Once Upon a Mattress was written and composed in 1959; its Broadway debut is what made Carol Burnett, as Winnifred, famous.  The musical is a farce that takes place in the 1400's in an imaginary Kingdom. 
    The story is narrated by a Minstrel, who tells us that the tale of the "Princess and the Pea" is not quite like what all of us were led to believe.  He tells the real story:  By decreee of the tyrant Queen, no one in the Kingdom is allowed to get married until a suitable wife if found for the young prince, Dauntless.  But the Queen, for various reasons, does not want Dauntless to be married.  For each princess candidate, she and the court Wizard devise impossible tests--tests to see if each Princess is good enough for her boy. 
    The reigning Knight of the Kingdom, Sir Harry, has gotten his amour, Lady Larken, pregnant.  If the court finds out, his career is doomed.  So Harry goes on a quest to find a princess who can pass muster, so that he and Larken can marry (as well as the rest of the couples in this horny Kingdom). 
    Meanwhile, the King--struck mute by a curse years ago--wanders the castle with his only friend, the Jester, chasing wenches, since he can find no fullfillment with his horrible wife. 
    Sir Harry returns with Princess Winnifred, a brash, wild, unkempt girl from the swamps.  She turns the kingdom upside down.  Worse yet, Dauntless and she fall in love!  (I know, what a surprise...)  The Queen and Wizard frantically devise a completely unfair test to deny Winnifred her chances--hiding a pea under twenty mattresses.  If the pea keeps her awake, she's no princess. 
    The Minstrel, Jester and King convince Harry to help them "cheat".  They schmooze with the Wizard who, it turns out, is lonely too, and he divulges the secret plan.  You'll have to come see it to learn how it ends.
    On its way to closure, the show features a host of outrageous musical numbers, including pantomime singing performances, sweet and elegaic love songs, and even naughty numbers, all to make a fine evening of grown-up entertainment. 

Brief Descriptions of Lead Roles for "Once Upon a Mattress"

Princess Winnifred: Swamp princess from far away, "Fred" is wise beyond her years, strong beyond her sex, brash beyond any reason. An ugly duckling on the verge of molting, a knight in women’s garb, a wacko with royal papers. 

Queen: She is a tyrant; conniving, selfish, with a martyr complex. She is feeling the aches and pains of middle age. She has got a secret thing going on with the Wizard. Doesn’t want her son married for various (and perhaps Oedipal) reasons. 

Prince Dauntless: His maturation has been stunted by an overbearing mother. In short, he is 25 going on 10. He still trips over things and probably has acne. He is the only one in the entire Kingdom that doesn’t know how babies are made (and probably the only one who hasn’t tried). 

Jester: A physical, energetic role. His obvious behavior, which is wacky, witty and goofy, belies what lies underneath--the tender heart of a sappy lounge lizard just itching to get out. 

King: Struck mute by a curse years ago, the King is now forced to pantomime everything. Fortunately, the curse did nothing to diminish his libido. 

Minstrel: A smooth and crooning bard, with an honest tongue and a heart of gold. His is the most demanding male voice of the cast, he expressively opens the show singing the fairy story. 

Lady Larken: The beauty of the Kingdom, she has won the affections of Sir Harry. Her and Harry’s little secret forces her to consider self-banishment, something her pretty little head has trouble carrying out. She sings like a lark. 

Sir Harry: Harry got naughty with glamour girl Larken, and now has to come up with a plan, or risk losing his shiny, new spurs. But fret not, he is as confident as he is arrogant. He sings well too, the jerk. 

Wizard: A toady, a has-been. Even better, he has a creepy thing going on with the Queen. Nonetheless, he does have his talents, and longs for the good old days. 

Other Great Roles from the Ensemble:

Nightingale: No lines, she appears in only one extended scene; gets to perform a great "wordless" solo. Also gets to wear wacky bird costume. 

Harold and Beatrice: Dancing demons! Not a lot of lines, but they must be experts at executing the "Spanish Panic." 

Princess #12: Appears in only one scene--a fun sequence. No singing or dancing. 

Other roles: 

In this show the "ensemble" roles all sing with the chorus when not doing other things. Many of these roles have lines, dancing, comedic shticks and some have small one- or two-line solos.
 
 

WINNIFRED	Amy Abbott
DAUNTLESS	Richard  Lonsdorf
JESTER	Brian Schultz
QUEEN AGGRAVAIN	Jeannie Pitsch
u SEXTIMUS	David Lonsdorf
LADY LARKEN	Heather Stouffer
MINSTREL	Greg Matysik
SIR HARRY	Patrick Lytle
WIZARD	Stan Serkosky
ENSEMBLE
NIGHTINGALE	Katie Kuehl
PRINCESS #12	Michelle Matysik
LADY ROWENA	Dee Baldock
LADY MERRILl	Deborah Harville
LADY LUCILLE	Amanda Moschea
SIR STUDLEY	Steve Witherspoon
SIR LUCE	Richard Owens
1ST KNIGHT	Parry Heide
2ND KNIGHT	Bill Brendel
3RD KNIGHT	Randy Moore
LADY H	Sally Klagos
LADY R	Melanie Schmidt
LADY MABELLE	Lara Bonsett-Veal
LUCE'S LADY	Tracey  Phillips
BEATRICE	Christine Bodilly
HAROLD	Jeff Molzahn
EMILY	Allison Owens
1ST WENCH	Joanne Gauthier
2ND WENCH	Meg Aspinwall
MIME PRINCE	John Bonsett-Veal
MIME PRINCESS	Katie Monk
MIME QUEEN	Jerilyn Bramson
LORDS & LADIES OF THE REALM
Tim  Bailey, Marianne Gill-Volker, Troy Halverson Sue Holten, Elise Kessler, Matthew Matysik, Jane Pulda,  Paulette Smith, Catherine Walton, DuWayne Wenger,

VIOLIN	HIRAM PEARCY
VIOLA	VICKI SWEDISH
FLUTE	MARILYN CHOHANEY ANGIE HENDRICKSON
TROMBONE	JIM KYLE KATIE KRETSCHMAn
CELLO	MARTHA MAXWELL EVAN KUEHL
CLARINET	GREG SMITH
PERCUSSION	MIKE TRUESDELL DENNIS MCKINLEY
BASS	MATTHEW HINTZMAN
HORNS	TOM FJELLSTEDT PATTY SCHLAFER
TRUMPET	ANDY SGRIGNOLI
KEYBORD	CAROL BRENDEL
HARP	DEB KUEHL

Opening for a Princess	Julie Novotney
In a Little While	Julie Novotney Heather Stouffer
The Minstrel, the Jester & I	Rich Novotney Brian Schultz
Shy; Sensitivity; The Swamps of Home	Rich Novotney
Spanish Panic	Christine Bodilly
Normandy	Christine Bodilly Brian Schultz
Song of Love	Meg Stevens
Quiet; Mattress Dance	Meg Stevens
Happily Ever After	Rich Novotney
Man to Man Talk	Rich Novotney
Very Soft Shoes	Christine Bodilly Brian Schultz
Yesterday I Loved You	Julie Novotney
Nightingale Lullaby	Rich Novotney
Finale	Meg Stevens

PRODUCTION MANAGER	Dee Baldock
DIRECTOR	Rich Novotney
VOCAL DIRECTOR	Ken Kuehl
TECHNICAL DIRECTOR	Mark Holten
SOUND DIRECTOR	Dale Nickels
STAGE MANAGER	Teri Witkowski
ASSISTANT STAGE MGR.	Sarah L'Herault
ACCOMPANISTS	Carol Brendel, Julie Murphy
PROPS	Julie Athas, Jane Pulda
LIGHTING DESIGN	Mark Holten
SET CONSTRUCTION MANAGER	Tom Monk
SET DESIGN	Dee Baldock, Mark Holten Rich Novotney
COSTUME MISTRESS	Missy Holcomb
ORCHESTRA DIRECTOR	Mike Korth
ASST PROD MANAGER	Jerilyn Bramson
STAGEHANDS	Patty Franson, Christine Hamilton, David Henslin, Gail Henslin, Rick Henslin Mike Kane, Katherine Lonsdorf, Allison Matysik Tom Monk, Julie Murphy, Eleanor Owens Kick Vock, Rachel Wiederhoeft
PHOTOGRAPHY	John Bonsett-Veal
TICKETS/HOUSE	Debbie Bass, Monica Dinauer
HOUSE MANAGER	Delma Basthemer
PLAYBILL	Greg Bass, Jeannie Pitsch
POSTER DESIGN	Casey Bass
POSTERS	Stan Serkosky
PUBLICITY	Melanie Schmidt
T-SHIRTS	Meg Stevens
SET CONSTRUCTION	All Cast Members and
Jacob Brendel, Chris Gauthier, Katherine Lonsdorf Allison Matysik, Rich Novotney, Erica Phillips Alex Pitsch, Scheila Ritchie, Roger Roethlisberger Ashley Vincent, Chelsey Vincent, Dick Vock Terry Witkowski
COSTUME CONSTRUCTION	Jerilyn Bramson, Marianne Gill-Volker
Christine Hampton, Sue Holten, Jamie Klagos Sally Klagos, Alison Owens, Jane Pulda