MATILDA JR. To Open At The Gateway, July 7

Matilda JR. begins rehearsals and will run at The Gateway Playhouse on Fridays and Saturdays from June 7 – July 15, 2023.

 

Based on Roald Dahl's Tony-award-winning hit musical, Matilda JR. is the fantastical story of a precocious five-year-old prodigy with telekinesis, who faces an uncaring home and overbearing school headmistress, while befriending her maternal and supportive young teacher. It has a book by Dennis Kelly, music and lyrics by Tim Minchin, and orchestrations and additional music by Chris Nightingale.

 

Rebellion is nigh in Matilda JR., a gleefully witty ode to the anarchy of childhood and the power of imagination! This story of a girl who dreams of a better life and the children she inspires will have audiences rooting for the "revolting children" who are out to teach the grown-ups a lesson. Matilda has astonishing wit, intelligence... and special powers! She's unloved by her cruel parents but impresses her schoolteacher, the highly loveable Miss Honey. Matilda's school life isn't completely smooth sailing, however – the school's mean headmistress, Miss Trunchbull, hates children and just loves thinking up new punishments for those who don't abide by her rules. But Matilda has courage and cleverness in equal amounts, and could be the school pupils' saving grace! Packed with high-energy dance numbers and catchy songs, Matilda JR. is a joyous girl power romp.

Matilda JR. will be directed by Joe Minutillo. Choreography will be by Mary Giattino - a Broadway Alum and veteran of The Gateway - with assistance from Keeghan Lavery. Giattino is the owner of The Gateway's official Dance Studio partner, Stage Door School of Dance. Music Direction will be by Peter Pece. 

 

Director, Joseph Minutillo, has directed numerous Children's Theatre productions at The Gateway including Cinderella, Little Mermaid, Pinocchio, Peter Pan, Lion King, Toy Factory, and The Wizard Of OZ to name a few. He has also directed some of The Gateway's Main Stage shows, such as A Christmas Story and Beauty and The Beast. Some of his other directorial works have been The Diary of Anne Frank, To Kill A Mockingbird, Of Mice and Men, The Scarlet Letter (an original piece Joe co-wrote with Scott Eck), Death Of A Salesman, and The Great Gatsby. He is an active member of Leadership Masters and has directed and performed in Churchill Chronicles, Elizabeth, the Mandela Architecture, Disaster & Destiny (Story of the Apollo 1 mission). Joe is a founding member of the NYSTEA (New York State Theatrical Education Association) and received the “Rod Marriot Award'' for Theatre Education in the State of NY. Joe has dedicated much of his career to Theatre Education and believes in NYSTEA's mantra that “Theatre Transform Young Lives.” 

 

A proud alumnus of The Gateway School for the Performing Arts and veteran of The Gateway stage, Mary Giattino served as the Associate Director/Choreographer of the National Tour of Irving Berlin's White Christmas, for seven seasons. Prior to those years, she served as the Assistant Choreographer, Dance Captain/Swing, for the Broadway, LA, Detroit, and Toronto companies. She gratefully had the opportunity to work as the Assistant Choreographer on both the NBC TV Series, RISE, and Apple TV's network TV show, Dickinson. Associate Choreographer credits: 1st National Tour of the Tony Award-Winning Musicals Fun Home and Billy Elliot the Musical. Other Assistant Choreographer credits: Kimberly Akimbo (NY Workshop), Dear Evan Hanson (NY Workshop), NY City Center Encores! productions of Lady Be Good, No No Nanette, Of Thee I Sing, and All Singing, All Dancing (92nd St. Y). She was the Tap coach for Billy Elliot on Broadway and served as the Resident Choreographer/Swing for the 1st National Tour as well. Choreography credits: IBWC, Thoroughly Modern Millie, 42nd St at The Gateway Playhouse, and 42nd St at The Lexington Opera House. A few favorite performance credits include: Broadway Revival Tour of 42nd Street, kicking up her heels as a Radio City Rockette, shaking hands with President Obama at the Kennedy Center's production of Some Enchanted Evening (a tribute to the late Senator Ted Kennedy), in addition to performing at numerous Regional Theaters across the country. As a Tap teacher, Mary has been on the faculty at Steps on Broadway in NYC, a guest teacher at Broadway Dance Center, and continues to teach Master Classes at Universities and Dance Studios across the US. Mary is the proud owner of Stage Door School of Dance in NY. 

 

“I am so proud to return to my roots at The Gateway and share my Broadway experiences with this incredible group of young students with high aspirations in the arts. I am looking forward to growing the partnership between SDSD and The Gateway for years to come instilling the best in arts education to a new crop of Long Island's talented youth.”

 

Music Direction will be by Dr. Peter Pece. He has been Musical Director for The Gateway's Children's Theatre productions since starting here in 1993, where he has been involved in over 50 productions. Peter has also musically directed and conducted MainStage productions at The Gateway, including Beauty and the Beast, My Fair Lady, and The Rat Pack is Back. He has a B.M. in Music Composition from Berklee College of Music, an M.S. and a C.A.S. in Educational Administration from Hofstra University, and a Ph.D. from DeMontfort University. Peter's doctorate is in Neuromusicology where he examined the issues involved in how the brain processes music, memory, and language, and what the effects of brain trauma have upon these processes. Peter has musical revues for former President Bush and former Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher. Peter is also an adjunct professor in the School of Professional Development at Stony Brook University where he lectures on Music and Neurologic Function, Pre-Adolescent/Educational Methods, Project Seminars, and Effective Professional Thinking. For the last seven years, Peter has also been a consultant/teaching artist at the Westhampton Beach Performing Arts Center where he works with the Creative Aging Project called Melodies and Memories.

 

The cast of Matilda JR. is led by Sonnie Betts in the title role. While rehearsing for her recent role as Grace Smythe in A Christmas Carol, she was fortunate to sneak away and tape a supporting role on the television series, Evil Lives Here. Also, while juggling rehearsals for A Christmas Carol, she performed as a young soloist alongside the great Warren Schein, in a holiday show directed by Lydia Sabosto. This past summer, Sonnie kept busy at Bay Street Theater, performing in 29 shows as 'The Girl' in Ragtime. Shortly after, she was invited back to be part of the ensemble in Opera: Shakespeare Riots. Sonnie received her first regional role as 'Gretl' in The Sound of Music back in 2019 at The Gateway, where she has been a student since the age of 5.

 

The remaining cast of principal and ensemble members includes Brynne Ballan, Keira Ballan, Logan Baxter, Abigail Caravella, Stefania Rae Conte, Sage Cotter, Bailey De Lauter, Landon Fish, Molly Hart, Nicholas Iannaccone, Asher King, David Lafler, Olivia McGourty, Sean McNiff, Lola Moran, Halle Morana, Cian Murphy, London Orofino, Lilith Orofino, Abigail Pirozzi, Sienna Reefer, Sarah Robayo, Mia Rofrano, Bridget Spreckels, Marty Timlin, Kamani Tucker, Abigail Werner, and Sofa DaCosta-Wilson.

 

Tickets for Matilda JR. are on sale now and start at $15. Group Sale Discounts are also available for groups of 25 people or more. For more information, contact the Box Office at (631) 286-1133, or visit the website at TheGateway.org.

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