Posted: 5/29/15 at 11:04pm
Anyone go tonight??? I am very curious to hear what people thought! Also very interested to see what they did with the set design, specifically the desks rising from the floor! :)
Updated On: 6/1/15 at 11:04 PM
Posted: 5/29/15 at 11:06pm
Same here. I'd love to know how the set has been scaled down (or changed otherwise) from Broadway.
Posted: 5/29/15 at 11:16pm
I went to the first technical preview in New Haven 2 weeks ago which I'm pretty sure is the same thing. The set is very similar. Biggest difference is that nothing comes up from under the stage like on broadway. The desks and other things slide out from the sides. The cast does not walk through the aisles (or at least they didn't when I saw it) like they do on broadway. The amazing 3-D blocks the have around the set on broadway are not completely there. On tour they have a curtain around the stage that looks like they are 3-D.
Posted: 5/31/15 at 12:02am
Saw it today. Basically the same as Broadway except the desks slide in from SL and SR, the Bathroom set is a wall that tracks on from SR, and the dummy drop is onstage instead of the house. It all works very well.
Miss Honey's house is smaller than Broadway. Its just a single platform, not the spinning one in NY. The flown pieces are not there either (the ones that have little houses and bushes on them).
Today there was a tech issue so we they didn't do the School Song scene so I don't know if the set is the same but I imagine it is.
All in all, the show is great. Those on tour are getting the same quality as to what they'd see in NYC.
Posted: 6/1/15 at 2:43am
Were you at the matinee or the evening show? I saw the evening and "School Song" was cut. I assumed there was a tech issue since it's listed in the program.
Unfortunately I didn't enjoy it as much. I love MATILDA, but this really felt like a tour that was working its kinks out. The accents were all over the place (although I know some felt this way on Broadway) and many lyrics were unintelligible. Gabby was a fine Matilda, but I didn't find any of the adults to be on par with the originals. Bryce Ryness wasn't a particularly scary, intimidating, or funny Trunchbull. Bertie Carvel is pretty much impossible to top in the part, but Trunchbull never felt like the villain the role demands.
On the whole, a lot of scenes felt awkwardly paced... Some rushed and others too slow. Set transitions were sloppy at times and the choreography wasn't nearly as sharp as when I saw the show in NY. All in all, I gave it a pass because MATILDA is an incredibly hard show (almost too hard, I think) for the demands the writing and staging make on a sit-down production, let alone the road. That said, I hope this one gets tighter and leaner as it goes on.
Posted: 6/1/15 at 2:45am
"Were you at the matinee or the evening show? I saw the evening and "School Song" was cut. I assumed there was a tech issue since it's listed in the program.
Unfortunately I didn't enjoy it as much. I love MATILDA, but this really felt like a tour that was working its kinks out. The accents were all over the place (although I know some felt this way on Broadway) and many lyrics were unintelligible. Gabby was a fine Matilda, but I didn't find any of the adults to be on par with the originals. Bryce Ryness wasn't a particularly scary, intimidating, or funny Trunchbull. Bertie Carvel is pretty much impossible to top in the part, but Trunchbull never felt like the villain the role demands.
On the whole, a lot of scenes felt awkwardly paced... Some rushed and others too slow. Set transitions were sloppy at times and the choreography wasn't nearly as sharp as when I saw the show in NY. All in all, I gave it a pass because MATILDA is an incredibly hard show (almost too hard, I think) for the demands the writing and staging make on a sit-down production, let alone the road. That said, I hope this one gets tighter and leaner as it goes on."
I am amazed its touring rather then having long engagements in Chicago lets say
Posted: 6/1/15 at 9:55am
Bertie Carvel is pretty much impossible to top in the part..
As much as I loved Bertie, I would have to say that Christopher Sieber is my favorite Trunchbull.
Posted: 6/1/15 at 10:24am
I am amazed its touring rather then having long engagements in Chicago lets say
I still can't believe it's only playing 2 weeks in Chicago. I think, because of the child cast. That they should be doing at least 4 week engagements. That's a lot of moving around for those kiddos. Didn't billy Elliot play long engagements as well?
Posted: 6/1/15 at 11:09am
That's a bummer about technical difficulties with the School Song. Every time I've seen the show, that number still blows me away.
Posted: 6/1/15 at 4:42pm
I saw the second and third performances in New Haven, and was very impressed with how "put together" the show was at that time. I wasn't too impressed with Miss Trunchbull, the only comparison I had was Bertie Carvel, and didn't find Bryce Ryness to be nearly as scary, or as funny.
The first Matilda I saw was Mabel, who was amazing! Great little actress, wonderful singer, and she was very easy to understand during the stories. I also saw Mia, who was also a good actress, singer, but not as easy to understand.
The other kids were awesome, the choreography well executed.
Cassie Silva was great! Other standouts were Ora Jones as Mrs Phelps, and Quinn Mattfeld as Mr Wormwood.
I am sure the production will only get better and better!
Updated On: 6/1/15 at 04:42 PM
Posted: 6/1/15 at 4:52pm
I cannot believe they cut "School Song" at some performances... It must be a huge technical issue if they wont even sing the song. I find it unprofessional that they skipped over it.
Posted: 6/1/15 at 6:20pm
Well crap! I was going to go to a matinee in new haven, but the weather was nice and I decided to take my dog for a walk. Now I wish I went. It's not high on my must see list, so maybe I'll check it out in ny at some point.
Posted: 6/5/15 at 1:31pm
Posted: 6/5/15 at 3:31pm
Direct link: https://www.facebook.com/CTGLA/videos/vb.9995556989/10152794421251990/?type=2&theater
Posted: 6/5/15 at 3:40pm
In the video during the part where they showed the school song the letters weren't placed. Also is there a pedestal type thing that Matilda stands on during quiet for the tour? Does that come out of the floor or does it slide on?
Posted: 6/5/15 at 7:06pm
I had a very similar reaction. The show is flat and I couldn't understand a lot of the dialog. I have never been a fan of the show. But thought this touring production was very pale in comparison.
Posted: 6/5/15 at 7:07pm
Could the creative could've gotten that lazy. I know it's now considered a hit, but still.
Posted: 6/5/15 at 7:15pm
"I also understand that the tour is massively over budget, not selling well in either LA or San Francisco and will be going through an additional round of scenic cuts in the near future. Most people I talked to backstage seem to think this will be taken over by NETWorks by the end of 2015."
Yikes... this worries me... I LOVED LOVED LOVED the Broadway production. Sad to hear the tour isn't living up to it.
Posted: 6/5/15 at 10:14pm
Sad to hear about the tour so far. But, the trailer to it is fantastic!
Yeah, Bryce looks terrible. No energy or spark like Bertie or Chris. Just bland
Updated On: 6/5/15 at 10:14 PM
Posted: 6/5/15 at 10:34pm
Well I guess I'm the outlier here.
I saw the LA show earlier this week, and I thought it was good. I agree it wasn't as good as the Broadway production but I didn't go in expecting it to be (since when has a tour ever been better than its Broadway counterpart??)... The set was surprisingly well done and the actors were all on point. I particularly enjoyed Matilda (Gabby Gutierrez) and Mr. and Mrs. Wormwood.
Bryce was definitely not as good as Bertie but he also was not bad at all. I thought he played his part very well, and I would not say there was a lack of energy. In the video someone posted above, he does look very awful but I guess he got it together before I saw him because he was nothing like that...
My biggest complaint would be the dialogue and lyrics because (just like the Broadway production) it was very hard to understand some of the kids (although not Matilda).
School Song was definitely cut when I saw it.
Maybe its because I had low expectations for the tour or maybe its because I've always loved Matilda, but I thought the show was pretty good.
Posted: 6/5/15 at 11:13pm
What performance were you at, camman? I saw the show last Saturday at 8pm and "School Song" was cut then.
I definitely agree with Harmonium and DAME... I love this show but the magic was certainly missing here. I did think Gabby was a fine Matilda - I didn't have trouble hearing her songs (but I was in the front row, and I can only imagine what the back of the Ahmanson is like for sound). Her monologues, however, were rushed and very difficult to understand.
Posted: 6/5/15 at 11:39pm
Just my luck!
(although to be honest, it probably would have slowed the show down even more)
