Matilda

[NewYorkPulse24]

I think it could be quite the success just because it will be very popular with kids, families & SCHOOLS.
You know how many class trips this will bring in!

[labwyfan]

Those who have not seen it are in for a real treat. I found it to be a true original, GREAT score, GREAT dancing, GREAT performances. The opening of Act 2 (WHEN I GROW UP) gave me chills as did NAUGHTY and REVOLTING CHILDREN.

There are some British sensibilities that might not translate well (hopefully they will work those kinks out in rehearsal), but overall, it is a fantasticly creative production and by far one of the best shows I have seen on either coast in a very long time. Guess I liked it.

[wonderfulwizard11]

I saw it this past October when I was in London and adored it. I thought it was hysterical and totally charming. I really think it will be a big, big hit here- it's appealing for kids, but the humor is dark enough to keep the adults interested as well. It's really a clever show, and though I love the movie as well, this holds it's own incredibly well as an adaptation of the original novel.

[RaisedOnMusicals]

You know what? I can't answer all of your your questions about whether or not I liked this or that (other than what I already commented on), especially regarding the score. Can I say I "remember" any song? No. I saw it in July, and just don't remember. What I do remember is the show's heart. This is a story about a little girl who was unwanted and unloved by her parents, and she used her amazing intellect to overcome that adversity. Maybe the show resonated with me because I'm a father, and two of my kids are girls (or young women, today.) So I found the show heartwarming, as will other parents and the kids and grandkids they take to see it.

[Kelly2]

"What I do remember is the show's heart. This is a story about a little girl who was unwanted and unloved by her parents, and she used her amazing intellect to overcome that adversity."

While I agree it's a touching premise, some people do actually go to the theatre to see excellence in craft in addition to just heart and charm. It IS possible to have both, even!

[RaisedOnMusicals]

If you had paid attention to one of my earlier posts in the thread, I loved the choreography, the acting of the kids in particular and other things relating to the production.

[FireFingers]

Don't think I have ever disagreed with a "review" more.

Matilda was a magical show with great performances and interesting characters, and found "When I Grow Up" and "Revolting Children" incredibly catchy.

Only thing wrong with the show was the sound wasn't great, but don't see that being a problem on Broadway.

[Mister Matt]

(1) You just joined today to post this?

I highly doubt it since I remember seeing this same "review" of Matilda almost verbatim before. Under a different name, of course.

[roadmixer]

MATILDA better be a hit because it is going to cost a fortune to operate with all of the children in it.

MARY POPPINS closing will surely help the sales of the show which will be the same target audience as THE LION KING & ANNIE - families. I haven't seen the show but I have found the some people love it and others ask what all of the fuss is about. It is far from a sure-thing but then again BILLY ELLIOT won the Tony so there is clearly an appetite for this sort of a show centered around the lives of children. On the other hand, BILLY was not nearly as big of a box-office smash as people had hoped. Time will tell.

[RaisedOnMusicals]

Will Matilda and Cinderella be competing for the same audience?

[Scarywarhol]

I do not understand how anyone could take serious issue with the material. It's the first musical I've seen in several years that sounds like it had lyrics by someone who could actually read.

[qolbinau]

Exactly Scarywarhol. The musical is actually smart and witty. The rhymes here in NAUGHTY feel so natural the words just 'roll off the tongue'.


In the slip of a bolt, there's a tiny revolt.
The seeds of a war in the creak of a floorboard.
A storm can begin with the flap of a wing.
The tiniest mite packs the mightiest sting.
Every day starts with the tick of a clock.
All escapes start with the click of a lock.
If you're stuck in your story and want to get out,
You don't have to cry; you don't have to shout.

--

And the lyrics in THE SMELL OF REBELLION will win an actor a Tony for their performance.

[devonian.t]

Sadly, the lyrics are sometimes too dense to work in performance. Tim Minchin can do cabaret with this material because he can stop for laugh-lines and let the audience catch up if necessary. In the context of a musical some of the songs sound like garble. The sound design at the Cambridge Theatre is pretty dreadful, too. On the CD, with nothing else to distract, though, they are pretty terrific too.

My problem is with the story-telling: the show does very little to explain why Matilda is so extraordinary, and the last 10 minutes are very sloppy in the way everything is tied up by the sudden arrival of a narrator.

[lotiloti]

RSC = Theatrical craft!