How did Matilda compare to a disney musical?

[Simón Bolívar]

Posted: 6/17/18 at 9:08pm

thoughts

[TotallyEffed]

Posted: 6/17/18 at 9:12pm

It's a million times better than any Disney musical.

It's one of the best musicals written in the last decade.

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 6/18/18 at 6:56am

Matilda is far superior to any Disney musical. I found Matilda to be brilliant on every single level. One of my all time favorite shows.

[Lot666]

Posted: 6/18/18 at 8:11am

Matilda was brilliant and I still feel sad whenever I round the corner of 44th at Shubert Alley. The wit and emotion of the lyrics worked beautifully with the charming score and you felt great when you left the theatre. This show was my introduction to Tim Minchin and I subsequently bought tickets to Groundhog Day (I'd never even seen the movie) based solely on my love for Matilda. In the end, I saw both shows multiple times before they closed and will likely buy a ticket to anything Tim Minchin does in the future.

[B.JAMES]

Posted: 6/18/18 at 9:09am

It’s above and beyond.

[Bwayornoway]

Posted: 6/18/18 at 7:48pm

Have to agree with everyone - Matilda is a very special show!  Thoughtfully written with smart and witty lyrics, combining both the harsh sense of real life with the imagination of a child, and totally taken on a magical journey as an adult or child.  It has been running in London for 8 years now and held the most wins of the Olivier Awards for a Musical - until this year with Hamilton now tying it.  

[broadwayboy223]

Posted: 6/18/18 at 8:03pm

Matilda was my first Broadway show and I honestly hated it. The screaming children did nothing for me. That being said I can recognize the creativity of the show among other things. I hated Matilda but it was far more interesting and creative then Frozen.

[ScottyDoesn'tKnow2]

Posted: 6/18/18 at 8:10pm

Matilda is on a different level with its themes, storytelling, lyrics, choreography, and direction. I still don't think it's fully appreciated for just how brilliant and poignant those lyrics are, especially in these times.

[Brooks0214]

Posted: 6/18/18 at 8:14pm

I enjoyed Matilda. I thought it was very fun and I do love the music. But for me the storyline could’ve been a million times better! Excited to see how the movie musical version will turn out tough 

[ScottyDoesn'tKnow2]

Posted: 6/18/18 at 8:20pm

Brooks0214 said: "I enjoyed Matilda. I thought it was very fun and I do love the music. But for me the storyline could’ve been a million times better! Excited to see how the movie musical version will turn out tough"

Write to the Roald Dahl Estate. The only real complaint with the storytelling of Matilda is that I think all the interruptions with Matilda telling the story to the librarian stopped the show cold and gave it some pacing issues. I think there were some really beautiful parts in those sequences, especially the scene between the girl and her father (you know who they are), but I could feel some people getting restless after like the third library story. Maybe they could have used some of those parts to include more of the magic to wow audiences or something. I know that's not in the book and it's mostly in the movie, but I overheard some people in the audience grumbling how they didn't explain the magic or used it enough in the musical like in the movie because they grew up with the movie and didn't expect the show to be closer to the book than the movie.

[Brooks0214]

Posted: 6/18/18 at 8:28pm

Yes there was several parts i loved for example when i grow up gave me chills and and me smile so big! And the song with the boxes before school was so much fun to see. I liked the musical numbers for the most part but like i said the storyline could’ve been better

[ScottyDoesn'tKnow2]

Posted: 6/18/18 at 8:30pm

Can you come up with a better book than Roald Dahl? The musical is a really close adaptation of Dahl's book except they added the library storytelling scenes and smaller things to add focus on scenes like songs. I'd argue Matilda's story is better than all of the new musicals that came out this season with the exception of The Band's Visit which some people complained about having no plot even though it was much more of a character-driven story.

Updated On: 6/18/18 at 08:30 PM

[LesMisRulz]

Posted: 6/18/18 at 10:42pm

Though I enjoy Disney musicals, Matilda is at another level. I have experienced RSC’s production nine times, from the West End to the Broadway tour. Why would I continue to see a musical centered on the life of a little girl and include it among my top musicals along with Les Miserables, Fiddler on the Roof, and The Sound of Music?

It promotes storytelling and reading, teaching with respect and love for children while listening to them, remaining a child at heart, never bullying or discriminating, pursuing long-term forgiveness over short-term revenge, and finding empowerment by acting on a solution instead of complaining about a problem at any age. Disney is more singular in its approach, and one might argue simpler, perhaps allowing spectacle to fill in the gaps instead of deepening the storyline.

Matilda possesses a darker edge and a greater reward. From the poignant “When I Grow Up” (that works on different levels for children and adults) to the insightful “Quiet” and the energetic “Revolting Children” among others, the music illuminates the characters and propels the plot and theme.

The production is still running in London's West End, is touring the UK, and has run on Broadway, in Australia, has toured the US and Canada, was a hit in the Philippines, and will soon open in Korea, garnering nominations or wins of theater awards wherever it goes. The cast (largely children, including pint-sized Matildas no taller than 4'-3" is comprised of talented triple threats as they sing, act, and dance in near-perfect timing to the brilliant score/lyrics of Tim Minchin. Many of them grow up to move on to other Broadway/West End shows or film and TV.

But don’t confuse the musical with the film. This is not just a musical for children; it's a musical for everyone who needs to remember what it is to be a child...perhaps that's all of us? As Dahl once wrote, "Watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are hidden in the most unlikely places."

[Simón Bolívar]

Posted: 6/18/18 at 11:05pm

see my point. Because something is written for children. Does not mean it has to be bland or just sugar. It can actually be well written. I love Matilda to death. The music by tim minchin was superior on every level.to not just disney musicals but to many tony winning musicals  i just hate it when people say its for kids its supposed to simplistic. 

 

ps it is interesting that mary Poppins was not from a cartoon and is the best Disney musical 

Updated On: 6/18/18 at 11:05 PM

[Fosse76]

Posted: 6/18/18 at 11:24pm

I found Matilda to be pretty insufferable. Buggy it was still leagues above anything Disney has produced.

[BuddyStarr]

Posted: 6/19/18 at 9:40am

Hated Matilda.  Hated the kids, poor diction couldn't understand a word they said.  Loved the set though.  Disney's productions haven't had as many children as Matilda had and doesn't get as dark (I didn't see the Bway prod of Mary Poppins but the London prod was darker than most Disney musicals).

While I stayed for Matilda, I would have left at intermission had we not paid full price for the tickets. Hoped it would get better, it didn't. With Disney, you pretty much know what you're getting.

[Charley Kringas Inc]

Posted: 6/19/18 at 10:08am

Matilda is terrific and beats the Disney musicals with a big spiky club. The actual production suffered from serious amplification problems (it's amazing that this was never sorted out, it's like if a great restaurant served food on dirty dishes) and some diction problems, particularly in the states, but the actual show itself is one of those rarities where it never hesitates or stumbles in its delivery. I'm incredibly excited for the film version.

[John Adams]

Posted: 6/19/18 at 11:34am

Why are you automatically comparing Matilda to Disney musicals???

Oh, wait… I bet ALL CHILDREN’S LITERATURE CHARACTERS LOOK ALIKE TO YOU. That is clearly GENRE BIAS and you, sir are such a GENREIST!

And while we’re on the subject, I am sick to death of 3-Ds taking roles away from Flats. Why are actors of depth ALWAYS cast before two-dimensional actors??? Illustrated characters have ALWAYS been portrayed by actors from the three-dimensional community, AND THAT IS DEPTH WASHING!

There are plenty of Flats ready and willing to play the roles written for them. Flats have been used as pieces of scenery for far too long!!!

...end of rant     #stopriggingflats

[Charley Kringas Inc]

Posted: 6/19/18 at 11:52am

Sit down, John

[theatreguy12]

Posted: 6/19/18 at 12:23pm

BuddyStarr said: "Hated Matilda. Hated the kids, poor diction couldn't understand a word they said. Loved the set though. Disney's productions haven't had as many children as Matilda had and doesn't get as dark (I didn't see the Bway prod of Mary Poppins but the London prod was darker than most Disney musicals).

While I stayed for Matilda, I would have left at intermission had we not paid full price for the tickets. Hoped it would get better, it didn't. With Disney, you pretty much know what you're getting."

I actually found Matilda pretty creative and entertaining, but I do agree, the dialogue was often times difficult to understand. Certainly it's reflective of where the story takes place and the characters themselves who live there, but there were many times I just didn't pull up what was being sung or said.  

That being said, I would say it was better than anything I've seen from Disney.  Disney is basically theme park productions on steroids.   But not even the strongest brand of steroids.  There was really nothing in Aladdin on Broadway that wowed me.  In fact, I thought the Genie at Disney's California Adventure was just as good as the guy on Broadway.  I didn't think the woman playing Jasmine was as good as the one I saw at Disneyland. I thought the staging at Disneyland was just as interesting in its own way.  

Disney has billions of dollars to put into these shows, and now that they have become a part of Broadway, I would expect them to wow me with anything they put on Broadway.  And if they can't, I may as well just see their incarnations at the parks.

 

[lotiloti]

Posted: 6/19/18 at 1:00pm

Simón Bolívar said: "see my point. Because something is written for children. Does not mean it has to be bland or just sugar. It can actually be well written. I love Matilda to death. The music by tim minchin was superior on every level.to not just disney musicals but to many tony winning musicals i just hate it when people say its for kids its supposed to simplistic.



ps it is interesting that mary Poppins was not from a cartoon and is the best Disney musical"

Maybe because Poppins was  produced  by Cameron Macintosh in the  UK, before moving to Broadway.

[LesMisRulz]

Posted: 6/19/18 at 1:00pm

It is a shame that the sound appears to have been an ongoing problem in the Broadway production.

I did not experience this in the West End or during the tour stops in Toronto and Cincinnati other than moments where the music is fast, making it a challenge to keep up with the lyrics even though the enunciation was clear. I find this to be true of many musicals.

However, I do not believe it was often a lack of diction/elocution. The children constantly worked with vocal coaches to avoid issues. Listen to them in other venues (like Matilda on the Tony Awards or Broadway productions before, during, and after Matilda) and they speak and sing clearly. 

A potentially controversial move was made for Broadway audiences after the first year when cast members were directed to reduce but not eliminate the British accents and change some of the words, allegedly to make it easier for audience members to understand. I believe this reduction was a mistake, but admittedly I often spend summers in London and throughout the UK, so I have had time to grow accustomed to hearing differences in daily life, a much greater disparity than one might hear in films or in TV series like Downton Abbey.

As noted in my previous post, the abundance of positive themes creatively communicated in spite of a darker (but in my opinion essential) tone places Matilda on a higher level, but Disney still has its place and may (for better or worse) be viewed as more “family-friendly” by many.

 

Updated On: 6/19/18 at 01:00 PM

[LesMisRulz]

Posted: 6/19/18 at 1:00pm

Oops...double post. 

Updated On: 6/19/18 at 01:00 PM

[ScottyDoesn'tKnow2]

Posted: 6/19/18 at 1:06pm

I didn't like the changes in Matilda's accent either. I preferred the original Matilda accent they had on Broadway. I think what hurts with the enunciation issue is that some people really do have problems when people speak in accents. Plus, the American children were not speaking in their natural accents unlike the British counterparts and had to learn it and be consistently coached. Add the fast-paced lyrics and dancing where the kids are trying to keep up with the rhythm and do all that physical work and the sound design issues at the Shubert and you have people who seriously may not have caught the lyrics and possibly some of the dialogue.

[Justin D]

Posted: 6/19/18 at 4:05pm

This whole business is very subjective, I saw it in London having NOT seen the movie and didnt really care for it, the set was nice but thats about it. When eventually I saw the movie that too was a let down.