Monday, April 22, 2013

Theater Review: Matilda


Matilda's Mind Magic is Big on Broadway
By Lauren Yarger
The hype is big, with phrases like “The best musical to hit Broadway since….” “The hottest thing since Book of Mormon” and “A shoe-in for the Best Musical Tony” being used to describe the Broadway musical Matilda, based on the children’s book by Roald Dahl.

So intense was the buzz about this show during its run in London, that there was an actual bidding war among New York producers to bring the phenomenon across the Atlantic (The Dodgers won the honor of co-producing with the Royal Shakespeare Company and it has been selling out over at the Shubert Theatre where it opened April 11.

What all the hype is about, I’m not sure, however. The show is fun and entertaining in many ways, but it’s also flawed. I’d give it a B grade – hardly worthy of “The best musical to ht Broadway since….” status.

The story, with a script for the stage by Dennis Kelly (Orphans) and music and lyrics by Tim Minchin (a comedian also known to TV fans as Atticus Fetch on “Californication), is rather dark. Matilda Wormwood (the role is shared by Sophia Gennusa, Oona Laurence, Bailey Ryon and Milly Shapiro, whom I saw the night I attended) is a little genius of a girl who takes comfort in the world of books and storytelling to escape her life. Her mother (Lesli Margherita) isn’t happy to find out she’s pregnant with Matilda because it interferes with salsa dancing competition and long-haired dance partner Rudolpho (a funny Philip Speath). And besides, she already has a son, Michael (Taylor Trensch) who spends his time in a coma-like pose in front of the TV.

Mr. Wormwood (Gabriel Ebert) doesn’t know how to relate to a child who isn’t male, so he refers to Matilda as a boy, prompting her to yell repeatedly, “I’m a girl!” Soon she realizes that she’s by far the brightest bulb in this family package and starts to use her intelligence to manipulate circumstances. She hides the reality of her sad home life from friend and librarian Mrs. Phelps (Karen Aldridge), who waits eagerly for Matilda to tell the next installment of her fairytale about an :escapologist (Ben Thompson) and his acrobat wife (Samantha Sturm) who long for a daughter to make their life complete (the story comes to life a number of times thanks to the creative design teams effects: Hugh Vanstone, lighting; Rob Howell, sets and costumes; Simon Baker sound).

The only other positive influence in Matilda’s life is her teacher, Miss Honey (Lauren Ward) who recognizes her astonishing gifts and ties to help the child. Working against her, however, is the cruel, sadistic headmistress of Crunchem Hall, Miss Trunchbull (Bertie Carvel). She’s freaky and scary with her hair wrapped into a tight bun to accent her "uptight" qualities. She sports a humorous get-up: a little mini-skirted, top-heavy thing with room to accommodate a hunched back as she totters about in an overly effeminate way.

She s she watches the little “maggots” in her charge on multiple video cameras and tries to trap them into admitting wrong doings so she can place them in the chokey, a cupboard-like solitary confinement.

“To teach the child, we must first break the child,” she gleefully cackles.

Her bullying proves no match for Matilda’s intelligence, however, and when the girl discovers she has the ability to use her extraordinary mind to move objects, she uses her power to unite her classmates and defeat the evil “Trunch.”

The effect where she uses her mind to manipulate chalk to write a threatening message on the school blackboard is particularly well done (Paul Kieve, illusion). Suddenly this effect let me understand what had been causing the hype about this show. Matilda obviously has been using her mind to control the pens of theater critics and get them to write that it's the most sensational show ever to hit Broadway.....

Well, she met her match here. There's bad along with the good to report.

Good::

  • The music by Minchin, with musical direction by David Holcenberg and orchestrations and additional music by Chris Nightingale, is pleasant sounding.
  • The vocals.
  • The sets are colossal and appealing.
  • Performances by Aldridge and Spaeth shine.

Not so good:

  • It's way too long at 2:45. A good chunk of oen of the weakest Act 2 openings ever could be cut to begin with one of the shows most pleasing numbers, "When I Grow Up," set on swings by choreographer Peter Darling.
  • Shapiro. Sorry, hate to pick on a little kid, but I couldn't understand most of what she was saying, even though she SHOUTED EVERY LINE. I was back in the house, but critics in the sixth row center were reporting that they couldn't understand her either.
  • Carvel as Miss Trunchbull. Casting males in female roles for no reason is a pet peeve to begin with, but in this case, it really doesn't work. Carvel's performance isn't bad. He provides some nice chops for the humor, but he isn't at all convincing as a woman. If you don't know the story from Dahl's book or the movie starring Mara Wilson as Matilda, you will think Trunchbull is a really creepy transvestite and you will be wondering how he ever got away with competing as a hammer thrower in the Olympics given all of the testing they do..... It changes the focus of the character and isn't necessary -- especially in a show geared for kids. There are plenty of gifted -- even large and towering in height -- women who could create the complex character. Hire one of them, Director Matthew Warchus.
Matilda plays at the Shubert Theatre, 225 West 44th St., NYC. Tickets and info: http://www.matildathemusical.com/.

Christians might also like to know:
--Lord's name taken in vain
-- I wouldn't recommend this for very young children.

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Our reviews are professional reviews written without a religious bias. At the end of them, you can find a listing of language, content or theological issues that Christians might want to know about when deciding which shows to see.

** Mature indicates that the show has posted an advisory because of content. Usually this means I would recommend no one under the age of 16 attend.

Theater Critic Lauren Yarger

Theater Critic Lauren Yarger

My Bio

Lauren Yarger has written, directed and produced numerous shows and special events for both secular and Christian audiences. She co-wrote a Christian musical version of “A Christmas Carol” which played to sold-out audiences of over 3,000 in Vermont and was awarded the Vermont Bessie (theater and film awards) for “People’s Choice for Theatre.” She also has written two other dinner theaters, sketches for church services and devotions for Christian artists. Her play concept, "From Reel to Real: The Jennifer O'Neill Story" was presented as part of the League of professional Theatre Women's Julia's reading Room Series in New York. Shifting from reviewing to producing, Yarger owns Gracewell Productions, which produced the Table Reading Series at the Palace Theater in Waterbury, CT. She trained for three years in the Broadway League’s Producer Development Program, completed the Commercial Theater Institute's Producing Intensive and other training and produced a one-woman musical about Mary Magdalene that toured nationally and closed with an off-Broadway run. She was a Fellow at the National Critics Institute at the O'Neill Theater Center in Waterford, CT. She wrote reviews of Broadway and Off-Broadway theater (the only ones you can find in the US with an added Christian perspective) at http://reflectionsinthelight.blogspot.com/.

She is editor of The Connecticut Arts Connection (http://ctarts.blogspot.com), an award-winning website featuring theater and arts news for the state. She was a contributing editor for BroadwayWorld.com. She previously served as theater reviewer for the Manchester Journal-Inquirer, Connecticut theater editor for CurtainUp.com and as Connecticut and New York reviewer for American Theater Web.

She is a Co-Founder of the Connecticut Chapter of the League of Professional Theatre Women. She is a former vice president and voting member of The Drama Desk.

She is a freelance writer and playwright (member Dramatists Guild of America). She is a member if the The Outer Critics Circle (producer of the annual awards ceremony) and a member of The League of Professional Theatre Women, serving as Co-Founder of the Connecticut Chapter. Yarger was a book reviewer for Publishers Weekly A former newspaper editor and graduate of the University of Missouri’s School of Journalism, Yarger also worked in arts management for the Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts, the Hartford Symphony Orchestra and served for nine years as the Executive Director of Masterwork Productions, Inc. She lives with her husband in West Granby, CT. They have two adult children.

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All material is copyright 2008- 2022 by Lauren Yarger. Reviews and articles may not be reprinted without permission. Contact reflectionsinthelight@gmail.com

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Key to Content Notes:

God's name taken in vain -- means God or Jesus is used in dialogue without speaking directly to or about them.

Language -- means some curse words are used. "Minor" usually means the words are not too strong or that it only occurs once or twice throughout the show.

Strong Language -- means some of the more heavy duty curse words are used.

Nudity -- means a man or woman's backside, a man's lower front or a woman's front are revealed.

Scantily clad -- means actors' private areas are technically covered, but I can see a lot of them.

Sexual Language -- means the dialogue contains sexually explicit language but there's no action.

Sexual Activity -- means a man and woman are performing sexual acts.

Adultery -- Means a married man or woman is involved sexually with someone besides their spouse. If this is depicted with sexual acts on stage, the list would include "sexual activity" as well.

Sex Outside of Marriage -- means a man and woman are involved sexually without being married. If this is depicted sexually on stage, the list would include "sexual activity" as well.

Homosexuality -- means this is in the show, but not physically depicted.

Homosexual activity -- means two persons of the same sex are embracing/kissing. If they do more than that, the list would include "sexual activity" as well.

Cross Dresser -- Means someone is dressing as the opposite sex. If they do more than that on stage the listing would include the corresponding "sexual activity" and/or "homosexual activity" as well.

Cross Gender -- A man is playing a female part or a woman is playing a man's part.

Suggestive Dancing -- means dancing contains sexually suggestive moves.

Derogatory (category added Fall 2012) Language or circumstances where women or people of a certain race are referred to or treated in a negative and demeaning manner.

Other content matters such as torture, suicide, or rape will be noted, with details revealed only as necessary in the review itself.

The term "throughout" added to any of the above means it happens many times throughout the show.

Reviewing Policy

I receive free seats to Broadway and Off-Broadway shows made available to all voting members of the Outer Critics Circle. Journalistically, I provide an unbiased review and am under no obligation to make positive statements. Sometimes shows do not make tickets available to reviewers. If these are shows my readers want to know about I will purchase a ticket. If a personal friend is involved in a production, I'll let you know, but it won't influence a review. If I feel there is a conflict, I won't review their portion of the production.

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