I saw this broadcast of "Once Upon a Mattress" at the Museum of TV and Radio in New York (as a side-note, I HIGHLY recommend visiting this Museum if you are in NYC or LA--lots more great stuff where this came from). Overall, for a one-hour TV adaptation of a musical, with all the limitations which that entails, it was well done. I was quite surprised that the pregnancy storyline was kept in--would have thought that was too racy for the time. Some of the supporting characters, namely the Minstrel and Jester, fall completely flat, and another from the stage version (Sir Harry) is gone entirely. Carol Burnett, as always, is fabulous, as is Prince Dauntless and Queen Sextimus. I was a bit disappointed to see "In a Little While" and "Happily Ever After" cut, although "Spelling Test," the duet for Dauntless and Winnifred that replaces "Happily," is pretty cute. If you are a fan of musicals and/or Carol Burnett, this is worth checking out.
