“Once Upon a Mattress” has revealed its principal company. The previously announced revival will begin previews on July 31 and open on Aug. 12 at Broadway’s Hudson Theatre for a limited engagement through Nov. 30. Lear deBesssonet will direct the musical, which is a transfer from a 2023 City Center Encores! mounting.
The newly announced company includes Brooks Ashmanskas the Wizard, Daniel Breaker as the Jester, Will Chase as Sir Harry and Ana Gasteyer as Queen Aggravain. Additionally, Nikki Renée Daniels and David Patrick Kelly will reprise their Encores! turns as Lady Larken and King Sextimus, respectively.
Ashmanskas is a two-time Tony Award nominee, having received nods in 2007 for “Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me” and 2019 for “The Prom.”
Most recently seen on the Main Stem as Aaron Burr in “Hamilton,” Breaker received a Tony nomination for his turn in 2008’s “Passing Strange.”
Chase is a 2013 Tony nominee for his lead turn in “The Mystery of Edwin Drood.” Additional credits include 2015’s “Something Rotten!” and the 2019 revival of “Kiss Me, Kate.”
Daniels took on the role of Jenny in the 2021 revival of “Company.” She has played several tenures as Nabulungi in “The Book of Mormon.”
Known for her work on “Saturday Night Live,” Gasteyer’s Broadway credits include replacing as Elphaba in “Wicked” and appearing in revivals of “The Rocky Horror Show” and “The Threepenny Opera.”
Kelly most recently appeared in the 2024 revival of “An Enemy of the People.” He previously performed in the 2022 revival of “Into the Woods,” another City Center transfer.
The principals join the previously announced Sutton Foster as Winnifred and Michael Urie as Prince Dauntless. Complete casting, by Beraed Telsey and Craig Burns of the Telsey Office, will be announced.
Featuring music by Mary Rodgers and lyrics by Marshall Barer, “Once Upon a Mattress” is a musical adaptation of Hans Christian Anderson’s fairy tale “The Princess and the Pea.” Amy Sherman Palladino has written a new adaptation of the musical’s original book by Barer, Dean Fuller and Jay Thompson.
“Once Upon a Mattress” is being produced by Seaview and Creative Partners Productions.
