--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I struggled for a while, but when I was…" description: "\"I struggled for a while, but when I was cast in an Off Broadway show called 'Once Upon a Mattress,' that kind of put me on the map.\" — Carol Burnett" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d67/carol-burnett-3457_broadway_i-struggled-for-a-while-but-when-i-was-c_694828.png" --- # I struggled for a while, but when I was cast in an Off… ![“I struggled for a while, but when I was cast in an Off Broadway show called 'Once Upon a Mattress,' that kind of put me on the map.” quote by Carol Burnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d67/carol-burnett-3457_broadway_i-struggled-for-a-while-but-when-i-was-c_694828.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d67/carol-burnett-3457_broadway_i-struggled-for-a-while-but-when-i-was-c_694828.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d67/carol-burnett-3457_broadway_i-struggled-for-a-while-but-when-i-was-c_694828.png) > “I struggled for a while, but when I was cast in an Off Broadway show called 'Once Upon a Mattress,' that kind of put me on the map.” [Carol Burnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-burnett/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Early career setbacks can lead to breakthrough opportunities that define success. **In simple terms:** Early struggles can become turning points. Key Takeaway Persist through setbacks; seize chances. Themes career perseverance breakthrough Mood reflective encouraging Type inspirational career When to use this quote - auditions - networking - stage performance - career pivots Key Concepts resilience opportunity entertainment Questions to Reflect On - What breakthrough moment changed your path? - How do you stay resilient after rejection? A Different Perspective Success may still be fragile; not all opportunities lead to lasting fame. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Broadway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/broadway/) [Broadway Called](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/broadway-called-2653963/) [Broadway show](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/broadway-show/) [Called Mattress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/called-mattress-5512741/) [Cast Broadway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cast-broadway-3295935/) [Kind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kind/) [Map](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/map/) [Me](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/me/) [Show](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/show/) [Struggled](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/struggled/) [Struggled Cast](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/struggled-cast-5512740/) ## Related quotes > [I can't tell you the thrill and joy of when I was cast in my first Broadway show. Granted, it was 'Starlight Express' and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-batt/i-can-t-tell-you-the-thrill-and-joy-of-when-i-was-cast-in-my-first/) [Bryan Batt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-batt/) > [I did a great show Off-Broadway called Leave It To Beaver Is Dead that was at the Public Theater in New York. It was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brent-spiner/i-did-a-great-show-off-broadway-called-leave-it-to-beaver-is-dead/) [Brent Spiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brent-spiner/) > [The first big lead that I had on Broadway was in a show called La Strada.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernadette-peters/the-first-big-lead-that-i-had-on-broadway-was-in-a-show-called-la/) [Bernadette Peters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernadette-peters/) > [I was at Elon University in North Carolina for two years pursuing my BFA. And after my sophomore year, I was cast in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grant-gustin/i-was-at-elon-university-in-north-carolina-for-two-years-pursuing-my/) [Grant Gustin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grant-gustin/) > [I'm honored to be reprising my role as Chicago's Roxie Hart, returning to the stage and joining this amazing cast... Being on Broadway is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashlee-simpson/i-m-honored-to-be-reprising-my-role-as-chicago-s-roxie-hart-returning/) [Ashlee Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashlee-simpson/) > [I'm as anxious as any viewer would be to see what Temple is going to do next. All I know is that in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-patrick-thomas/i-m-as-anxious-as-any-viewer-would-be-to-see-what-temple-is-going-to/) [Sean Patrick Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-patrick-thomas/) > [The first Broadway show that I ever saw was 'Kiss Me, Kate.' I was in New York, on a school trip.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cole-escola/the-first-broadway-show-that-i-ever-saw-was-kiss-me-kate-i-was-in-new/) [Cole Escola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cole-escola/) > [All the way on the West Coast, never having seen a Broadway show, it was like, 'They don't want me. There's nothing there for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daveed-diggs/all-the-way-on-the-west-coast-never-having-seen-a-broadway-show-it/) [Daveed Diggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daveed-diggs/) > [I was in my last year in high school when I began to think of becoming a dancer. I had never seen a Broadway…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-kelly/i-was-in-my-last-year-in-high-school-when-i-began-to-think-of/) [Paula Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-kelly/) > [Not really but I did end up auditioning for a Broadway show. 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Allee Willis and Brenda Russell wrote The Color Purple which has been recently revived on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-koz/some-of-my-best-friends-have-written-broadway-shows-allee-willis-and/) [Dave Koz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-koz/) > [I am always in much better shape when I am doing a Broadway show because you have the eight shows a week to kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-krakowski/i-am-always-in-much-better-shape-when-i-am-doing-a-broadway-show/) [Jane Krakowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-krakowski/) > [I've grown up watching and admiring Norm. Sherie actually starred in the first off-Broadway show I ever saw in New York, which was The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tituss-burgess/i-ve-grown-up-watching-and-admiring-norm-sherie-actually-starred-in/) [Tituss Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tituss-burgess/) > [All of a sudden, I was a young kid in my early 20s, and I had a couple of Broadway shows to my credit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-tenney/all-of-a-sudden-i-was-a-young-kid-in-my-early-20s-and-i-had-a-couple/) [Jon Tenney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-tenney/) ## More by Carol Burnett > [Edgy is fine - I'm not a prude by any stretch of the imagination - but what's wrong with a good ol' belly laugh?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-burnett/edgy-is-fine-i-m-not-a-prude-by-any-stretch-of-the-imagination-but/) [Carol Burnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-burnett/) > [When I went to New York to try and make it, I never thought it wouldn't happen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-burnett/when-i-went-to-new-york-to-try-and-make-it-i-never-thought-it-wouldn/) [Carol Burnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-burnett/) > [Because of YouTube, I'm getting fan mail from 10-year-olds and teenagers and college kids.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-burnett/because-of-youtube-i-m-getting-fan-mail-from-10-year-olds-and/) [Carol Burnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-burnett/) > [My grandmother and I would go see movies, and we'd come back to the apartment - we had a one-room apartment in Hollywood -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-burnett/my-grandmother-and-i-would-go-see-movies-and-we-d-come-back-to-the/) [Carol Burnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-burnett/) > [“Because nobody goes though life without a scar.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-burnett/because-nobody-goes-though-life-without-a-scar/) [Carol Burnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-burnett/) > [My childhood was rough, we were poor and my parents were alcoholics, but nobody was mean. I knew I was loved. We were on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-burnett/my-childhood-was-rough-we-were-poor-and-my-parents-were-alcoholics/) [Carol Burnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-burnett/) > [I'm glad I was born when I was. My time was the golden age of variety. If I were starting out again now, maybe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-burnett/i-m-glad-i-was-born-when-i-was-my-time-was-the-golden-age-of-variety/) [Carol Burnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-burnett/) > [If you see a kid in school, who is a little shy ... that's when you should reach out. When you do, you are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-burnett/if-you-see-a-kid-in-school-who-is-a-little-shy-that-s-when-you-should/) [Carol Burnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-burnett/) > [You know, one wonderful thing that came out of my Enquirer experience is that, in my case, it was ruled tabloids are magazines. Which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-burnett/you-know-one-wonderful-thing-that-came-out-of-my-enquirer-experience/) [Carol Burnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-burnett/) > [I have always grown from my problems and challenges, from the things that don't work out, that's when I've really learned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-burnett/i-have-always-grown-from-my-problems-and-challenges-from-the-things/) [Carol Burnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-burnett/) > [Daddy, when he drank, just became sweeter. There wasn't a mean thought in his body. I've always said he was like a drunk Jimmy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-burnett/daddy-when-he-drank-just-became-sweeter-there-wasn-t-a-mean-thought/) [Carol Burnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-burnett/) > [I always preferred working with somebody so I could look into their eyeballs and play tennis.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-burnett/i-always-preferred-working-with-somebody-so-i-could-look-into-their/) [Carol Burnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-burnett/) > [I do the 'New York Times' crossword puzzle every morning to keep the old grey matter ticking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-burnett/i-do-the-new-york-times-crossword-puzzle-every-morning-to-keep-the/) [Carol Burnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-burnett/) > [I am not a joke-teller. Stand-up, I couldn't do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-burnett/i-am-not-a-joke-teller-stand-up-i-couldn-t-do/) [Carol Burnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-burnett/) > [It all happened the way it was supposed to. I wouldn't change anything. I had such a great run.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-burnett/it-all-happened-the-way-it-was-supposed-to-i-wouldn-t-change-anything/) [Carol Burnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-burnett/) [Explore all 130 Carol Burnett quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-burnett/) ## More Broadway quotes > [When somebody mentions that I did a play with George C. Scott, I'm like, it can't have happened. What was I doing on a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-dano/when-somebody-mentions-that-i-did-a-play-with-george-c-scott-i-m-like/) [Paul Dano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-dano/) > [I thought my first few jobs would just be off, off, off, off, off broadway. And by chance and how the world works, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tommy-dorfman/i-thought-my-first-few-jobs-would-just-be-off-off-off-off-off/) [Tommy Dorfman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tommy-dorfman/) > [A lot of Broadway has that immigrant narrative of America as a place where you can become something else against all odds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-kass/a-lot-of-broadway-has-that-immigrant-narrative-of-america-as-a-place/) [Deborah Kass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-kass/) > [I would love to go back to Broadway.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-finneran/i-would-love-to-go-back-to-broadway/) [Katie Finneran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-finneran/) > [“On Broadway it was still bright afternoon and the gassy air was almost motionless under the leaden spokes of sunlight, and sawdust footprints lay…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/on-broadway-it-was-still-bright-afternoon-and-the-gassy-air-was/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [That's why I had to leave Hair on Broadway, because I did it for about a year, and one night I was doing the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-mcguire/that-s-why-i-had-to-leave-hair-on-broadway-because-i-did-it-for-about/) [Barry McGuire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-mcguire/) > [I starred in a Broadway play that was Sidney Poitier's first directing job and the cast was Lou Gossett, Cicely Tyson, Diana Ladd and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-steinberg/i-starred-in-a-broadway-play-that-was-sidney-poitier-s-first/) [David Steinberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-steinberg/) > [All of a sudden, I was a young kid in my early 20s, and I had a couple of Broadway shows to my credit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-tenney/all-of-a-sudden-i-was-a-young-kid-in-my-early-20s-and-i-had-a-couple/) [Jon Tenney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-tenney/) > [When I was little, I saw the play 'Les Miserables' on Broadway, I thought it was the most amazing thing I have ever seen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashley-tisdale/when-i-was-little-i-saw-the-play-les-miserables-on-broadway-i-thought/) [Ashley Tisdale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashley-tisdale/) > [I never thought my life's path would take me to Broadway, but when I heard they were creating a musical based on one of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-morgan/i-never-thought-my-life-s-path-would-take-me-to-broadway-but-when-i/) [Lorrie Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-morgan/) > [I aspired from early on to write a novel, to be in the 'New Yorker,' to be on Broadway, and at least in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-o-donnell/i-aspired-from-early-on-to-write-a-novel-to-be-in-the-new-yorker-to/) [Mark O'Donnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-o-donnell/) > [The Beatles have a deeper appreciation of all music. 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I've got breasts, this latex dripping…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boy-george/i-remember-going-onstage-on-broadway-in-this-leigh-bowery-thing-for-a/) [Boy George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boy-george/) > [I am an off-Broadway, nonprofit kind of guy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-lapine/i-am-an-off-broadway-nonprofit-kind-of-guy/) [James Lapine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-lapine/) > [I never wanted to just be on Broadway, I wanted to be Simba.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caleb-mclaughlin/i-never-wanted-to-just-be-on-broadway-i-wanted-to-be-simba/) [Caleb McLaughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caleb-mclaughlin/) [Browse all 1,139 Broadway quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/broadway/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I struggled for a while, but when I was cast in an Off Broadway show called 'Once Upon a Mattress,' that kind of put me on the map.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Carol Burnett" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-burnett/i-struggled-for-a-while-but-when-i-was-cast-in-an-off-broadway-show/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Broadway" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-burnett/i-struggled-for-a-while-but-when-i-was-cast-in-an-off-broadway-show/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d67/carol-burnett-3457_broadway_i-struggled-for-a-while-but-when-i-was-c_694828.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d67/carol-burnett-3457_broadway_i-struggled-for-a-while-but-when-i-was-c_694828.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d67/carol-burnett-3457_broadway_i-struggled-for-a-while-but-when-i-was-c_694828.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I struggled for a while, but when I was cast in an Off Broadway show called 'Once Upon a Mattress,' that…” — Carol Burnett", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Carol Burnett", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-burnett/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I struggled for a while, but...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-burnett/i-struggled-for-a-while-but-when-i-was-cast-in-an-off-broadway-show/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-burnett/i-struggled-for-a-while-but-when-i-was-cast-in-an-off-broadway-show/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```