Matilda

Matilda
National Touring Company
Buell Theater
Denver, CO 
September 9-20, 2015

The book Matilda by Roald Dahl is a strange one. It is a blending of a tragic story with ridiculous humor. Yet, its story of children overcoming an oppressive school system has struck a chord with kids for generations.

The book seems like an unlikely choice to make into a musical. But it happened. It is certainly a difficult task. The villains in the story are over the top and the heroes are a bit bland. The story itself is complex and unbalanced in its telling. And the fact that it is so beloved makes the challenge greater.

The musical Matilda is somewhat successful in its goals. Her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Wormwood, and the schoolmistress Miss Trunchbull were a brilliant blend of selfishness and absurdity. Mr. Wormwood, the stereotypical used car salesman, and Mrs. Wormwood, the dumb blonde, seem to bring to life these caricatures. Mr. Wormwood’s “All I know I Learned from Telly” was a showstopper and Mrs. Wormwood’s dance moves in “Loud” were impressive.

Miss Trunchbill, portrayed by a male actor, also reveled in hilarity. While her character is inherently cruel, the writers were able to bring out the humor in in the evil. However, some of the punishments she doles out to her students might frighten smaller children.

On the other side, the heroes of the story, Matilda and Miss Honey, have much less definable character. Sure, Matilda was very smart, but she doesn’t seem to have any interests other than books. Miss Honey was mousy and quiet, but not inspirational or clever.

The biggest difficulty of the show was in the delivery of the script and songs. The entire cast adopted English accents and delivered them in a believable manner. While the speed they spoke in seemed authentic, it made the dialogue very difficult to follow throughout the show. And most of the songs are sung at a fast pace, which caused the audience to lose many of the lyrics.

Despite the difficulty understanding them, the child actors were impressive. The young lady playing Matilda’s friend Lavender was just like many hyperactive kids we all know.  They handled the difficult choreography with seeming ease.

The first act of the show was heavy on exposition and too light on plot. Act Two definitely made up for that. The plot picked up and the story started to move. Better late than never. The song “When I Grow Up” was a highlight in sentiment as well as presentation. Seeing the kids on swings and rhythmically switching as older kids replaced them was beautiful to watch.

Just like the book, the audience was treated to a happy ending. A bit unbelievable, but no more so than many of the other plot elements. Even with all the flaws, the kids in the audience loved it.