MATILDA Previews — Page 4

bwayphreak234- aisles were added because the actors run down them quite often.

Whizzer, you stated you sat in the balcony and the view was great. I bought tickets and have Row E in balcony center. I'm not planning on changing my ticket or buying another. Just hope the view is good. On another thread, someone mentioned they had a ticket in balcony for Cinderella and couldn't see a thing. I haven't bought that one yet, so their comment has me thinking of not buying balcony and paying more.

'They left the lyric as Phys Ed here too. I remember when I was little and the first time I heard Henry Higgins say, "In France every Frenchman knows his language A to Zed," and I had to ask my parents why he pronounced Zee incorrectly, ha. I can't say for sure if they americanized much of the book, but Mr Wormwood still describes the faulty cars as "knackered(?)," etc. I loved all the British-isms though- it added to the exotic fantasyland that was Matilda's world.'

I am glad you enjoyed the Anglicism’s and the show overall. if the show is set in England leave the show in Anglo-English, if a show is done in American English leave the show in that vernacular, it would be awful if I saw a American play in the London, West End by someone like Arthur Miller or Tennessee Williams and the producers substituted American-English for Anglo English, to bow down to British audience. So Whizzer I truly understand your sentiment even though the boot is on the other foot.

The cut verse in "Naughty" has been there for ages - I think they actually cut that before it transferred from the RSC to London.

Thanks for all the great reports. The original production was so special in the UK, I'm thrilled to hear the magic has made the leap cross the pond.

Has anything notable been changed from the West End production? I haven't seen it, but of course I've seen clips online. Are the hair, costumes, and set the same from what you've seen? How are the vocals, especially Oona's? Are the accents distracting, or are they believable?

Oona may be a little "too" British in her accent, which often made understandability of lyrics a challenge. But she has fine stage presence, a good voice and the feisty spirit needed for the role.

My seat was fourth row balcony, right side, three seats in, and I had a perfect, panoramic view.

Whizzer, your review gave me chills. Sad that our tickets aren't until May, but excited to experience this production!

There hasn't been much mention of the score here. Like "Billy Elliott" I thought the show was fantastic WITHOUT an amazing score. Though I do think "When I Grow Up" is terrific and destined to become a classic.

Question about the sci-fi aspect of the show SPOILER!!!

I can't exactly remember the details (I saw this on a trip to London) but I do remember a plot advancement different than the book and film version which I thought improved upon the source material.

Does it seem to anyone that Matilda's power goes beyond basic telekinesis? That she actually so needed to be away from her parents and need nurturing, that she actually created her own reality. That she conjured Miss Honey (and possibly the entire school) from her amazing mind? There is a coincidence at the heart of the Miss Honey story I remember that sorta indicated this, I can't remember exactly what it was, but it added an additional frisson of delightful wonder to the plot.

Updated On: 3/5/13 at 12:26 PM

Thanks for the comments on the view from the balcony. Now I am more excited.

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Maybe my issue is just that I'm not able to get past the idea that we can call a show an "amazing musical" when the score is by all accounts, including mine, just "eh".

Going to give it another shot either way though.

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"the score is by all accounts, including mine, just "eh"."

Having only HEARD the show via the cast recording, the very last thing I'd call the score is "eh," so not quite "all accounts."

Going next month and totally can't wait.

A warning to all the balcony goers. While the view up there is actually quite good, the Shubert does have poles that are pretty distracting. My seats were F16 and F18 last night, and while I had an excellent view, I had a pole cutting down the middle of my view. I got used to it, and as per my review I still really enjoyed the show, but I am at little miffed that the box office made no mention of this when I purchased my tickets. I wouldn't call it partial view, but it was definitely somewhat obstructed.

That said, two seats either to the left or the right, and I bet you would be fine.