Matilda
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Cititour.com Review
Move over, Annie! You're no longer the only precocious, singing girl with parental problems on the Great White Way. Matilda Wormwood, the titular protagonist of Roald Dahl’s children's novel, has crossed the Atlantic and become a most unusual, but very welcome, Broadway belle.
An Olivier-winning hit in London, Matilda is the story of an unloved genius whose parents are too ignorant and self-absorbed to appreciate her. Her response to them is stoic indifference, plus the occasional spot of revenge. But it's when this 5-year-old starts school that her mettle is really tested. The dastardly headmistress, Miss Trunchbull (played with terrifying comic glee by the cross-dressing Bertie Carvel), uses gestapo tactics to keep her charges in line, and plucky Matilda quickly becomes a mini insurgent, rallying the kids to stand up to the woman’s cruel (albeit hilarious) punishments, and eventually finding a place where she belongs.
Dahl's darkly comic story about adult malfeasance toward children is similar in its semi-bitter-yet-still-sweet tone to the novelist’s best-known work, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Book writer Dennis Kelly finds the right tonal balance for this tricky, quirky material—creepy yet wistful—as does composer-lyricist Tim Minchin with his spunky, tuneful score. Even as the tale meanders from Matilda's home to the library to her school, director Matthew Warchus holds all the myriad elements together for a funny, touching but never over-the-top production.
Four young actresses alternate as Matilda. The one I saw, Milly Shapiro, was a master of poise and understatement. Even though Carvel has the showiest role, he doesn't overshadow his costars. Gabriel Ebert and Lesli Margherita are hilariously haughty as Matilda’s parents, while Lauren Wood is the emotional backbone as the teacher who sees all the girl has to offer.
Matilda's actually a bit like another recent British musical import, Billy Elliot, whose young protagonist had to leave home to become the person he longed to be. But Matilda's not about growing up, it’s about being young. And in that, it does an outstanding job exploring the magic of childhood—its many pains as well as its joys. It should find a home on Broadway for many years to come.
By Diane Snyder
Visit the Site
http://us.matildathemusical.com
Cast
Bertie Carvel, Sophia Gennusa, Oona Laurence, Bailey Ryon, Milly Shapiro, Lesli Margherita, Gabriel Ebert, Lauren Ward, Karen Aldridge
Open/Close Dates
Opening 4/11/2013
Closing 1/1/2017
Preview Open/ Preview Close Dates
Preview Opening 3/4/2013
Closing Open-ended
Box Office
212-239-6200
Theatre Info
Shubert Theatre
225 West 44 Street
New York, NY 10036
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