Carol + 2: The Original Queens of Comedy

This compilation of Carol Burnett's TV specials offers a mix of highs and lows. The strongest element here is the 1972 adaptation of Once Upon a Mattress, the 1959 Broadway musical comedy version of the fairy tale The Princess and the Pea. Burnett recreated her stage role as the raucous Princess Winnifred, who undergoes several zany tests to determine if she should wed a shy prince (Ken Berry). While this version truncates its charming source material to put a heavy focus on Burnett's considerable slapstick skills, the real scene stealers are two members of the original Broadway cast: Jack Gilford as the beleaguered King Sextimus the Silent and Jane White (an African-American actress in a rare case of cross-racial casting) as the scheming Queen Aggravain. Less successful is Carol + 2, a 1966 special that paired Burnett with Lucille Ball and Zero Mostel. While it's blessed with a pair of memorable musical numbers—Mostel's rendition of “If I Were a Rich Man” from Fiddler on the Roof and Burnett and Ball as movie-mad charwomen singing “Chutzpah” while cleaning the William Morris Agency office—it is also burdened with disappointing comedy sketches. Also included is a sketch from Burnett's 1963 special Carol & Company that introduced her charwoman character vamping across the bare stage of an empty burlesque theater. Although weak in sections, overall this release should delight Burnett's fans. Recommended. (P. Hall)