Video: Michael Urie Talks Set Design in ONCE UPON A MATTRESS

Broadway star Michael Urie stopped by Live With Kelly and Mark to discuss the new production of Once Upon a Mattress, where he performs opposite Sutton Foster.

He talked about the plot of the musical, which is a retelling of The Princess and the Pea, and discussed the towering stack of mattresses (along with the tall ladder) that are integral to the story.

"David Zinn, our set designer, created this beautiful thing," the actor said of the set piece.

Because the show is highly produced in schools and community theaters, Urie shared that people often come up to him having played the role of Dauntless themselves.

In another video, he recalled losing his voice after making his Broadway debut as a replacement in How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying with Nick Jonas.

Once Upon a Mattress 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). 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, where Winnifred the Woebegone charms, delights, and dances her way to the top… of a stack of mattresses.   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 new production of Once Upon a Mattress is a transfer of the record-breaking, sold-out run at New York City Center’s Encores! earlier this year. Foster will reprise her performance as Winnifred alongside Michael Urie as Prince Dauntless.

Once Upon A Mattress will begin previews on Broadway on Wednesday, July 31, 2024 and celebrate opening night on Monday, August 12, 2024, for the limited engagement through November 30, 2024, at The Hudson Theatre.