'Matilda' comes to Broadway
Kidsday reporters Halle Dixon, Alex Smith, Ethan Aube, Katie St George met with Lesli Margherita and Gabriel Ebert who star as Mr. and Mrs. Wormwood in "Matilda the Musical" on Broadway. They met them at Guy Fieri's restaurant in Manhattan (April 13, 2013) Credit: Newsday / Pat Mullooly
We really recommend seeing "Roald Dahl's Matilda The Musical" at the Shubert Theatre. It's humorous and touching at the same time. It has great lyrics and amazing music, with unique melody lines. "Matilda" tells the story of an extraordinary girl, Matilda Wormwood. She is extremely intelligent, and loves to read. It is later revealed that she has telekinesis. Matilda is unwanted and abused by her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Wormwood, who despise reading. Because of this, Matilda spends most of her time in the library telling stories to the librarian.
When Matilda starts school, she meets the sweet Miss Honey, and the cruel Olympic medalist principal, Miss Trunchbull. With the help of Miss Honey and her friends, Matilda manages to drive out Miss Trunchbull. The plot of "Matilda" differs slightly from the book; however, it is still an enjoyable musical.
There are 16 songs and dances. The actors were so talented. They had a real command of their lines and their dancing.
The meanest (and often hilarious) characters were Mr. and Mrs. Wormwood (Gabriel Ebert and Lesli Margherita), and Miss Trunchbill (Bertie Carvel). The nicest characters were Miss Honey (Lauren Ward), Mrs. Phelps (Karen Aldridge) and Matilda. Matilda is played by four different actresses (Bailey Ryon, Milly Shapiro, Sophia Gennusa and Oona Laurence). At our performance Saturday, we saw Milly. She was just amazing.
We liked Mr. Wormwood because of his obsession with his hair. There are many great scenes, one of them being the "School Song," in which the pupils inform the new students of the horrid Miss Trunchbull, declaring, "Just you wait for Phys Ed!" We found the choreography in this number impeccable, and the use of letter blocks a great addition.
Another cool scene was when the cast performed the song "When I Grow Up." We especially loved it when the actors swung on the swings. They actually were swinging right over the audience.
The scene when Mr. Wormwood and his son, Michael, sang "Telly," a song about television, was nice, too. It was cool because it shows how much Mr. Wormwood hates books and loves TV. It is a good song with a bumpy beat.
One of the best things in the play is Matilda's playing pranks on her dad. One of the pranks was when Matilda glued his hat on his head.
We also immensely enjoyed the final bows, the most creative curtain call we've seen yet. The cast members ride out on scooters.
All in all, "Matilda" was an amazing musical, making it a must-see for families everywhere.
After seeing the show, we met and talked to Gabriel Ebert and Lesli Margherita about their wonderful performance in the show:
