#126
Posted: 4/12/13 at 5:17pm
The view from the balcony is perfect, it's been discussed on here in multiple threads.
NY Magazine is positive:
"Matilda the musical is not quite brave enough to be fully smart, but it’s still very good. Along with Carvel, who seems to love being outfitted with the largest sports bra ever, all of the adult actors pull off the comedy deftly. As the rubbery Mr. Wormwood, Gabriel Ebert (unrecognizable from last year’s 4,000 Miles) is an especially nitwit pleasure.
But it’s the young ones, under Matthew Warchus’s expert direction, who are in charge of the pathos, and seem strangely committed to it. I’m not sure that Oona Laurence (one of four rotating Matildas) smiled even once during the show, including the curtain call. How odd to be asked to carry so much sorrowful responsibility as a child! It must be a relief for the young actors — I know it is for the audience — when at the beginning of act two they get to sing a lovely, simple, Beatles-like tune called “When I Grow Up” while flying on rope swings high above the stage. In it, they dream of being old enough to handle the burdens that life, with its rude sense of humor, has already given them."
http://www.vulture.com/2013/04/theater-review-matilda.html
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Huffington Post is a rave:
"Okay, now how do you raise those greatly elevated levels? Not by a better cast, although this one is every spoken word, every sung note and every danced step as good as the London ensemble I saw. Bertie Carvel as Miss Trunchbull repeats his performance, committing one of the best cross-dressing turns since Alastair Sim let loose in the St. Trinian's flicks. Lauren Ward nicely repeats her turn as unsticky sweet Miss Holly and with Ted Wilson is as hilarious as big-voiced Eric as he was.
The rest of the cast members are stateside replacements who have, for only one outstanding accomplishment, gotten accents down as if they were all born across the sea. The enchanting Matilda I saw was Milly Shapiro, whose rendition of the song "Quiet" is especially poignant. (The Matilda role is shared by Sophia Gennusa, Oona Laurence and Bailey Ryon, and most of the to-die-for children's roles are also played by four young performers.)"
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-finkle/first-nighter-matilda-tea_b_3064811.html
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NorthJersey.com is positive:
"Equipped with a smart book by Dennis Kelly, and witty and imaginative songs by Tim Minchin, director Matthew Warchus and choreographer Peter Darling let their inventiveness roam free, using the entire theater as a playing space.
In many ways, the show is reminiscent of another hit British musical, "Billy Elliot."
Both are about the difficulties faced by a gifted child in hostile family circumstances, with the title role alternated among multiple young actors.
And like "Billy Elliot," "Matilda" has an extravagant desire to please, even to the point of including numbers simply because they’re fun, rather than needed to tell the story."
http://www.northjersey.com/arts_entertainment/theater/202646671_Theater_review___Matilda___best_new_Broadway_musical_of_the_season.html?page=all
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The Village Voice is mixed to positive:
"As the nasty teacher Miss Trunchbull, Bertie Carvel has a hunchback and pretty much a hunch front too. He wears a brown burlap-looking dress over a blouse and tie, which go perfectly with his pinched face and hair. He's a scream as he carries on with extreme pique and almost runs over the audience when cannbonballing through the aisle.
But the show's over-the-top level can be tiring--almost running over the audience indeed--and a lot of the songs are wordy emissions that sound more work-in-progress than classic stage tunes. Still, it's a kiddie show done with spirit, audaciousness, and a minimum of cheap sentiment. Matilda will surely go waltzing home with some Tonys."
http://blogs.villagevoice.com/dailymusto/2013/04/matilda_opens_o.php
NY Magazine is positive:
"Matilda the musical is not quite brave enough to be fully smart, but it’s still very good. Along with Carvel, who seems to love being outfitted with the largest sports bra ever, all of the adult actors pull off the comedy deftly. As the rubbery Mr. Wormwood, Gabriel Ebert (unrecognizable from last year’s 4,000 Miles) is an especially nitwit pleasure.
But it’s the young ones, under Matthew Warchus’s expert direction, who are in charge of the pathos, and seem strangely committed to it. I’m not sure that Oona Laurence (one of four rotating Matildas) smiled even once during the show, including the curtain call. How odd to be asked to carry so much sorrowful responsibility as a child! It must be a relief for the young actors — I know it is for the audience — when at the beginning of act two they get to sing a lovely, simple, Beatles-like tune called “When I Grow Up” while flying on rope swings high above the stage. In it, they dream of being old enough to handle the burdens that life, with its rude sense of humor, has already given them."
http://www.vulture.com/2013/04/theater-review-matilda.html
----
Huffington Post is a rave:
"Okay, now how do you raise those greatly elevated levels? Not by a better cast, although this one is every spoken word, every sung note and every danced step as good as the London ensemble I saw. Bertie Carvel as Miss Trunchbull repeats his performance, committing one of the best cross-dressing turns since Alastair Sim let loose in the St. Trinian's flicks. Lauren Ward nicely repeats her turn as unsticky sweet Miss Holly and with Ted Wilson is as hilarious as big-voiced Eric as he was.
The rest of the cast members are stateside replacements who have, for only one outstanding accomplishment, gotten accents down as if they were all born across the sea. The enchanting Matilda I saw was Milly Shapiro, whose rendition of the song "Quiet" is especially poignant. (The Matilda role is shared by Sophia Gennusa, Oona Laurence and Bailey Ryon, and most of the to-die-for children's roles are also played by four young performers.)"
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-finkle/first-nighter-matilda-tea_b_3064811.html
----
NorthJersey.com is positive:
"Equipped with a smart book by Dennis Kelly, and witty and imaginative songs by Tim Minchin, director Matthew Warchus and choreographer Peter Darling let their inventiveness roam free, using the entire theater as a playing space.
In many ways, the show is reminiscent of another hit British musical, "Billy Elliot."
Both are about the difficulties faced by a gifted child in hostile family circumstances, with the title role alternated among multiple young actors.
And like "Billy Elliot," "Matilda" has an extravagant desire to please, even to the point of including numbers simply because they’re fun, rather than needed to tell the story."
http://www.northjersey.com/arts_entertainment/theater/202646671_Theater_review___Matilda___best_new_Broadway_musical_of_the_season.html?page=all
----
The Village Voice is mixed to positive:
"As the nasty teacher Miss Trunchbull, Bertie Carvel has a hunchback and pretty much a hunch front too. He wears a brown burlap-looking dress over a blouse and tie, which go perfectly with his pinched face and hair. He's a scream as he carries on with extreme pique and almost runs over the audience when cannbonballing through the aisle.
But the show's over-the-top level can be tiring--almost running over the audience indeed--and a lot of the songs are wordy emissions that sound more work-in-progress than classic stage tunes. Still, it's a kiddie show done with spirit, audaciousness, and a minimum of cheap sentiment. Matilda will surely go waltzing home with some Tonys."
http://blogs.villagevoice.com/dailymusto/2013/04/matilda_opens_o.php
Updated On: 4/12/13 at 05:17 PM
