Theatre 360 Presents MATILDA THE MUSICAL At Sierra Madre Playhouse

As it did for most arts organizations, March of 2020 marked the beginning of a difficult chapter for performing arts school Theatre 360. With COVID regulations constantly changing over the next months and years, the company was able to remain fluid, pivoting from in-person lessons to virtual classes and then to masked in-person workshops for small groups.

Artistic Director Devon Yates says, "The most important thing was to keep kids engaged in the arts, to give them a place to process and to respond to this big, scary thing that was happening in the world. You can't just take kids out of school and put them in their room with a computer for a year. They need to create."

As things have slowly opened, 360 has returned to in-person performances, but has struggled to find rental space, as theatres have had to restrict audience sizes to comply with state and county guidelines. Despite these challenges, the company has managed to transform its studio space into a black box theatre, where it has mounted four small productions since last summer.

"We are so proud of what we were able to do in our limited space, but we really want the kids to have the experience of performing on a traditional stage," Yates explained. Happily, this summer, the kids of 360 will bring Matilda the Musical to the stage of Sierra Madre Playhouse, the historic 99-seater where their last pre-COVID show had been set to debut.

Ignored by her cruel parents, young Matilda spends her days at the library until she's old enough to begin attending school at local Crunchem Hall. Her loveable teacher, Miss Honey, quickly discovers Matilda's extraordinary intelligence and rises to the challenge of teaching her, but Miss Honey's efforts are thwarted by the evil headmistress, Miss Trunchbull, who despises children. Luckily, Matilda has courage and cleverness in equal amounts, and she takes a stand to change her own destiny. The Tony-winning musical, based on the novel by Roald Dahl, celebrates the power of imagination and the joyful unpredictability of childhood with high-energy dance numbers and hummable tunes by Tim Minchin.

Directed by Kristina Weston. Musical Direction and Choreography by Kelsey O'Keeffe. Produced by Devon Yates.

Pre-sale tickets sold online only. Box Office will open 30 mins before show and will stay open until 15 mins after curtain. Buy tickets online at www.theatre360.org .

To learn more about Theatre 360, its classes or productions, please visit www.theatre360.org.

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