made this production an explosion of theatrical and comedic energy, their achievement isn't one for the ages only because 'Once Upon a Mattress' isn't a show for the ages. But even grade-D titles deserve grade-A treatments, so give them credit for that."
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"Hoffman carries the show but doesn't monopolize it given accomplished work of the supporting cast…It isn't that Cummings has done anything extraordinarily daring to a show already done to death...However, he has kept a clear vision of what this show is and isn't as it moves from one silly scene and one charming song and dance to the next…For good wholesome family fun, you can't top 'Once Upon a Mattress.'"
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"It's not the greatest musical ever written, but its stars, supporting cast, and creative team deliver a near-flawless production of this silly, sassy, modern fairy tale...A supporting cast full of first-rate singer/actors carries us through the two-plus hours of 'Once Upon A Mattress' so effortlessly it feels like the time just speeds by."
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"'Mattress' is the musical comedy adapted from Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale The Princess and the Pea that is keeping audiences guffawing with silly, rollicking pleasure...And, oh, what a cast of characters jaunty Jack Cummings III (director) has gathered... Hoffman is delightfully daffy and droll in the role, utilizing some interesting vocal techniques in her song delivery."
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"Transport Group presents this revival with delicious gender-bending bits and pieces that often bring the house down with raucous and spirit-filling laughter...'Once Upon A Mattress' has a truly ensemble cast that brings to life the clever book and the catchy score and engages the audience on several levels from the simple to the profound...Under Jack Cummings III’s sensitive and careful direction, the entire cast is superb."
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"The elastic-faced Hoffman has finally gotten a leading role she’s long deserved…Her rendition of 'I’m Shy' is a highlight of the season…A cast of first-rate comic pros executes the daffy plot…Given all the goodies, it is easier to forgive the ways the musical is dated…A running time of 150 minutes has become too long for what is essentially sketch comedy. And, as good as their performances are, the humor is far less funny than it once must have been."
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"New, fabulously funny production...Hoffman has big shoes to fill, as Carol Burnett originally created the role. She effortlessly succeeds. With impressive vocal and physical gymnastics, Hoffman owns the role...this newly scrubbed version of 'Once Upon A Matttress' provides the perfect escapist antidote to 'transport' us to a magical world of musical theater."
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"Despite the lack of any songs that have become standards, Rodgers and Bayer’s score is consistently amusing and listenable...The book, however, has too many minor diversions, and there’s not quite enough wit to sustain what is, after all, a rather innocuous narrative for a grown-up audience...At a somewhat overlong two hours and 25 minutes, 'Once Upon a Mattress' isn’t a great show, but it’s cute, sprightly, and more charming than you might expect."
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