Ana Gasteyer on Being Drafted Into Once Upon a Mattress' NBA of Comedy

The crowd-pleasing Broadway revival of Once Upon a Mattress lets loose a cast of musical comedy all-stars in scenes involving puppets, leeches, a “facts of life” pantomime and, of course, a stack of 20 mattresses with a hidden pea. Ana Gasteyer, done up like a demented queen of hearts as the imperious Queen Aggravain, goes toe-to-toe with her mute husband (David Patrick Kelly), meek son (Michael Urie) and, most memorably, the court wizard (Brooks Ashmanskas), who gives her a mani/pedi while they plot against swamp princess Winnifred (Sutton Foster).

It's no surprise that Gasteyer is an expert team player, having co-starred in ensemble TV comedies such as American Auto after spending six seasons on Saturday Night Live. She’s also an experienced Broadway headliner, including a stint as Elphaba in Wicked. Just before opening night, the warm and friendly actress chatted about her enduring love of theater and the fun of playing a bad mom in this golden age fairytale musical.

The audience response to Once Upon a Mattress is electric. What’s it been like to join this company of Broadway heavyweights?

It’s like the NBA! The offer came very late because Harriet Harris [who played the queen at City Center Encores!] got a TV job, and at the top of the page was a list of the principal cast members: Sutton Foster, Brooks Ashmanskas, Daniel Breaker, Nikki Renée Daniels, Will Chase, all of whom I know socially or professionally. Done! It was a no-brainer. Everyone is firing on all cylinders, and that’s a credit to our director, Lear [deBessonet]. You can get very funny people together, but they’re not always doing the same show. Lear and our choreographer, Lorin [Latarro], were on top of the style we were going for, and everyone was in sync. It’s a combination of being surrounded by superstars and just good fortune, frankly.

What’s fun about playing a queen who is both smothering and absolutely sure of herself?

There’s not a lot of vanity written into the role, but her name is Aggravain, so I was like, is she beautiful? Where are we visually on the spectrum of Melania to Madame Morrible? We decided to make her very vain in terms of the style of the costumes and hair and makeup. I love playing people with blind spots. A lot of the characters I did at SNL were somewhat oblivious about entitlement and wealth, even my impression of Martha Stewart. There’s something fun about that.

Your character also gets comic moments with everyone, particularly Brooks Ashmanskas as the Wizard.

That’s beyond fun. Brooks, of course, is the funniest man on Broadway, and I’m so grateful, because with [the duet] “Sensitivity,” at first I was like, what am I going to do with this number? It’s not a showstopper musically; it’s very much in the canon of advancing the plot, when they’re hatching their scheme. The manicure idea was all Lear and Lorin, and it added a great character moment. I love the vanity and self-involvement of that, in contrast to the Wizard, which is a functional role, but with the funniest person in the world playing it. It’s also a delight to play opposite Sutton because she is a brilliant physical comedian. She’s just a loose noodle of a performer. She grabbed my finger the other night when I was berating her, and I almost lost it.

How does Amy Sherman-Palladino’s adaptation of the original book freshen up the show?

Well, I came into it after the heavy lifting was done, but I feel like they achieved a nice balance. There are rock-solid jokes, but it’s not obnoxiously modern in the sense of feeling anachronistic. You know, an amazing number of people have done this show. I was in Grease Live!, the [2016] televised version, and say what you will about Grease, everyone has done it in high school or at camp, and the same is true of Once Upon a Mattress. People have a personal relationship with the material, and Amy served that tradition, just as Mrs. Maisel honored that era. The music, of course, is so beautiful. It’s from the golden age of American entertainment, and Mary Rodgers was royalty in that moment, so it’s a privilege to offer audiences the best version of their memories.

It's also a rare musical that really does appeal to all ages.

Yes, it can be hit or miss with these kinds of shows. Sometimes they can feel corny, but right now America happens to be in a moment where joy is very welcome. It’s so sweet that this is going to be a lot of people’s first show. You look out at curtain call and there are seniors grinning ear to ear, little kids, teenagers, Broadway kids going bananas for Sutton—it’s just a nice afternoon at the theater.

What’s the appeal of stage acting for you?

I really like the discipline and the routine, and the immediacy of the schedule—the warming up and cooling down every day. I love the community, the sense of connection with an audience and with the people backstage. There’s a lot of tradition and an enormous work ethic. I like the grind, even when I get tired and bitch about it! And with musical theater people especially, there’s something unique about being able to sing on stage. You’re given a gift, and there’s a real connection in sharing it.

Your career has combined singing, acting and sketch comedy. Is one of them your true passion?

My passion is the variety. My agents won’t appreciate this, but I’m glad I don’t have to do drama anymore. I played a funeral director a few years ago on a prestige series [Prodigal Son] and I was thinking, I can’t do this anymore. I like being around comedians and writers in the sketch comedy world, people who are makers and creators. I love musical theater. I love television acting, particularly on half-hour shows. I feel lucky to do them all, and I’m aware that you’ve got to enjoy everything while it’s happening.

Does being so versatile make it a challenge to decide what to pursue?

There are definitely times when I think I would like to get to the top of one of these mountains.

Says the person who played Elphaba!

Thank you! It’s funny, because I’ve never played a comedic character like this one [on stage]. I usually say no to parts that are “the funny lady” in the show, because the standard for me was Elphaba. But this has been a delight. It’s the material that matters, and the other people involved.

Do you have your eye on other classic roles?

I would love to do Mame. I would love to do Annie Get Your Gun. I would love to do Gypsy. I would love to do Sweeney Todd, even though it just closed. The thing I would love about Mame is playing opposite someone. One of the gifts of Wicked was sharing the experience with Kate Reinders [as Glinda]. Those emotional relationships are everything to me.

Saturday Night Live is about to enter its 50th season, with a feature film coming up about the origins of the show. How do you look back on your SNL years?

It was a cortisol bomb. Obviously, it changed my life in every possible way—it was super-challenging, just the survival skills it took to do the show for six years. But to be a member of that society is so exceptional. The most incredible people have come through SNL, including some of my closest friends and colleagues, like Rachel Dratch. I can’t even quantify the cellular connection I feel with the people who came through there with me.

It's great to see people like you, Rachel and Tina Fey working together decades later.

Tina came a couple of years into my tenure. I was there at the beginning of a transformative era. People don’t remember this, but when I joined the show in 1996, women were not thought to succeed on Saturday Night Live. Other comics said to me, “I have mixed feelings about you going there because I’m afraid they’re going to squander you.” It didn’t turn out that way. Molly Shannon and Cheri Oteri and I were determined little pit bulls and wrote a ton of material with the help of people like Paula Pell, who is now getting her flowers, thank god. It was the most important lesson of my career: If someone isn’t going to do it for you, you’ve got to do it for yourself. To go back to your question about variety, necessity has always been the mother of invention for me. That’s show business, period. You have to keep redefining yourself.