Bigfork Native Chosen To Star In MATILDA THE MUSICAL After Statewide Search

Ten year old Dylynne Cosand from Bigfork has been chosen to portray the title character in Alpine Theatre Project's upcoming production of Matilda the Musical, based on the beloved book by Roald Dahl. The musical, part of ATP's 2018 Broadway Summer Season, will open July 7 and run in rotating repertory until July 20 at the Whitefish Performing Arts Center. Cosand was chosen after a statewide search to find a young actress to play the young Matilda, a a precocious and confident girl gifted with an extraordinary intellect.

"We had young actresses submitting from all across the country," says Matilda Director, Betsi Morrison. "It's a testament to the talent we have right here in the Flathead Valley. Dylynne possessed all the qualities I was looking for to play this extraordinary girl."

Cosand will lead a group of 17 other young actors from around the Flathead Valley - including Kalispell, Lakeside, Kila, and Whitefish - to play Matilda's classmates alongside ATP's adult company of professional actors, many of whom have extensive Broadway experience. The children have been rehearsing for the past month to learn the music before the professional actors arrive along with ATP's professional Choreographer, Brian J. Marcum, a 6-time Broadway veteran, himself.

The other young actors include:

• Megan Amick, Whitefish
• Ava Bee, Whitefish
• Lanae Bacon, Whitefish
• Nicholas Brester, Kalispell
• Badge Busse, Kalispell
• Lander Busse, Kalispell
• Teddy Cotton, Lakeside
• Joseph Coulter, Kalispell
• Katherine Eckstrom, Whitefish
• Simma Lefcourt, Whitefish
• Marcus Mercer, Whitefish
• Carson Miller, Kalispell
• Ada Milner, Kalispell
• Cole Pickert, Whitefish
• Gabby Pickert, Whitefish
• Jezalynn Schussler, Kalispell
• Kenny Stone, Whitefish
• Hannah Wilson, Portland, OR
• Finn Woodward, Whitefish
• Sophia Woodward, Whitefish

Matilda the Musical is a adaptation of a Roald Dahl's best-selling 1998 novel. It tells the story of Matilda Wormwood, a gifted girl forced to put up with crude, distant parents. Worse, Agatha Trunchbull, the evil principal at Matilda's school, Crunchem Hall, delights in terrorizing her students. However, when Matilda realizes she has the power of telekinesis, she begins to defend her friends from Trunchbull's wrath and fight back against her unkind parents. The musical, ran on Broadway and London's West-End to great acclaim, with Ben Brantley of the New York Times calling it, "The most satisfying and subversive musical ever to come out of Britain."

Alpine Theatre Project is only one of two theatres in the entire US currently able to produce the musical, which closed on Broadway in 2017 but is still running on London's West-End.

"We're thrilled to bring the regional premiere of this amazing new musical," says Morrison. "ATP is dedicated to constantly surprising and 'wow-ing' the community, and this musical is a perfect example of that."

Matilda the Musical opens July 7 at the Whitefish Performing Arts Center and will run in rotating repertory with the 50's musical revue, Smokey Joe's Cafe, the one-man comedy, Fully Committed, and ATP's new cabaret series, Shifting Gears: ATP Distilled. Patrons can call 406-862-7469 or visit atpwhitefish.org for more information.

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