Anyone finding Matilda underwhelming?- Page 3

[KathyNYC2]

Posted: 4/22/16 at 9:25pm

That was interesting. Thanks for the link...

[stevie3]

Posted: 4/22/16 at 10:11pm

Hi, I couldn't agree with you more, the show was and still is a joke, the problem with most of these people who are on these meaasage boards hyping it to no end is that they either have a friend or family in the show or associated with the show and they try to pump it up so the show keeps running. you want to see a bigger joke, ? Go see Hamilton you wont understand a single word after the announcement to turn off your cell phones, Biggest scam ever !!!

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 4/22/16 at 10:17pm

^now that's just plainly not true...

Updated On: 4/22/16 at 10:17 PM

[stevie3]

Posted: 4/22/16 at 10:19pm

well said, but you gave it too much credit

 

[Scarywarhol]

Posted: 4/22/16 at 10:56pm

You seem to have a problem with shows that use big words. 

[Fosse76]

Posted: 4/22/16 at 11:08pm

Call_me_jorge said: "Isn't the character already the headmaster? "

 

No. Miss Trunchbull is the headmistress. If Dahl based the character on a man, why wouldn't it be a male character (headmaster).

[VotePeron]

Posted: 4/23/16 at 1:30am

I've seen Matilda more than 25 times, so no, I don't find it underwhelming. And I WISH I knew someone in the cast, it would make this obsession a lot less expensive...

[broadwaysfguy]

Posted: 4/23/16 at 10:47am

i saw the original cast in nyc and the tour cast. 

I really had a great time and really enjoyed the show

Bertie Carvall was amazing...every second he was on stage was electrifying. so was the mathilda that night and the character playing the father

The broadway cast of children actors was also extraordinary(a little less so on tour)

Miracle, when i grow up, revolting childre and naughty were standout songs/performances

Is mathilda in my top 10? no.

Is mathilda a great musical? yes

ps i do understand peoples frustrations with understanding the accents, especially the tour cast. and if you cant understand the clever lyrics, you will miss a lot of the magic of the show.

 

[yankeefan7]

Posted: 4/23/16 at 11:42am

"Sorry if this was talked about when Matilda first started, but I was baffled by the choice to have Miss Trunchball played by a man."

 

I can't say I know for certain but I assume the idea was a big man will be more intimidating physically and vocally to small children and a mild mannered school teacher which was part of the point in the show. The principal was supposed to be really scary.

[Wick3]

Posted: 4/26/16 at 7:47pm

I saw the production in West End back in 2012 and was WOWed by it. Throughout the theater there were these small blackboards with messages on them that made you feel like you're part of the show. The audience were mostly Brits and they understood most if not all the jokes, and that also enhanced the overall atmosphere.

On Broadway, the stage was amazing and similar to West End, though the theater itself was meh. I loved the OBC (which was very similar to London's) and cried when they sang "When I Grow Up" (note that I read the book back in the 90s when I was a kid and became a Roald Dahl fan.) I also connected with the song "My House", since, after all, my apt in NYC is tiny --- yet I love it. 

I did see Matilda on Broadway two more times after the OBC left and was underwhelmed. First off, Bertie Carvel was amazing. After he left, I felt the role of Miss Trunchbull was more like a guy in drag versus a manly headmistress.

[darquegk]

Posted: 4/26/16 at 8:13pm

Miracle and Umbilical don't rhyme in American Received Pronunciation or Queen's English, but the Matilda characters aren't posh boarding-school Londoners, they're lower-class working poor suburban Brits, and their accent is a "not from London" accent. Whether or not it is a specific accent like Brummie I couldn't tell you- I suspect it's a carefully crafted "British white trash" dialect, the way the creators of "My Name Is Earl" designed an American White Trash accent that is recognizably low-class but didn't correspond in an offensive way to any actual specific region.

[slumdogdelaware]

Posted: 4/28/16 at 2:18pm

So I won the lottery for Matilda yesterday and thought I'd throw in my two cents on this topic.

I should start off by saying that I've seen Matilda twice before when I lived and studied in London for a short while in January 2012. I had been pretty crazed about the soundtrack, so I was very excited to finally see it. I bought a third row orchestra ticket and flew solo, surrounded by little British kids and their parents. 

The show was incredible, the actors were fantastic, and the whole theatre was electric by the end. Truly an experience. Two weeks later I rushed the show for a balcony seat before I went back to the states, and it was just as great the second time. 

When the show was announced on Broadway, I was so excited to get to see it again, but alas, it took a bit longer than expected. But now that I live in NYC, I've been entering the lottery for a chance to see it before it closes for good. I ended up winning the lotto on my third try, and my seat was in the center orchestra, Row R on the aisle. Fantastic view.

The first thing I noticed were the accents, as so many others have noted. Matilda, played by Aviva Winick last night, had a great British accent, but she switched between that an American one so often that it became more like someone who was born in Scandanavia that learned British English. A far-fetched analogy, but some might get what I'm talking about. Overall, I thought she was outstanding and one of the best parts of the show. Her diction was great, actually might have been the best out of the cast. 

Allison Case's accent was strange, she couldn't seen to nail a full British accent. Like Aviva, she flip-flopped with an American one. Her voice though...man is she great. I met her back when she was in Mamma Mia and danced on stage with her when she was in Hair, and she is one of the sweetest out there. I was glad to be able to catch her while she's still there.

Stepping away from the accent discussion, I thought Ms. Trunchbull was great and definitely got the most reactions out of the crowd. I think that was another problem, the audience that is. Didn't seem like many understood some of the jokes, as they didn't translate as well. Plus, there's a good number of non-English speakers in the audience on any given night. A French mother and daughter sat in front of me and the mom had to continually lean over to explain some of the jokes to the little girl (I thought it was sweet). 

All in all, I think, for me at least, it's fair to say that it was underwhelming. I didn't find myself raving over it like I did before, and I really don't have any desire to see it again. But, I still love the show in general. Good music, fun story, and a lesson - a solid recipe for a Broadway musical.

 

Ok, now I have to get back to work.

[KathyNYC2]

Posted: 4/28/16 at 11:01pm

slumdogdelaware said: "So I won the lottery for Matilda yesterday and thought I'd throw in my two cents on this topic.

The first thing I noticed were the accents, as so many others have noted. Matilda, played by Aviva Winick last night, had a great British accent, but she switched between that an American one so often that it became more like someone who was born in Scandanavia that learned British English. A far-fetched analogy, but some might get what I'm talking about. Overall, I thought she was outstanding and one of the best parts of the show. Her diction was great, actually might have been the best out of the cast.

Ok, now I have to get back to work.

 

"

Just to let you know..if you were not aware...it was Aviva's second show last night. She made her Broadway debut this past Sunday.

And yes the accents..it's supposed to help American audiences understand the dialogue better but teaching kids to speak an Americanized British Accent is a hard task to master.  It's kind of a made up dialect and there is nothing to compare it to. It's just more distracting than helpful IMO but it's what the actors are asked to do.

 

Updated On: 4/29/16 at 11:01 PM

[slumdogdelaware]

Posted: 4/29/16 at 12:07am

Just to let you know..if you were not aware...it was Aviva's second show last night. She made her Broadway this past Sunday.

 

I definitely was not aware of that, how awesome! She was truly great. It felt like she had been in the role for ages.