The run closed July 2, 1960
- Opened
- May 11, 1959
- Closed
- July 2, 1960
- Performances
- 460
- Previews
- —
- Theatre
- Phoenix Theatre
Of the 705 productions we hold that opened in the 1950s and record a performance count, this is the 62nd longest. That is a rank within what we hold, not within everything that was staged.
This is a New York theatre. The address is Manhattan and the former names are Broadway names, but the record is filed as West End and its coordinates, architect and history were taken from the London theatre of the same name. Every one of these names exists on both streets. Reported to broadway-data as issue #97.
Other stagings of Once Upon A Mattress 3 more that season
| 1960 | Adelphi Theatre Transfer | |
| 1996 | Broadhurst Theatre Revival · Gerald Gutierrez | 188 perf. |
| 2024 | Hudson Theatre Revival · Lear deBessonet | 128 perf. |
Who was in it48 named
Joe Bova
Robert Weil
Dorothy D Honau
Christopher Edwards
Luce Ennis
Dorothy Frank
Chris Karner
Patsi King
Jim Maher
Tom Mixon
David Neuman
Jerry Newby
Howard Parker
Julian Patrick
Ginny Perlowin
Dan Resin
Mary Stanton
Jim Stevenson
Joseph Carow
Jean Mattox
Marjorie Pragon
Casper Roos
Anthony Rossi
Jack Schwartz
Stuart Hodes
Gene Kelton
Cheryl Kilgren
Jerane Michel
Paul Richards
Gina Viglione
Ellie Zalon
John Baylis
Carla Huston
Betty Linton
14 of these 48 names have a person record behind them and link to one. The other 34 are set from the identifier in the cast list, which is a slug of the name — so hyphens and full stops are lost and a few come out wrong. We hold nothing else about them. Nobody here is matched to a character: the cast list records who was in the company and not what they played.
Characters8 roles recorded
Sarah Jessica Parker Princess Winnifred
Ken Berry Prince Dauntless
Mary Lou Rosato Queen Aggravain
Bernadette Peters Lady Larken
Ron Husmann Sir Harry
Jack Gilford King Sextimus
Wally Cox Jester
Lawrence Clayton Minstrel
Only 512 of 13,459 productions carry role names, and these came out of a wiki table — the names arrived with the table's own cell markup on them and have been stripped back. They are not linked to person records because the identifiers in that table do not resolve to ours.
Creative team
- Director
- George Abbott
- Choreographer
- Joe Layton
- Producer
- T. Edward Hambleton, Norris Houghton, William & Jean Eckart
- Orchestrations
- Her
A producer is one string on this record, however many people or companies it names. Directors and choreographers are held both as text and as identifiers; where an identifier exists the name links to a page.
Tony Awards 0 from 1 nomination
| Best Musical | Nominated |
Around this production
11 May: Once upon a Mattress, Carol Burnett’s Broadway debut, opens at the Phoenix Theater. Historical Dictionary of the Broadway Musical Volume 22 William A Everett Paul R, p. 26
- When Carol Burnett was replaced by Ann B. Davis in Once Upon a Mattress, the musical quickly disappeared. Complete Book of 1950s Broadway Musicals the Dan Dietz, p. 828
- Just in time for Christmas in 1996, a new production of the musical Once Upon A Mattress arrived, but it did not enjoy the success of the 1959 production which brought stardom to Carol Burnett. Sarah Jessica Parker, Jane Krakowski, Lewis Cleale, and David Aaron Baker headed the cast of the new version and the show, des… At This Theatre 100 Years of Broadway Shows Stories and Botto Louis Viagas Rober, p. 126
- She and Marshall Barer wrote the score to the hit Once upon a Mattress (5/11/59; 460 performances). It opened at the Phoenix Theater, and a new star was born, Carol Burnett. Broadway Its History People and Places An Encyclopedia Bloom Ken 1949 2nd Ed New, p. 27
- Neil Simon returned to the Broadhurst following Sarah Jessica Parker’s appearance in an ill-conceived revival of Once upon a Mattress (12/19/96; 188 performances) that failed in every respect. Broadway Its History People and Places An Encyclopedia Bloom Ken 1949 2nd Ed New, p. 106
- Mary Rodgers (1931—_) wrote the refreshing Once Upon a Mattress in 1959. More Opening Nights On Broadway A Critical Quotebook of Compiled By Steven Suski, p. 849
Passages naming this production, found by keyword across 178 books. Where it turns up in the literature, not curated notes about it.
What this page does not know
- No photograph of this staging. 48 of 13,459 productions hold one.
- No recording is held for Once Upon A Mattress at all.
- Reviews, box office, running order, understudies and designers: none of it is held for any production.