Customer Reviews

Once Upon A Mattress (1959 Original Broadway Cast)

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

ONCE UPON A MATTRESS is the classic Broadway musical version of the fairytale "The Princess and the Pea" and features music by Mary Rodgers and lyrics by Marshall Barer.

The story concerns Princess Winnifred (played by the legendary Carol Burnett in her first Broadway leading-role), a princess who is given the ultimate test; to sleep on twenty mattresses and be sensitive enough to feel the tiny pea that lies underneath them. Prince Dauntless and his mother, the Queen Aggravain (played in whiteface by Jane White) eagerly await the result...

The score is perfectly performed here (forget the Broadway revival recording which features Sarah Jessica Parker, completely out of her depth as Winnifred), and is regarded as the best recording available. Stand-out songs include "Shy", "The Song of Love", "Sensivity", "Happily Ever After" and "Yesterday I Loved You".

Even in this earliest of performances, Carol Burnett shows her incredible Broadway belt, and sings her songs with impressive comic timing and verve. She later played the role in two live television versions (one in black and white, the other in color).

Highly-recommended.

One of the first musicals to usher in the era of slightly off-beat, quirky, grown-up fairy tales we came to expect from Sondhiem (Into the Woods) and Stephen Schwartz (Pippin); "Once Upon a Mattress" is absolutely perfect from beginning to end.

I played Lady Larken with a semi-professional production and fell in love with the music and the humor of the piece. It pokes fun at the very conventions associated with musical theater, right from the big opening number "Opening for a Princess" (which has slightly medieval chord progressions, but a definate Big Band swing!) to the hilarious "Man to Man Talk", which explains the facts of life as mimed by the King and sung by his slightly under-educated grown-up son.

All the conventional Broadway ballads are assigned to the romantic couple Larken and Harry, who are caricatures of the gullible damsel-in-distress and the stuffed-shirt stage hero, respectively. Larken is slightly less than a traditional damsel, as she is pregnant with Harry's baby (although he gallantly admits that they should not both suffer all their lives because *she* had a "moment of weakness"!).

Only Carol Burnett could endow Winnifred with just the right combination of honesty, goofiness and charm. Watch out for her biggest and funniest number: "Shy".

Other great songs are "Normandy", "Yesterday I Loved You", "Swamps of Home" and "Song of Love".

The revival album is good too, but Sarah Jessica Parker is simply an inferior Winnifred. This is one of those must-have Broadway albums... pretty much every song is funny and/or gorgeous. Enjoy!

Carol Burnett's big break on broadway! Anyone who is a Carol fan probably has this recording already. If not, it's worth it just for "The Swamps of Home", with Carol singing 'gluggle-uggle-uggle'.

The orchestral arrangements hearken back to a simpler day, when everything wasn't blaring trumpets and screaming electronics. Be aware that the production value also hearkens back, so you will not be using this CD to test your new speakers.

However, this show reflects the joy of Broadway of old, and the performances within do the genre justice. Join Carol for her Tour-de-force, old school.

"Once Upon A Mattress" is a marvelous showcase for Carol Burnett's incredible talent. Only someone with both her wonderful gift for comedy and her great voice could have sung the comic torch song "Happily Every After."

Carol Burnett later reprised her role as Winifred the Woebegone on two T.V. productions - one in black and another in color. Both of these productions can be seen at the Museum Of Broadcasting in New York City. But until some network executive has mercy on us and releases these versions on video, we'll have to make do with this excellent C.D.

Once Upon a Mattress was one of the first Broadway shows that I ever saw and I was totally mesmorized and laughed so hard that my side hurt. Carol Burnett was the perfect person to play Fred and it was one of those magical performances that stays with you for a lifetime. The original cast album captures the fun and spirit of the show.

Later during the run of the show a friend of mine joined the chorus and when we talked about the experience, he told me that the joy that was on stage was similar to that felt by the cast and that was apparent on the album. They especially liked working with Ms. Burnett as she was a giving and caring actress.

I recommend this album to anyone who wants to spend some time just feeling good.

We just recently did the show at our high school in Southern Maine this year! What a success.. I was cast as Lady larken... and i got the CD and loved it so much that I memorized nearly every word before rehearsals EVEN begun! The CD is a must for all Broadway fans and dreamers like me!! Carol Burnett is awesome, and if you love Broadway you will love this romantic comedy of a show!! any directors thinking of a show to do at your theatre/ school? .. this is a must!! Original and great for all ages!

My school did this musical last year (Spring 2005) and I had never heard of it before, so I bought both the Revial and the Original Cast Recordings. Fell in love. I was Sir Harry and loved both songs that I sang in. In my opinion, those are the two best songs in the entire musical, but then again, I'm biased.

Once Upon A Mattress OCR is by far the best out there. Don't get me wrong, the Revival Cast did a wonderful job (soundtrack at least) But There is something about Carol Burnett. She was meant to sing be Fred. But one thing that I didn't like is that "The Minstrel, the Jester & I" wasn't in this recording. But that is really the only problem I had with this.

My fav songs include:
In a Little While (because I sang it)
Yesterday I Loved You (again, I sang it)
Many Moons Ago
Shy

Would I recomend this CD? YES I WOULD!! I would shout it from the rooftops that people should by this CD! It's a funny, quaint little musical that people need to know about. I LOVE IT!

Last year, as soon as I heard that my school was doing "Once Upon a Mattress", I hunted down this soundtrack. It blew me away the first time I listened to it. I love the simple, yet effective, and perfect orchestra ... and most of all, the talent! Carol Burnett is simply perfect. Her comic style to the songs is just priceless. The Revival Soundtrack (Sarah Jessica Parker) is also very good, but this one just has a the Burnett-ness to it that can't be duplicated.

I'd have to say that my favorite songs are
"Shy"
"Happily Ever After"
"Normandy" (Since I was the Minstrel)
"Song of Love" (just because it's fun)
"Yesterday I Loved You"

Our production was awesome, and we NEVER got tired of these songs. We sing them all the time with each other.

All in all, this is an excellent soundtrack

This delights on so many levels it's hard to know where to begin. The score is charming, Burnett will appeal not only to her TV fans but anyone who loves a great Broadway performer, the rest of the cast is on her level, and the recording (while obviously dated) does justice to the performance. This captures the spirit of the show so much more fully than the recording of the late '90s Sarah Jessica Parker Broadway revival. The tempos, phrasing, lyric delivery, and atmosphere of this recording reveal so much more of the lure of this show than the Parker. This is an absolute sweetheart of a show and if you are not familiar with it, you are missing a wonderful theatrical experience. This IS the one to buy; the Parker, while having solid, competent performances in good sound, does not truly catch the ineffable humor and quality of the show. Very highly recommended.

While the show was funny and silly, the songs are what made it happen. Some great funny tunes to belt too, and love songs to make you want to believe in "Happily Ever After"