theatre review MATILDA, Broadway, April 9

The Royal Shakespeare Company has only produced two musicals on Broadway before, the hugely successful Les Miserables in 1987 and the huge flop Carrie in 1988.  After a disaster like Carrie, you can imagine why it has taken them almost exactly 25 years after their last attempt before bringing their latest musical Matilda to Broadway.  Fortunately for the RSC, even though this show doesn't quite have the universal emotional appeal of Les Mis it is a hugely entertaining family musical that should have a healthy run on Broadway and on tour.

Based on the children's novel of the same name by Roald Dahl and with a book by Dennis Kelly and a score from Tim Minchin, Matilda tells the familiar story of a young girl who is misunderstood and unloved but who finds love in books and through her school teacher.  While Matilda isn't an orphan she certainly has a lot in common with other famous musical children like Annie and Oliver in that they are all children looking for love from adults but forced to use their intelligence to get ahead in the world, find love and to be truly understood. 

Oona Laurence and Gabriel Ebert

Young Matilda's parents don't love or understand her, her father often calls her a boy and can't understand why she would want to read books and her mother didn't even know she was pregnant with her, thinking that her large stomach could be cured with penicillin.  So Matilda does want a young child in this situation can only do, she escapes from her rotten parents into the world of books and storytelling and through this escape finds a friend in the librarian at her local library.  That librarian, Mrs. Phelps, is always excited to see Matilda in order to hear the latest installment in a story Matilda has to tell her and to give her some new books to read.  But things get worse when Matilda is sent to school where the dreaded, sadistic Miss Trunchbull, who thinks all kids are "maggots," is the headmistress.   Fortunately Matilda's sweet but mousy teacher Miss Honey sees the gifts that Matilda has and together they help each other overcome their obstacles and demons.

Bertie Carvel and Lauren Ward

The cast of the show includes four girls who rotate in the part of Matilda, with each of them playing two shows a week.  At the preview performance we saw last week Oona Laurence was Matilda and she was perfectly lovely in the part, smart, fearless and sassy yet heartbreaking as well.  Reprising his Olivier Award winning performance of Miss Trunchbull is Bertie Carvel and while the role is more on the supporting side, lengthwise, Carvel has a ball in playing the sadistic, enormous character and is somewhat missed when he's not on stage.  The voice he has created for the character will be ringing in your ears for weeks after seeing the show, it is that original and memorable.  While I wish there was more of Trunchbull in the show I understand that this is Matilda's story and not Trunchbull's, but I only wish she had a better send off then she does.  And while little is done to hide the fact that it is a man playing this female part it doesn't really detract from the overall enjoyment of the show.

Trunchbull and the ensemble

Other notable parts include Lauren Ward as Miss Honey, Matilda's school teacher who takes Matilda under her wing.  While Ward is married to director Matthew Warchus, this isn't a case of nepotism as Ward has numerous Broadway and West End credits and she more than holds her own against Carvel and Laurence and actually creates a touching and effective character that you root for, just like you do for Matilda.  Ward is also extremely lovely not only with Laurence but also with the children in the ensemble as well and has a lovely voice that she gets to show off on several songs.  Gabriel Ebert is hilarious and even a bit touching as Matilda's father.  It is hard to believe this is the same actor that played the college aged lost boy in last year's 4,000 Miles.  I hope he finds a Tony nomination in his future for this part as he really managed to create a character that you'll remember a long time after the curtain comes down. 

The ensemble and a great shot of the Scrabble type letter set design.

The ensemble is quite effective as well especially the children in the cast.  They are used throughout the show in very effective ways and manage to create individual characters that you can clearly identify with.  Like Carvel and the rest of the cast, they seem to be having a ball being in this show.

The score by Tim Minchin includes many memorable songs including Matilda's first act solo "Naughty" and the second act opener "When I Grow Up" that you'll be humming for days after you come out of the theatre.  However, most of the songs for Miss Honey and Miss Trunchbull lack memorable music but most of the lyrics are clever and effective.

Warchus has conjured up a fantastic, almost imaginary world for us to visit and Dahl's characters, while a bit cartoonish and very over the top, manage to get across the message that love can conquer all in the end.  I have to believe he's the front runner for the Tony for Direction not only due to the energetic nature of the show but also due to the effective use of the children in the cast and the way he is able to incorporate the storytelling aspect of the book with the energetic choreography by Peter Darling.

Carvel and Ward

Set designer Rob Howell has created a magical set that at first glance looks like colorful cartoon style Scrabble tiles have exploded all over the set walls and proscenium and cover every possible nook and cranny.  However, there is much more to the design as even though there are random letters all over the place there are many letter tiles that spell out words.  One of the first joys you'll have with this show is trying to find the hidden words scattered all over even before the show begins.  Howell continues this theme throughout the various set pieces and random parts of almost every set include more spelled out items.  The set pieces look like pages of a pop up book and the stage floor also carries this forward with desks and other set pieces hidden in the floor that pop up when needed.  It is definitely one of the most clever set designs I've seen in a long time.
Just a few quibbles- there are several times when the ensemble is singing together and you can't really make out the lyrics to the songs, the same could be said of about 10% of the dialogue, where either the thick English accents the cast are using, or the sound design basically makes the dialogue unintelligible.  Also, as I mentioned above, Trunchbull doesn't really get the grand exist she deserves.  Also while Miss Honey is lovely, we spend a little too much time with her character than we should, and do we really need confetti canons and laser beams?  The confetti canons really served no purpose and made it more of a "look, we have confetti canons as well" moment that really wasn't necessary.

But, there is much to like including the frenzied choreography and frantic pace of the show and the loving touches throughout in both costumes, set and direction.   And, spoilers ahead, I clearly appreciated the unsentimental ending with Matilda and her father, so happy they didn't decide to sugar coat that part and left it exactly the way it should have been.

While Matilda may not be the greatest musical ever created it does hit many high notes including colorful, over the top characters that are easily identifiable, an amazingly creative set, a cast that throws themselves into the material, a score and book that have many memorable moments and direction that manages to hold everything together while delivering many laughs and a few tears.  It took them 25 years but I think the Royal Shakespeare Company has another Broadway musical hit on their hands.

Matilda Website