Interview: Hilarious Supporting Player Jackie Hoffman Finally Nabs The Lead in ONCE UPON A MATTRESS

"I had this nice Midwestern wholesome 26-year-old in my head and that's not going to fly for me," says Jackie Hoffman about being next in the line of succession to play Princess Winnifred in ONCE UPON A MATTRESS, a role that catapulted Carol Burnett into theatre stardom during its original 1959 Broadway run.

"It's been more about discovery than I thought it would be," she says of the rehearsal and preview process. "I had to keep her kind of innocent and also keep it within my special brand of whatever the hell it is I do. I'm obviously a lot older than she was and a lot darker with comedy. I found places where I could really apply myself to the script and go much further with it."

The fractured fairy tale version of The Princess and The Pea, with music by Mary Rodgers, lyrics by Marshall Barer and a book by Barer, Jay Thompson and Dean Fuller, was last seen on Broadway in a 1996 mounting starring Sarah Jessica Parker. Hoffman stars with the popular drag artist John "Lypsinka" Epperson in Transport Group's new mounting, directed by Jack Cummings III, opening downtown on December 13th at Grand Street's Abrons Arts Center.

"The audience is loving it and the cast is having a great time and our director's a pain in the ass but that's his job."

Before making a splash in New York, Hoffman spent eight years with Second City, Chicago's legendary improv theatre that's been a training ground for comedy luminaries like Joan Rivers, John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, Gilda Radner, Stephen Colbert and Tina Fey.

"We would do eight shows a week and then a late night improv show. It really lubricated the comedy bone."

Her New York career started taking off when she nabbed a 2001 Obie Award for playing multiple characters in THE BOOK OF LIZ, co-authored by Amy Sedaris, who she met at Second City, and her brother, David.

"Amy had summoned me before to do a very funny show called ONE WOMAN SHOE in 1996. The Sedaris productions made me much more visible to people like Scott Wittman and Marc Shaiman.

Hoffman's Broadway debut came the year after her Obie win, playing multiple characters in Wittman and Shaiman's. HAIRSPRAY, a show that gained her Internet notoriety when fans discovered she was ad-libbing a new line every night while making a second act entrance through the audience. ("Oh look! I'm climbing on top of an Orthodox Jewish man. I'm fulfilling my mother's dream right now.") Eventually, BroadwayWorld harvested a list of over sixty of her funniest. (click here)

"The producers were wondering what the hell's going. The stage manager had to write it down in the performance report, so it was logged for posterity."

Since then her brassy comic chops have drawn huge laughs in XANADU, THE ADDAMS FAMILY and, most recently, ON THE TOWN, as well as in solo performances capitalizing on her Long Island Jewish upbringing and overall cranky disposition.

But with ONCE UPON A MATTRESS, New York audiences will be seeing her as a leading lady of the theatre for the first time.

"I have an arc!," she proudly exclaims. "There's a love story, I get to sing a really serious juicy torch song, I get tossed around by chorus boys, I get a kiss, it's the whole megillah.

Traditionally, actors known for being funny always long for a serious dramatic role, and Jackie Hoffman is no exception.

"I always wanted to play Martha in WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINA WOOLF?, but it's been so done. Maybe Lypsinka can play Martha and I'll play George."

PHOTO: CAROL ROSEGG

Transport Group presents Once Upon a Mattress, starring Jackie Hoffman (On the Town, Difficult People, Hairspray) as Princess Winnifred and John "Lypsinka" Epperson (Lypsinka's The Boxed Set, The Passion of the Crawford) as Queen Aggravain. The production, which is directed by five-time Drama Desk Award nominee Jack Cummings III, features Jessica Fontana (Cinderella) as Lady Larken, David Greenspan (The Patsy) as The King,Hunter Ryan Herdlicka (A Little Night Music) as The Minstrel, Cory Lingner (On the Town) as The Jester, Zak Resnick (Piece of My Heart) as Sir Harry, Jay Rogers (Howard Crabtree's When Pigs Fly) as The Wizard, and Jason SweetTooth Williams (Things to Ruin) as Prince Dauntless, with Vivienne Cleary, Richard Costa, Michael De Souza,Tim Dolan,Jack Donahue, Amy Griffin, Sarah Killough, Kristen Michelle, Ali Reed,and Doug Shapiro.

The raucous musical fairy tale Once Upon A Mattress stars the formidable Jackie Hoffman (On the Town, Xanadu, Difficult People) and the inimitable John "Lypsinka" Epperson (Lypsinka's The Boxed Set, The Passion of the Crawford). During a kingdom-wide search to find a princess fit for the hapless Prince Dauntless, in swims the less-than-regal Princess Winnifred the Woebegone (Hoffman). Unrefined and undeniably charming, Winnifred is like no princess Dauntless has ever seen and his heart is captured. The truly terrible Queen Aggravain (Epperson) goes on a mission to come between her son and his soulmate in this retelling of the classic story of "The Princess and the Pea." This is a Happily-Ever-After like no other!