<Tr> <Th> Basis </Th> <Td> Fairy tale The Princess and the Pea </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Productions </Th> <Td> 1958 Camp Tamiment, PA 1959 Off - Broadway 1959 Broadway 1960 US Tour 1960 West End 1964 U.S. Television 1972 U.S. Television 1996 Broadway revival 2005 U.S. Television </Td> </Tr> <P> Once Upon a Mattress is a musical comedy with music by Mary Rodgers, lyrics by Marshall Barer, and book by Jay Thompson, Dean Fuller, and Marshall Barer . It opened off - Broadway in May 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 . </P> <P> Once Upon a Mattress was first written as a shorter play at the Tamiment adult summer camp resort . The play was later expanded for the Broadway stage . Initial reviews of the play were mixed, but critics and actors alike were surprised by the show's enduring popularity . Once Upon a Mattress is a popular choice for high school drama programs and community theatre groups . </P>

What is the song shy from once upon a mattress about