When a musical has been around for 67 years, there’s plenty of room to have a little fun with it. That’s exactly what our creative team has done with SBMT’s production of Once Upon a Mattress. Along with the familiar songs, characters and comedy, this production is packed with little surprises: cultural references, inside jokes, bits of business, and details that may go by so quickly that you’ll miss them if you blink.

In fact, there are so many Easter eggs hidden in this production that you may need to see it twice to catch them all. So whether you’ve already seen Once Upon a Mattress or you’re planning your first visit, here’s a quick guide to some of the things to watch for.

(Note: Watch the short video below that actually SHOWS you these hidden treasures, or continue reading for more detail.)

Watch for the unexpected

Some of the funniest moments aren’t even in the script.

The Minstrel sits on Queen Aggravain’s lap during her opening solo and gives the Queen’s nose a little tickle with the feather in her cap. Lady Rowena, meanwhile, seems to have an unexpected attraction to Princess Winnifred.

And watch those lifts. Traditional notions about the “weaker sex” don’t have much of a chance in this production, where Princess Winnifred gets to carry Prince Dauntless around more than once.

There are plenty of other little moments to catch. After Sir Harry reads Winnifred’s royal papers, Lady Mabelle whispers, “I love it when he speaks Latin”—and then faints. During “The Spanish Panic,” the dancers break into some decidedly un-medieval “Muppet arms.” And the Entr’acte becomes a little show-within-a-show as the characters act out the story of Lady Larken’s escape.

For King Sextimus, everything is improvised. The script provides no dialog. There’s only a concept to convey (like “PREGNANT”)—and it’s up to actor Dave Leon to figure out how to convey that idea with a silent gesture. Throughout his time as a mute king, he makes only three non-verbal sounds. (See if you spot them all!) One of his funniest bits comes in a moment of exasperation as he tries unsuccessfully to explain the birds and the bees to his son. His gestures slip from the metaphorical into the literal for a few desperate seconds before he thinks better of them, and he hastily “erases” them before the Prince sees.

There are some jokes only the cast and crew know about

Some of our favorite Easter eggs originated behind the scenes.

That medieval lute the Minstrel plays? Prop Designer Olivia Downey created it by custom-building it from a ukulele.

The small mattresses that appear at the top of Act II represent the twenty soft, downy mattresses in the story. Among the cast, they’re known as the “Downy Juniors.” (We have no information on whether any of them are named Robert.)

Long-time SBMT patrons may recognize a prop they have seen before. Doug Brook likes the pot of gold from our 2012 production of Finian’s Rainbow so much that he has found ways to sneak it into every show he directs for us.

And, of course, there’s the cat. Don Nguyen has hidden another one among his projected backdrops. Finding it is becoming an SBMT tradition.

How many pop-culture references can you find?

The production also has fun with some familiar movies, television shows, musicals, and even video games.

Jessica Whittemore sneaks a Tarzan yell into “The Swamps of Home,” as a nod to the legendary Carol Burnett, who rose to fame when she played Winnifred in the original 1959 Broadway production.

When Dauntless tosses aside a book, listen for the sound of a crashing window. That’s a callback to a running gag on Late Night with David Letterman.

During a chase scene in the Entr’acte, the Minstrel, Jester, King, and Larken freeze to avoid detection. One pose is modeled after the Beatles’ Help! movie album art, and another is a spoof of the iconic “see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil” monkeys. They add a fourth “no evil” pose, inspired by a photograph from the director’s high school yearbook.

The musical references get even more eclectic.

The men’s choreography as they dance with mattresses in the opening of Act II includes a step from The Full Monty. “Song of Love” gets a little Grease-y with dancers doing the Hand Jive. And “Happily Ever After” contains some quick nods to Gypsy and Sweet Charity.

When the Minstrel, Jester, and King beg Sir Harry to let them “go to the Wizard,” you’ll see a familiar dance step from The Wizard of Oz. Even the final bows have a surprise as the King and Queen take a little inspiration from the video game Street Fighter.

Dancing with the stars: a new theme each night

One of the most surprising bits of choreography is actually different every night. During “Quiet,” the Queen and Jester have their own little dance-off, using dance steps that have evolved from one performance to the next. So far, they’ve surprised us with the Macarena, the Vogue, the Electric Slide, and the Moonwalk. Who knows what they’ll come up with next?

So, even if you’ve seen the show before, you may not have seen that night’s version.That’s one of the pleasures of live theatre. The audience gets to share in something that exists for that particular performance, and then it lives on only in fond memories.

A special offer: Come again—and bring a friend!

If you’ve already seen Once Upon a Mattress and missed some of these Easter eggs, we cordially invite you to return to the kingdom (perhaps with a friend?) and see how many you can catch the second time around.

As an incentive, we’re offering a special deal: For closing weekend only—October 15, 16 and 17—you can get 50% off tickets with the discount code EVERAFTER. That’s on top of any other discounts, like “Thrifty Thursday” prices, or the senior, group, military, or student discounts.

Get your tickets before the drawbridge closes forever (and don’t try swimming the moat; that’s been done), Click here or call 408-266-4734. See you at the theater!

— Doug Hughes, Marketing Director