City Center Encores! 2023-24 season: PAL JOEY • ONCE UPON A MATTRESS • JELLY'S LAST JAM • TITANIC — Page 9

I know we won’t know for THIS production until performances start, but what is the usual runtime for Once Upon a Mattress?

musikman said: "Jordan Catalano said: "Can confirm The Minstrel is cut and combined with The Jester."

I assume this means The Minstrel, the Jester, and I has been cut."

I hope they keep it and make Ghee do a lot of puppet work.

gleek4114 said: "I know we won’t know for THIS production until performances start, but what is the usual runtime for Once Upon a Mattress?"

It's a pretty short show generally, I'd say no more than 2 hours including intermission.

Kad said: "gleek4114 said: "I know we won’t know for THIS production until performances start, but what is the usual runtime for Once Upon a Mattress?"

It's a pretty short show generally, I'd say no more than 2 hours including intermission."


On the nycc website, the run time will be approximately 2 hours and 15 minutes

Thanks. I am going to wait and see if they offer anything else. If not I am assuming will show up on TKTS.

I have been a subscriber since season 1 and really never paid attention to what each show charges as I always thought it was the same amount but this is the first time I have noticed that for the three shows each is priced differently for individual seats.

Mattress Center Orch - $225.00. Jelly Center Orch - $155.00 and Titanic Center Orch - $195.00.

Is this something new or has it always been this way?

The cast gave it there all and everyone was flexing their comedy chops. Act 1 worked better than 2. It is not the greatest piece of musical theatre in terms of the book and the music which for the most part is not very memorable. Ultimately it felt a little exhausting. The vocals were strong for the most part and Sutton carried it well. Harris was very funny. Visually the direction was symmetrical and not that interesting. Stylistically it mirrored children’s theatre and it stayed in a 2 dimensional lane. It ran about 2 hours and 15 minutes. Given the story, it felt like an hour and 45 minutes would have been a better length. Leave them wanting more sort of thing. By the time you get to Act 2 you are ready for the princess to sleep on the pea but the script veers off into other characters. The director let the cast play and it resulted in some funny bits. But bits can also wear out their welcome. The cast was conscious of cues. They seemed to be doing their best to keep it all moving.

Updated On: 1/24/24 at 06:38 AM

I’ve never seen a professional production of this show (though, like many, I might have done a high school production back in the day).

I’m assuming “The Minstrel, The Jester, and I” has been cut. Can anyone at the final dress confirm? Curious to see how the roles of the Minstrel and Jester were combined.

I like Sutton, but I often feel like she’s cast in roles that don’t allow her to shine or set her up for success. I think Winifred is a great role for her. I think she has the comedic chops to pull off something like “The Swamps of Home,” and I’m very much looking forward to seeing it this weekend.

Re: the clip- I adore Sutton but has anyone noticed a gradual decline in her vocal placement? Definitely understandable considering it can happen with age and less vocal use. Her vibrato has definitely slowed and in general her voice is less "pingy" She still is wonderful but its unfortunate- I feel like she would have sung this exceptionally a decade ago.

Updated On: 1/24/24 at 03:45 PM

Jordan Catalano said: "Curious about book changes/updates. I’m not seeing this until the weekend and I can’t wait."

I was not familiar with the text so I cannot speak to the changes. I am curious too. Jackson had 2 duets. He sounded great. He seemed to be crooning for lack of a better word, which felt appropriate given the year the music was written. He sounded like people that were on the radio in 1960. I do not remember if the Minstrel number was in the show and my program did not make it home with me.

Updated On: 1/24/24 at 04:31 PM

This could be her marking in a dress rehearsal, but from that one-minute clip it sounds like it's not in the strongest part of her voice. She's struggling on the low note and we know she can sing higher than that. (This is the Burnett key, and sounds close to the original orchestration)

Disappointed by what I’ve seen so far. Sutton just doesn’t seem kooky enough for me. She’s singing Shy too nicely. Eh. I’m going at the end of the run, so I’m hoping she improves as she goes, but maybe two shows at the same time is too much for her. Going to Sweeney the week after this, so I hope she nails one of them, at least. They’re both over-the-top, brassy women which I thought was her jam, but maybe she’s too apple pie. Not the kind I want for Lovett…or Winnifred.

Encores posted the digital program - https://www.nycitycenter.org/globalassets/__pdps/2023-2024/encores/once-upon-a-mattress/encores-onceuponamattress-programme.pdf

Musical Numbers

Updated On: 1/24/24 at 05:55 PM