Matilda Curtain
Matilda Curtain
mfan123
Chorus Member Joined: 12/14/11
#1Matilda Curtain
Posted: 6/29/13 at 3:35amApparently a curtain and overture has been added to the broadway version if Matilda, anyone got a pic of the curtain ?
#2Matilda Curtain
Posted: 6/29/13 at 3:41amI don't think there is a curtain or an overture.
mfan123
Chorus Member Joined: 12/14/11
mfan123
Chorus Member Joined: 12/14/11
#4Matilda Curtain
Posted: 6/29/13 at 6:29am
Found some pics but very poor quality but gives you the idea!!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/98178508@N04/9163855683/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/98178508@N04/9163855271/
dramamama611
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/4/07
#5Matilda Curtain
Posted: 6/29/13 at 7:39amWell, that's unnecessary.
Fosse76
Broadway Legend Joined: 3/21/05
#6Matilda Curtain
Posted: 6/29/13 at 11:20am
They were both added this past Tuesday. The production has been taking too long in preparing the stage, which resulted in delays in opening the house. The curtain was added so they could open the house even if the stage isn't ready.
Updated On: 6/29/13 at 11:20 AM
Mattbrain
Broadway Legend Joined: 11/23/05
#7Matilda Curtain
Posted: 6/29/13 at 11:26amAre the lit-up letters that spell out Matilda still there?
KirbyCat
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/23/08
#8Matilda Curtain
Posted: 6/29/13 at 12:57pm
That's really a shame. I adored the design without this scrim, and I certainly don't love what's painted on it. (From what I can see.)
A black curtain with the logo would've been a LITTLE nicer. Heck, they could've just used the plain blackout curtain that they use during intermission!
JakePinckes
Chorus Member Joined: 7/10/12
#9Matilda Curtain
Posted: 6/29/13 at 1:00pm
http://statigr.am/p/488416731553709947_397136902
Here is a better image of the curtain.
KirbyCat
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/23/08
#10Matilda Curtain
Posted: 6/29/13 at 1:38pm
Here's another one. ick. Updated On: 6/29/13 at 01:38 PM
Mattbrain
Broadway Legend Joined: 11/23/05
#11Matilda Curtain
Posted: 6/29/13 at 1:56pmSo have they cut the neon letters that spell out Matilda that are there for the duration of Miracle or no?
getatme
Broadway Star Joined: 6/14/11
#13Matilda Curtain
Posted: 6/29/13 at 1:59pmThe lit up letters are still there when the scrim lifts halfway through the overture which is only about 30 seconds or so.
#14Matilda Curtain
Posted: 6/29/13 at 2:05pmI really like the curtain. I think it's cool. For the overture, can someone please describe it? Why did they add this NOW, not during previews?
dramamama611
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/4/07
#15Matilda Curtain
Posted: 6/29/13 at 2:23pm
Well, it looks better from the front....and the reasoning makes some sense. The overture gives them even a few more minutes.
TheatreKid3
Broadway Star Joined: 3/25/12
#16Matilda Curtain
Posted: 6/29/13 at 2:34pmI don't understand why they would be having problems if the London production doesn't as far as pre-show set-up? As far as I know the London production does not have a curtain.
dramamama611
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/4/07
#17Matilda Curtain
Posted: 6/29/13 at 2:56pmIt could be because of different union rules. England may allow them more hours without overtime.
#18Matilda Curtain
Posted: 6/29/13 at 3:06pmI guess the Overture expands the possibility of the Broadway casting album? And what songs are in the Overture?
#19Matilda Curtain
Posted: 6/29/13 at 3:08pmA 30 second overture is a reason for a brand new cast recording?????????
Fosse76
Broadway Legend Joined: 3/21/05
#20Matilda Curtain
Posted: 6/29/13 at 3:11pm
The overture was needed to cover the length of time needed to raise the curtain so people could see the lit-up letters. The opening number isn't long enough for that, and raising the curtain without music, in a musical, is just plain weird.
As for why it wasn't done in previews, that has to do with timing and working out the kinks. Nothing has changed since opening night, and it creates problems when the house opens late (and the show starts later as a result).
I don't know what the pre-show set-up is in the London, but here the children are required to rehearse their stunt numbers before each performance (when I grow up, the gym scene, the pigtails throw). And then they set up the stage. It takes time. On matinee days they only need to rehearse before the first show, and they rehearse the understudies too.
#21Matilda Curtain
Posted: 6/29/13 at 3:25pm
If the orchestra is playing for 30 seconds at the beginning of the show, I don't think that's really an overture. It's more like a prelude or something.
I believe that US union rules are that all fights/stunts have to be performed every day prior to the show, just to make sure that everything is as it should be. I remember one of the Spring Awakening cast members saying they had to go through the fight in the second act before every performance, and that was a pretty minimal fight. I think it's a good rule, although it takes time.
JohnyBroadway
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/10/12
KirbyCat
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/23/08
#23Matilda Curtain
Posted: 6/29/13 at 3:37pm
"The opening number isn't long enough for that, and raising the curtain without music, in a musical, is just plain weird."
......Ragtime. That is all.
#24Matilda Curtain
Posted: 6/29/13 at 3:41pmWhich is really sad, as Overtures used to both thill and amaze audiences. Give me a 5 min+ Jule Styne or Rodgers and Hammerstein Overture any day. Overtures were actually works of art (Candide, Gypsy, Carosel Waltz, Funny Girl, Follies). It kills me when audiences talk through Overtures and Entr'acts, as they take a lot of work to make and introduce you to the major themes of the show.
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