Longevity and Touring Potential for Matilda

I'm admittedly new to these boards and merely a casual fan/observer of theater so I apologize if this question seems ignorant - just looking for some educated input. I recently saw Matilda on Broadway and really loved it. I had heard great things about the West End production and was pleasantly surprised that, for me, it lived up to the hype. It did have some neat effects and things like that, but what really made me fall in love with it were the simpler things - namely the clever/witty lyrics and quirky humor.

Anyway getting to my questions…In your opinion, what would you estimate would be a realistic amount of time for this show to run? After reading some of the posts on these boards in an attempt to answer my own question, it seems like a mixed consensus. On one hand, I kind of got the impression that maybe the show isn't doing QUITE as well as expected (people were pointing out that it was listed on TKTS etc.). But then other posts seemed to be saying the show is doing well (which is what I'm hoping). Judging by numbers thus far, how is it doing financially? I'd love to be able to take my family to see it, but it would involve planning another trip to NYC, which might not happen for a while. I guess that sort of leads to my next question - is it likely to tour? Some people seem to think it would be deemed too expensive to tour with so many kids, which surprised me. Is there truth to that?

I guess from what I'd heard, I felt like this show should be a sure blockbuster hit that would be around for a while. But for some reason after reading some things, I'm starting to get the sinking feeling that Matilda might be struggling a little more than expected. Am I completely off here?

And just to preemptively clarify something - I am not trolling and am certainly not trying to encourage any "anti-Matilda" posts or anything. I just found this show really charming and think it deserves to run for a while. I figured the posters here would be able to give me the best idea of how it's doing and how long it might be around . Thanks

Didn't the OP mean to say

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Updated On: 10/8/13 at 06:28 PM

As for shows that have a lot of children-they've toured Annie plenty of times, so I don't think the fact that it has children would stop a tour. I think of a few other shows that have toured with several children including King and I and Oliver.

I also loved the show, and it seems to still be doing well. Even though it has been at TKTS, it still has generally been posting numbers over $1 million.

I found the article I referenced in a post on another thread. This came from the nytimes arts beat blog (June 11, 2013) and has the most detailed inside info on a MATILDA tour I've been able to find anywhere:

While “Matilda” emerged from the bruising Tonys race in solid financial shape on Broadway, its producers have yet to make a final decision about whether to begin a national tour of the show. While most acclaimed musicals spin off touring productions a year after opening on Broadway, and while a “Matilda” tour is likely, its lead producer, Michael David, said in an interview on Tuesday that there was still “an art problem and a math problem that we have to solve.”

“We’ve done tours with child actors before, like ‘The Secret Garden’ and “The King and I,’ but never ones with as many kids as in ‘Matilda’ – 16 – or with kids so young,” said Mr. David, president of Dodgers Properties, the veteran Broadway producing group that is mounting “Matilda” with its original producer, the Royal Shakespeare Company of Britain. “How does one preserve the critical element of the production without doing harm to the children? We don’t foresee a serious reduction in their numbers.”

Referring to the show’s Tony-winning sets and lighting, he added: “The physical production of the musical is special, so how do we capture the essence of the production and make it mobile enough to get in and out of cities quickly and in a financially sound way, for just a week or two of performances?”

Mr. David said losing the best musical Tony – which he declined to analyze, calling it “an unproductive journey” – would not deter “Matilda” from touring. The director Matthew Warchus and the designers are now mulling the physical scale of a touring version, and considering changes to make the show easier to move, while the producers are talking to tour presenters in key cities about booking scenarios.

Some tour presenters say the “Matilda” team has been a tough negotiator, reluctant to play only a single week in small and medium-sized cities where presenters see demand for “Matilda” as low. But Mr. David said the producers would be flexible and would not want to stay too long and risk playing to empty seats.

It will probably run somewhere between BILLY ELLIOT's 1300+ performances and SPAMALOT's 1500+ performances. NEWSFLASH: a show does not have to run 10+ years to be considered a hit!

Also Kinky was the Underdog without the press or reviews and I think it appeals to the American market more. And talks about American hopes and dreams despite it being set in the UK

Matilda should recoup by mid 2014. I imagine a tour will happen but probably not until 2015.

Billy Elliot was a hit but it was simply too expensive hence why it closed on Broadway and why the tour had to be downsized.

Matilda and Billy Elliot are both British - but Matilda was a wildly popular American movie while Billy Elliot the movie certainly had it's fans in the US (me included) but you can't compare the popularity of the two. Matilda is a much bigger draw IMO.

Huh? That's...news to me. It may seem more popular because of the kids who grew up watching the video or on an family-friendly cable channel, but it's not really "wildly popular". It's not like it's going to show up as an answer on Family Feud or anything.

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Matilda airs more regularly because it is a family-friendly film, which is just par for the course but doesn't really have much to do with popularity. People do remember DeVito and Perlman, but Mara Wilson? I sincerely doubt it. I think she made more of an impression in the Miracle on 34th Street remake, but she's long since faded from what little impact she had in public memory for the few films she made as a child.

Certainly more people who hear that Matilda the Musical will be on tour will make the analogy with the Matilda movie - more than would happen with Billy Elliot.

More people under 30, perhaps. Billy Elliot was nominated for Best Picture and was pretty widely recognized at the time as the surprising underdog film of the year. Perhaps the younger generation don't remember its impact as they it wasn't on a family or children's cable channel when they were little, but the film pervaded pop culture in a way that Matilda never did. Virtually every adult aged 30+ I mentioned the musical of Matilda to, I've had to explain that it was based on a Roald Dahl book and there was an American film version. Even before the musical was announced, you could mention Billy Elliot to virtually any adult and they were at least familiar with the title.

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BILLY has ten Tony Awards that might dispute that claim, including most of the major categories. MATILDA won 4, one supporting actor, one for book, and then 2 for its design team.

Really? Number of Tonys does NOT always equate with it being the best show for everyone.

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In 1991, "The Will Rogers Follies" won 6 Tony Awards including Best Musical and bombed on the road. "The Secret Garden" won 3 Tony Awards and broke box office records in almost every city it played on the road.

2015? Sheesh.

Unless it runs that long, that seems unlikely...unless it's an extremely scaled down version.

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