Imagine if Annie, that perennially optimistic red head had a dark twisted little sister with a mop of frizzy hair. Well she does and her name is Matilda. Based on the Roald Dahl classic children’s book this musical import from the Royal Shakespeare Company is theatrical brilliance. Directed by Matthew Warchus with a book by Dennis Kelly and music and lyrics by Tim Minchin it perfectly captures the savage wit of Dahl. Four girls rotate as Matilda and a lot of the cast has hopped the pond from the English production.
Watching the show you almost feel a wee bit sorry for whoever will be nominated in the Tony category for Best Supporting Role in a Musical. They might as well stay home because it’s safe to say that Bertie Carvel will be clutching the statue this June. In the grand tradition of the English panto with men donning drag, this Brit (could he be anything else with a name like Bertie??) plays the evil school principal, Miss Trunchbull who spins a girl around by her braids and forces a boy to consume an entire chocolate cake for punishment. He’s deliciously dastardly and spits out his venomous one-liners with a quivering intensity that had the audience howling.
Matilda is magic.
– Naughty But Nice Nicki Gostin