THIS 'MATTRESS' COULD USE A REST.Byline: David Kronke TV Critic CAROL BURNETT became a star at age 26 and won a Tony for her 1959 Broadway performance as the garrulously gar·ru·lous adj. 1. Given to excessive and often trivial or rambling talk; tiresomely talkative. 2. Wordy and rambling: a garrulous speech. outsize Princess Winnifred in ``Once Upon a Mattress Once Upon a Mattress is a musical comedy that opened off-Broadway on May 11, 1959, and then moved to Broadway. The play was written as an adaptation of the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale The Princess and the Pea. .'' With Burnett revisiting the musical - now in the role of the fearsomely ghastly, Oedipal oed·i·pal or Oed·i·pal adj. Of or characteristic of the Oedipus complex. Queen Aggravain - it might've been nice if she'd introduce us to another promising young comedienne. Instead, we get the 46-year-old ingenue Tracey Ullman, and while she's serviceable, there's a certain lackluster energy to the proceedings as the cast only halfheartedly commit to material that's not nearly as clever as it once was. The story is thin, indeed: The harridan har·ri·dan n. A woman regarded as scolding and vicious. [Possibly from French haridelle, gaunt woman, old horse, nag. Queen will come up with any reason she can to prevent her son, the wildly misnamed mis·name tr.v. mis·named, mis·nam·ing, mis·names To call by a wrong name. misnamed Adjective having an inappropriate or misleading name: Prince Dauntless (Denis O'Hare), from marrying. This matters only because in this kingdom, no one in the royal court may wed until the Prince does, and Lady Larkin (Zooey Deschanel) and Sir Harry (Matthew Morrison) have a rather pressing reason for getting hitched. Enter Winnifred, Aggravain's utter nightmare, so as Dauntless falls head over heels, the Queen sets about creating a test no princess could ever pass. Interesting that 45 years later, in today's political climate, this is being presented as family entertainment. Songs like ``I'm in Love With a Girl Named Fred'' exemplify the tone, underscored by O'Hare's turn, which makes ``Brokeback Mountain'' seem positively hetero hetero prefix, Latin, different by comparison. Burnett is funny enough - her scenes with O'Hare are downright creepy - and her famous costume designer, Bob Mackey, still manages to concoct amusingly garish outfits for her after all these years. But not everyone is swept up in the ostensible fun - a lot of the supporting cast is clearly just going through the motions, and Tommy Smothers, as the mute King Sextimus, occasionally looks appropriately mortified mor·ti·fy v. mor·ti·fied, mor·ti·fy·ing, mor·ti·fies v.tr. 1. To cause to experience shame, humiliation, or wounded pride; humiliate. 2. . David Kronke, (818) 713-3638 david.kronke(at)dailynews.com ONCE UPON A MATTRESS - Two and one half stars What: Carol Burnett and Tracey Ullman star in this ``Wonderful World of Disney'' musical about an overbearing mother interfering with a young prince's quest for true love. Where: ABC ABC in full American Broadcasting Co. Major U.S. television network. It began when the expanding national radio network NBC split into the separate Red and Blue networks in 1928. (Channel 7). When: 7 tonight. In a nutshell: Hardly as fresh as it once was. CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Carol Burnett, left, plays Queen Aggravain and Tracey Ullman is Princess Winnifred in ``Once Upon a Mattress,'' tonight. |
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