MATILDA Previews- Page 6

[AEA AGMA SM]

Posted: 3/5/13 at 11:51pm

I was in Row D of the mezzanine tonight and that is a great spot to see the show, in my opinion.

The show is electric. The buzz going in during pre-show was quite good and everyone around me was leaving with huge smiles on their faces. As I posted to Facebook afterwards, it was everything I wanted it to be and more. Probably the best new musical I have seen in years and it is already gearing up to be amongst my favorite shows.

I would disagree that there is nothing from the score people will walk out humming. I admit I'm a bit biased, as I've been listening to the recording since it was released last year, but even from my first listen I had "Naughty," "When I Grow Up," and "My House" in my head. Judging from those around me I would say that many other people left with "When I Grow Up" stuck with them, and the audience connected to "Revolting Children" almost immediately (curious if people began clapping along last night like they did tonight) as well as getting into the shout back during "Telly."

Somebody asked earlier how well it seems the physical production will tour. I would guess that there is very little that would need to be changed to take this show on the road. I could see where some cuts could be made to make things easier to load in and out and fit on the trucks, such as scaling back the false proscenium, making the legs (especially the US ones) painted flats/fabric and losing some of the dimensionality, but for the most part audiences on the road will probably see a physical production very similar to what is onstage at the Shubert.

I also really appreciated Matthew Warchus's pre-show speech. He said tonight was more like their second-first preview, since it was Sophie's first show. He also acknowledged the orchestra, who are hidden from sight, and said that eventually they will be getting onstage bows along with the cast, but they haven't had time to stage that yet, which I think will be a very nice touch once it is set into the curtain call.

[Belle9]

Posted: 3/6/13 at 12:08am

Thanks for your review! How was Sophia?

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 3/6/13 at 12:13am

^I don't understand how anyone could walk out of the theatre and not be humming "Naughty." That song gets stuck in my head all the time.

[Belle9]

Posted: 3/6/13 at 1:01am

When children share roles like this, do they have a regular predictable schedule, or are the performances randomized? I'm just wondering if I'll be able to know which Matilda I'll see beforehand.

[AEA AGMA SM]

Posted: 3/6/13 at 1:08am

From what I have been told they are not publicly announcing the performance schedule for the girls. That could change, but from what I recall it was the same for Billy Elliott. I'm sure part of it is because they are sharing the role (as opposed to one or more being an alternate, like with Christine in Phantom or Eva in Evita) and will be going with a different rotation of who is doing which performance each week.

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 3/6/13 at 3:49am

I am going to go out a limb and predict nominations for the following categories. Which ones do you predict it will win?

Best Musical
Best Book of a Musical
Best Original Score
Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical
Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical
Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical
Best Direction of a Musical
Best Choreography
Best Orchestrations
Best Scenic Design of a Musical
Best Costume Design of a Musical
Best Lighting Design of a Musical
Best Sound Design of a Musicall

[disneybroadwayfan22]

Posted: 3/6/13 at 8:13am

Best Musical
Best Book of a Musical
Best Original Score
Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical
Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical
Best Direction of a Musical
Best Choreography
Best Scenic Design of a Musical
Best Lighting Design of a Musical
Best Sound Design of a Musical

[AvenueQResident]

Posted: 3/6/13 at 8:52am

Bertie Carvel is most certainly a lock for a nomination, but will he be considered as a Lead or Featured? Miss Trunchbull is certainly the main villain, but with the actual amount of stage time she receives, have always wondered if she was more a supporting character as opposed to a lead.

He did win the Lead Actor at the Oliviers, and I remember there being debate if he was placed in the right category.

[Talyn]

Posted: 3/6/13 at 9:17am

So, there is a recording of Oona singing "Naughty" from the first night of previews out on youtube (who knows for how long).. The question I have, is are the girls in the Broadway version using a British accent? It sounds like it's not their native accent and seems a bit forced.

[homeimp]

Posted: 3/6/13 at 10:55am

Bertie Carvel may well be unbeatable in his performance, but is there a particular reason why the role needs to be played by a man? Were there no suitable female actors? To me this smacks of the British pantomime tradition, a genre I have never learned to like.
The song I saw at the Olivier awards looked like a steal from Spring Awakening.

Updated On: 3/6/13 at 10:55 AM

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 3/6/13 at 11:01am

^I didn't think it was a "steal." My first thought was that it was a direct reference, as a joke, but Matilda did originate in London and Spring Awakening wasn't as big over there as it was here, so I'm still not sure if it was intentional or not.

[darquegk]

Posted: 3/6/13 at 11:06am

Trunchbull has to be nightmarishly huge, physically powerful and present, and almost grotesque. In the making of the film, much of this could be done with camera angles and special effects trickery, much the way that Danny DeVito does not appear to be a midget for much of the film by carefully staging his shots.

Onstage, however, it's often easier to just use a man. Similar to the way Zelda in Pet Sematary was played by a man simply because it was considerably easier to find a man physically up to the requirements and challenges of the role.

Plus, yes, there IS the panto connection, but I think it's almost more of a practicality thing here as well.

[Nickhutson]

Posted: 3/6/13 at 11:09am

The RSC Have a blind casting policy.

When Tim Minchin read the book - he thought "well, truncuhbull's obviously a man"

Also - Dennis Kelly told me that Trunchbull is neither man, nor woman - Trunchbull is an inhumane monster.

[AEA AGMA SM]

Posted: 3/6/13 at 11:24am

In the casting breakdowns for this production (before they convinced Bertie to come over from England) they stated they were seeing both men and women for the role. They are not married to the idea that it always has to be played by a man and I'm sure if the right woman came along they would not hesitate to cast her.

[Belle9]

Posted: 3/6/13 at 11:44am

Talyn, I heard that audio too. Yes, all the girls are American using British accents. I don't particularly like forced accents, but I thought she did a decent job. Of course, I'm not British, so it's harder to pick up the subtleties than it was for me to hear problems with the New York accent in Annie. I would love to hear more about the girls' singing voices. I hope they're as good as the West End Matildas once all the kinks are worked out.

[KendraFan21]

Posted: 3/6/13 at 12:26pm

I saw the show on Monday with Oona. The show was abosolutely fantastic and Oona was very good acting wise, but I have to be honest that her singing was not very good. After seeing the 4 London girls perform on the Oliver Awards and listening to the album , I was very unimpressed by Oona's singing. It was really really rushed and most of the time it felt more spoken. At first I thought it was just nerves (which was completely understandable obviously) but by the end of the show she still sounded the same. I give her a lot of props for being the first one and for being such a young kid out there but and her acting really was very good, but in terms of singing I just expected more.

[Belle9]

Posted: 3/6/13 at 12:29pm

I was a bit afraid of that, Kendra. From the few clips I've seen online of the girls when they were younger, I was mostly unimpressed. I wonder if they cast more for acting ability than singing, which is a shame because I'm sure there are plenty of girls out there who can do both spectacularly. But of course, it could still just be nerves and perhaps they'll eventually grow into the role.

[AEA AGMA SM]

Posted: 3/6/13 at 12:33pm

I found nothing lacking in Sophia's singing last night. I can't speak for the other three, obviously.

[Starship]

Posted: 3/6/13 at 12:41pm

I've always wondered why they have 4 girls sharing the role and don't just bring in one girl and have standbys for the role? Is the role that demanding? Or, is it because the girls are so young? I thought maybe they were just carrying over the West End production's tradition. I still have yet to see the show, so I'm just asking out of curiosity.

Anybody fond of the idea of having Quvenzhané Wallis do a stint in the show?

[Belle9]

Posted: 3/6/13 at 12:46pm

I've always wondered the same. Lilla Crawford isn't much older and carries Annie for 6 out of 8 performances a week. I've heard from many people that Matilda is a more physically demanding role, but I haven't seen it yet, so I can't confirm that. Still, you would think they could settle for 2 or 3 girls rather than 4. (Billy Elliot was obviously very demanding and it took so long to audition and train boys for the role, that it made sense to have 4.)

[FireFingers]

Posted: 3/6/13 at 1:00pm

Uk law requires they do only a certain number of hours a week. So they work in teams of two, each team scheduled for 4 shows (though only perform 2, with the other in the theatre as standby) a week.

I think the producers decided it worked so well in the UK, they wanted to keep that element. It isn't an easy role (harder than Annie I would think) but I don't think it is just that. It is demanding to balance school work and shows. I expect the other children will be the same, think the UK production has 3 teams, with 1 doing the first half the week, another the 2nd half, and another having the week off.

[Starship]

Posted: 3/6/13 at 1:04pm

Mhmm, I was aware of the UK law, so that made sense in the UK. And I definitely agree with you on Billy Elliot, Bell9. The role is definitely very demanding and it made sense to have 4 alternate in the role.

But, I would have to say FireFingers, Annie just seems (based off of my knowledge of Matilda) like it's a much more demanding role. Maybe not physically, but vocally, for a 13 year old girl, it just seems like it would be a lot more work than Matilda. Then again, all the Matildas are much younger and I can see them casting multiple girls so that each Matilda isn't too overwhelmed.

[AEA AGMA SM]

Posted: 3/6/13 at 1:07pm

Matthew Warchus did point out in his pre-show speech last night that the girls are the youngest actors to carry a show with a role of this size and scope. Physically and emotionally it must be a very tough show for a 9 year old to get through. The character goes through a whole hell of a lot during the course of the evening and spends a good majority of her time onstage.

They were seeing girls for Matilda as young as 8. I believe that the girls they ended up casting are all 9 or 10. Lilla was 11 last fall when her casting was announced (she may be 12 by now, I don't know when her birthday was). At that age even the one or two years can make a huge difference in the stamina and endurability for a child performer. The only time the number of girls sharing the role will really make a difference is this May/June for awards season. After that will it really matter to anyone how many girls are sharing the role?

[perfectlymarvelous]

Posted: 3/6/13 at 1:10pm

AEA AGMA SM, I was just about to say the same thing...at that age a couple of years really does make a big difference. I'm not sure how old the other girls are, but Sophie Gennusa is 9 (it's in her bio) and very tiny. They went probably as young as they could with the casting of the Matildas, and the girls are onstage for nearly the entire show. Sophie did a wonderful job last night, but it's not an easy show for a kid that young to get through, much less more than a couple of times a week.

[Starship]

Posted: 3/6/13 at 1:45pm

That's what I figured, thanks for all the responses!

Kuddos to all the young girls - what a fun and educational experience they must all be having :). I hope the show is a memory they treasure forever.