Friday, January 26, 2024

Once Upon a Mattress (Encores!) (2024)

What a cast they've assembled for Encores! now in its 30th year. Honestly, it's a shame it's only going to run for two weeks, though even that is long by City Center (beautiful ornate theater) standards. Everyone is perfectly cast to type. I'd say special standouts are J Harrison Ghee whose beautiful singing voice and singular stage presence is readily apparent, Sutton Foster good as always, Harriet Harris as the overbearing mother/queen with a regal British accent, Michael Urie as the naive princeling, and Cheyenne Jackson as the dimwitted knight really into his spurs. Sutton Foster's entrance about thirty minutes in is greeted with a huge applause and her big number Shy is a showstopper. I didn't really have any familiarity with the show but I was pleasantly surprised to find a very funny script and catchy songs. There is a lot of physical comedy too, probably not written in, such as Foster re-adjusting atop the mattresses and Urie rolling up the stairs. It's a fun show I recommend, a steal really for $28. The balcony is super far and high (at 5 flights up), but you can still pretty much see everything save for the back of the orchestra (and one scene of smaller physical comedy that I couldn't make out what Foster was doing).

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