Fuck Yeah – Matilda the Musical on Broadway

(directed at Miss Honey when telling her to be quiet during the spelling contest)

We saw the tour at the Kennedy Center on Dec. 18. A very good production overall. My biggest quibble was the accents, which seem to have been deliberately made worse (for the tour? I haven’t seen in on Broadway in about a year). My sister thought they were trying and failing to be Irish.

The theatre wasn’t set up for the actors to be able to be able to dismount from the stage and use the audience, wings, and other exits as part of the show, which was a shame. Amanda Thripp is so much more stunning when it happens in the audience instead of onstage, and Miss Trunchbull’s entrance after the “My House” scene is lessened in impact when she kind of floats in from the side instead of through the center aisle.

Mabel Tyler was Matilda. She had excellent enunciation and was rather lovely. I was hoping to see Gabby since I’m part Filipino, but Mabel was not at all disappointing. Strong and gentle at the same time. Her timing during the 3rd Acrobat scene was spot on with the countdown, which I always find impressive.

Charlie Kersh was endearing as well. Seemed to give the impression that she was trying super hard to speak clearly and be understood in the midst of a tendency to rush. A lot of girls who play Lavender struggle with some of her lines (“I think it’s probably for the best if we’re best friends” is a killer), so it wasn’t anything out of the ordinary.

Quinn Mattfeld was incredible, especially in his engagement with the audience in the intermission show. "You there right at the front. . . . Yes, I know you don’t want it to be you, but it definitely is. What’s your name? . . . Linda? . . . Lida? . . . Oh, just without the ‘n’. Great.” Very funny, and also a total cutie with a great smile.

Bryce Ryness gave a performance par excellence. Some slip ups in “The Hammer” when he swapped a minor line and later actually got entangled in the ribbon (though played it off well). Timing is so important with Trunchbull and his was impeccable. So nasty but incredibly funny.

Cassie Silva gave a wonderful and energetic performance. I wish I had paid attention more to her lines during Loud, because they’re usually drowned out by the music but you could hear them marginally well in this venue. She’s a great dancer (Jaquez Andre Sims too) and got a lot of laughs at each expression of disgust toward Matilda.

Jennifer Blood played Miss Honey with a bit more strength than some others I’ve seen in the role, showing great remnants of fighting will underneath a personality that had been kicked down over so many years. She and Mabel had great chemistry.

Hello, thanks for the ask. I have actually only seen Craige Els once, since despite living in the UK this year, I don’t have very much time to make it down to London. He was pretty good; very menacing; extremely tall.

Hey, I'm not sure what you mean by purchasing it. 54 Below is a cabaret restaurant and their performances aren't recorded officially because you have to pay to see it, and it would be really really hard to video record illegally because it's very small and everyone is just in the open eating food like two feet from the stage. I'm sure it's possible to sneak a few clips, but not the whole show.

A few people did get bootleg audio, including this one from narcolopsy.

Yo. Amanda is rigged up to a harness under her clothes, and the straps that are attached hang down from her shoulders. Miss Trunchbull takes her by the braids but takes the straps at the same time, and swings her around several times until the lights go out. Then she gets let down (dat centripetal acceleration) and runs off somewhere while the older kids grab some of the coats/blazers and hold them in the center of the stalls as though to catch her. Another older kid takes some other blazers and goes to where Amanda is waiting, and they cover her up and crouch down and run to center stalls. Everyone hides her under the coats that are already there so she can't be seen. A fake Amanda doll is thrown from the rafters, hits the coats, and is quickly covered up by some of the kids. Then Amanda pops up from under the coats and screams.

Try watching the stage really closely after the lights go briefly out as Miss Trunchbull is swinging her around. The person playing Trunchbull has to be really gentle with her to make sure she doesn't hurt herself and actually fly off into space, and it's rather sweet if you can catch this uncharacteristic moment of tenderness.

There are a few changes between Broadway and West End, but not many. I keep losing track of what is actually different and what the West End has changed to match Broadway, but here are a few I think are correct.

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In Miracle:

(1) Both West End and Broadway have changed the line:

formerly: "Take another picture of our angel in this costume that I made / The role of tree has never been portrayed with such convincing sway."

currently: "Take another picture of our angel from this angle over here / She is clearly more emotionally developed than her peers (what a dear)."

[for a little while after the Broadway debut, they used something like: "Take another picture of our angel doing her precious little dance / She is clearly -- what's the word? / An octopus? / Advanced. / Oh, yes, advanced!"]

(2) The Doctor asks, "Mrs. Wormwood, do you really have no idea?"

Mrs Wormwood: "Wind? (West End) / Gas? (Broadway)"

(3) Mrs Wormwood: "Not dressed in hospital cotton, with a smarting (West End) / ouchie (Broadway) front bottom."

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During the first classroom scene, Matilda is listing all of the books she has read in the previous week:

West End: last book is "Stig of the Dump"

Broadway: last book is "Cat in the Hat"

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In the scene where Miss Trunchbull comes after Nigel:

(1) Nigel explains: "Someone poured a whole can of treacle (West End) / syrup (Broadway) onto Trunchbull's chair."

(2) Big Kids: "Yesterday, she caught Julius Rottwinkle eating a liquorice allsort (West End) / gobstopper during science."

(3) On the West End, Miss Trunchbull enters and says, "You! You suppurating spleen." She didn't do it on Broadway, but for some reason I have the impression that Christopher Sieber started doing it. I may be wrong.

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In Loud:

West End: "It doesn't really matter if you don't know nought / as long as you don't know it with a bit of clout"

Broadway: "It doesn't really matter if you don't know much / as long as you don't know if with the volume up"

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In Telly:

(1) Mr Wormwood: "And crucially, [reading] gives kids verucas (West End) / head lice (Broadway) of the soul."

(2) While tossing books to Michael:

West End: "Harry Potter? What a rotter."

Broadway: "Charlotte Brontë? Do not want-y!"

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Both the West End and Broadway have changed the line in "Bruce":

original: "Have you considered a slice / or even two, Bruce"

current: "A single slice / or even two, Bruce"

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Broadway has stated calling the Escapologist the "Escape Artist", and the Burning Woman hurling through the air (West End) is flying through the air (Broadway).

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This is not technically a change to the official script, but on Broadway, after Mr. Wormwood has asked the audience member's name, he throws it into a later line: "You can't learn that from a stupid book, [Laura!]" Gabriel Ebert started this and I am pretty sure that Matt Harrington now does as well, but they don't do so on the West End.

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I've transcribed the original Broadway show if you would like to take a look:

Act 1

I hadn't seen the film In & Out since it came out in 1997 (17 years??), but I saw it a couple of days ago and from about 10 minutes in, it was already set to be one of my favorite films of all time. Then also, I found this in the credits, and Google tells me that this is the Lauren Ward we know.

So! Who knows if she can be seen, but anyone who can find a screencap that definitely shows Lauren will get a Matilda the Musical Pride Month Playbill. Anyone game?

It's hard to answer unless you're Dennis Kelly or Tim Minchin, but it's important to note that there is a sneaky reveal at the end of Revolting Children, in which the kids all clear off the stage and Matilda is suddenly already standing there as the library scene rolls in. If you've seen a clip, try looking for the point where she comes on stage and hides herself.

She had to be in the little epilogue (albeit a false epilogue) in the library, and it is also very effective to see her running off with Miss Honey, holding hands, as Revolting Children is starting. That's just a guess, of course.