In a previous post that is on page 14 of the thread, I said:
Of the four Matildas (all of whom I saw perform), I preferred:
• Oona for her very strong acting - a very spunky yet brooding girl; good vocals
• Sophia for her characterization, sweetness, playfulness (especially in "Naughty"), and great vocals
• Bailey who is potentially the strongest that I saw with a strong character (a bit of a mix between Oona and Sophia) and excellent vocals
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[spoilers abounding below]
The person who saw the show with me each of the five times I went said that she is still very attached to Oona. She loved her brooding, dark, mischievous way of portraying Matilda. Oona has such fantastic facial expressions that are very, very mischievous and quirky. She's a very strong actress with excellent timing and very engaging. Her singing was good but did not blow me away - but then again, we saw her first two performances, which were two of the first three. That's a lot to live up to. She had definitely improved from the first preview to her second performance though, so I can only imagine that she will get even better.
Sophia seemed very young but so much talent packed into such a young, tiny girl. Her "Naughty" was probably the best or one of the best though, simply because she was very playful. During the lyric "the endings are often a little bit gory" she made such a face! Her choreography during the song was so, so crisp, and paired with the facial expressions (such as the nervous looks as she's creeping down the hall) were very funny. While she had such great comedic timing and expression in "Naughty," I wasn't sure she had a strong focus during the entire show and sometimes seemed to be lacking in direction (especially in moments when she wasn't front and center). I'm sure that as previews go on she will work on and improve at being very "in the moment" during the whole show.
Milly seemed weakest, but I heard from a cast member that she was definitely not feeling well (allergies) for her first performance. She was also pretty nervous. Sometimes she seemed to be a little emotionless and just kind of "there" with some blank stares, but again, not feeling well and nerves on your Broadway debut must be hard at any age, let alone 10. I feel like she has potential to really develop her character into either a very sensitive Matilda or maybe even a very sassy one - look at this video for why I'd think that's a possibility:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qN88AAfLPYM Bailey was just all-around fantastic. She didn't appear to be nervous at all. Her singing was crystal-clear with beautiful emotion and even a controlled vibrato (especially noticeable during "Quiet" - what wonderful control to sing high and quietly, and still added so much emotion!). Bailey was playful and sweet, but she was also a bit moody too, and it suited her skills and she seemed to have a very well-rounded character.
Let me know if you have any other questions! I'd love to hear how Sawyer is compared to Jack Broderick (if anyone's seen both). When I have more time I'll discuss the differences between Frenie and Erica, who both play Lavender - but have to run for now!
