Review: CLO Kicks Off Season with MATILDA

A British encounter of a younger kind is sweeping the stage on 7th Street in downtown Pittsburgh. Matilda, the Broadway and West End hit musical about a superlative young girl with extraordinary knowledge and wit, opens the Pittsburgh CLO's 2016 Summer Season at the Benedum Center.

Growing up, we all experience a bully, perhaps in the forms of sibling pestering or classmate taunting. For Matilda, bullies come in different shapes and sizes. Her parents and headmistress, adults who are appalling immature and mean to the young lass, discourage Matilda from educating herself, from bettering herself.

She finds confidence in her teacher, Ms. Honey (Paula Brancati). A frail blonde who searches for a backbone, Ms. Honey encourages Matilda to be stronger than she has ever been. With friendship and unexpected twists, the duo connects through the realizations of their similar pasts.

If you can get past the opening number and beginning scenes in the first and second acts, the rest of the show is well worth the watch. For Act One, though, do not expect to find a plot. The hour and a quarter half is essentially endless exposition for the story.

The principals of the show, however, are incredibly talented. Lily Brooks O'Briant, one of three girls playing the title character Matilda on tour, radiates an air of poise and professionalism, all packaged within the nine-year-old actress. Every word from her mouth can be heard with diction as proper as they come.

Her antagonist, headmistress Miss Trunchbull, is a gender flipped role played by David Abeles. There is something about a man dressed in a woman's costume with hyperbolized breasts that will always elicit wailing laughter from the crowd. Mr. Abeles does not rely on his physical appearance to be his only joke; the humor never seems to stop when he delivers his lines, or rather insults.

This show is perfect for both children and adults. The content is appropriate, relatable, and fun - all things needed to be a successful show. Sharp dance moves litter the choreography and are executed with precision, while brightly colored set pieces and technical lighting can easily make you feel like you are watching a rock concert, but the electric guitars are always chased by the woodwinds and strings of a heartwarming number.

In a word: cute. Matilda may not be a classically styled show; it may not have a conventional storyline or dancers on pointe for numbers on end; but what it does have is a feel-good cuteness that only some shows have. Matilda runs through June 12 at the Benedum Center and is presented as part of the PNC Broadway in Pittsburgh 2015-2016 series.

To see or not to see score: 7/9; Recommended Show

Photo Credit: Joan Marcus