Sutton Foster Will Lead ONCE UPON A MATTRESS on Broadway Beginning This Summer

ONCE UPON A MATTRESS will open on Broadway this summer at The Hudson Theatre, starring Tony Award winner Sutton Foster! Foster will lead the Broadway cast, reprising her acclaimed performance as Winnifred the Woebegone.

The beloved musical returns to Broadway in a new adaptation by Emmy Award winner Amy Sherman-Palladino (“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”, “Gilmore Girls”), directed by Tony Award nominee and Drama League Award winner Lear deBessonet (Into The Woods). Previews begin Wednesday, July 31, 2024, with an Opening Night set for Monday, August 12, 2024, for the limited engagement through November 30, 2024.

Following its Broadway engagement, Foster will headline the production in Los Angeles for a four-week engagement at Center Theatre Group's Ahmanson Theatre from December 10, 2024 – January 5, 2025.
 
An uproarious update of Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Princess and the Pea,” Once Upon A Mattress sets an unapologetic free spirit loose in a repressed kingdom, reveling in Winnifred’s ability to charm and transform with willpower, honesty, and a little bit of help from her friends.  Full of gloriously catchy melodies like “Shy” and “In a Little While,” the musical first premiered in 1959, with music by Mary Rodgers, lyrics by Marshall Barer, and book by Jay Thompson, Dean Fuller, and Marshall Barer.

The Broadway production will feature Choreography by Drama Desk Award nominee Lorin Latarro (The Who’s Tommy), Scenic Design by Tony Award winner David Zinn (Fun Home, SpongeBob SquarePants), Lighting Design by Tony Award winner Justin Townsend (Moulin Rouge! The Musical), Costume Design by Andrea Hood (Into the Woods), Sound Design by Tony Award winner Kai Harada (Days of Wine and Roses, Merrily We Roll Along), and Hair and Wig Design by J. Jared Janas (Sweeney Todd, &Juliet). General Management is by Wagner Johnson Productions. Casting is by The Telsey Office (Bernard Telsey, CSA; Craig Burns, CSA). Orchestrations are by Tony Award winner Bruce Coughlin (The Light in the Piazza), and Drama Desk Award winner Mary-Mitchell Campbell (Company) will serve as Music Supervisor, Annbritt duChateau as Music Director, and Cody Renard Richard as Production Stage Manager.

A special fan pre-sale will begin on Tuesday, May 28, at 10:00AM ET – sign up at OnceUponAMattress.com for early access to tickets. Tickets will go on sale to the general public on Wednesday, May 29 at 10:00AM ET.

Further casting and creative team will be announced at a later date.

The Encores! cast also included Michael Urie (Prince Dauntless), Nikki Renée Daniels (Lady Larken), J. Harrison Ghee (Jester), Cheyenne Jackson (Sir Harry), Harriet Harris (Queen Aggravain), Francis Jue (Wizard), and David Patrick Kelly (King Sextimus the Silent), with Kaleigh Cronin, Ben Davis, Gaelen Gilliland, Jaquez, Morgan Marcell, Abby Matsusaka, Adam Roberts, Ryan Worsing, and Richard Riaz Yoder.  

About Sutton Foster

Sutton Foster is a Tony Award-winning actress, singer, and dancer who was most recently seen starring as Mrs. Lovett in the Tony Award-winning Broadway revival of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street opposite Aaron Tveit at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre. Prior, Sutton previously led the New York City Center Encores! adaptation of Once Upon a Mattress in an acclaimed turn as Princess Winnifred. The two-time Tony-winning actress starred as Marian Paroo in the 2022 Broadway Revival of The Music Man at the Winter Garden Theatre. Her performance earned her seventh Tony award nomination as well as the coveted 2022 Drama League Distinguished Performance Award.
 
In the summer of 2021, Sutton reprised one of her most notable roles as Reno Sweeney in Anything Goes at the Barbican Theatre in London in which she earned an Oliver Award nomination for Best Actress in a Musical. A cinematic version of the show had a subsequent limited release in US and Australia theaters. Her original performance in the Roundabout Theatre Company’s revival at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre earned her a 2011 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical.
 
Sutton starred as The Baker’s Wife in the Hollywood Bowl’s sold-out summer 2019 production of Into the Woods. Previously, she appeared in the title role of The New Group’s 50th anniversary revival of Sweet Charity and in Jeanine Tesori and Brian Crawley’s Tony-nominated Broadway revival, Violet. Sutton also appeared on stage as Queenie in New York City Center Encores! Off-Center’s production of The Wild Party in July 2015.
 
Under the direction of Michael Mayer, Sutton starred as Millie Dillmount in the 2002 Broadway production of Thoroughly Modern Millie at the Marquis Theatre. Originating the role, she established herself as one of the greatest talents in the industry and earned her first Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Musical. Foster has originated numerous notable roles, including Princess Fiona in Jeanine Tesori and David Lindsay-Abaire’s Shrek the Musical at The Broadway Theatre, as well as Inga in Mel Brooks and Thomas Meehan’s parody of the horror film genre, Young Frankenstein, at Foxwoods Theatre.  Sutton’s performance as Janet Van De Graaff in Casey Nicholaw’s The Drowsy Chaperone at the Marquis Theatre in 2006 earned her Tony Award, Drama Desk, Drama League, Outer Critics Circle, and Ovation Award nominations. Among her other theater credits include: Les Misérables, The Scarlet Pimpernel, Annie and Grease.  In addition, Sutton made her Off-Broadway debut as Prudence in Paul Weitz's comedy, Trustwhich showed at Second Stage Theatre and starred Zach Braff, Bobby Cannavale, and Ari Graynor.
 
In the fall of 2021, Sutton became a first-time author with the release of her memoir Hooked: How Crafting Saved My Life. The page turner is comprised of funny and intimate stories and reflections about how crafting has kept her sane while navigating the highs and lows of family, love, and show business.
 
On television, Sutton led the critically acclaimed TV Land series, “Younger.” Created by "Sex in the City's" Darren Star and styled by the iconic Pat Field, the esteemed series was the longest running original series in TV Land history.
 
Sutton first collaborated Amy Sherman-Palladino when she starred as Michelle Simms in the beloved ABC Family series, “Bunheads.” She reunited with Amy Sherman-Palladino later guest starring roles in the Netflix revival of “Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life” and the final season of Prime Video’s “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.” Sutton’s additional on-screen credits include ABC’s “A Million Little Things,” CBS drama “Instinct,” HBO’s comedy series “Flight of the Conchords,” USA Network’s “Royal Pains,” “Law & Order: SUV,” “Elementary,” “Psych” and guest appearances on the well-known children series Disney’s “Johnny and the Sprites,” and PBS’s “Sesame Street.”
 
As a solo artist, Sutton has toured the country with her hit solo concert which featured songs from her debut solo CD “Wish” as well as her follow up CD, “An Evening with Sutton Foster: Live at the Cafe Carlyle.” She has also graced the stages of Carnegie Hall, Feinstein's, Lincoln Center’s American Songbook series and many others. Sutton released her third solo album, “Take Me to the World,” through Ghostlight Deluxe, June 1, 2018. Sutton Foster holds an honorary doctorate from Ball State University, where she also teaches.