Matilda Tour? — Page 3

Just a guess, but I'm sure the Dahl estate has some say in it. Considering the caveats they've put on the various adaptations of his work since he died I wouldn't be surprised if keeping the story of Matilda set in England was one of them.

AEA AGMA SM and VotePeron, thank you. I find this very interesting.

How do they do the pigtail scene in the tour?

Very similarly to on broadway, except I believe she is caught stage left instead of in the audience.

I saw the show last week and I didn't have any issues hearing or understanding any of the actors except in a couple of spots. Lavender's lines where difficult to comprehend due to the young actress shouting her lines and her over-exagerrated accent. Also, the beginning of "Quiet" was hard to understand due to the speed Matilda was singing it and the underlying speech by Miss Trunchbull. Mia Sinclair Jenness was on when I watched it and she was fantastic as Matilda. It took a while for the audience to warm-up to Bryce Ryness but eventually, they loved him. His Miss Trunchbull seemed to get more feminine as the night wore on. Sure, he's no Bertie but he did okay in the role and is not a bad substitute. The rest of the kids were wonderful and brought a lot of joy to the evening.

The adults in the audience were responding well to the show but most of the kids seemed bored by it. Overall, I enjoyed the show and would gladly see it again.

"Matilda is coming to my home town next July, but am seeing it end of the summer in NY. So if it's great, then can see it again on tour. Always interesting to compare.
Do they also have 4 little girls playing Matilda?"

They have 3.

The broadway rotation is very messed up. 2 Tinytilda's have left, but Tori and Fina seem to be hanging around until the end of the month. 2 new Matilda's have been announced, but only Mattea has performed (July 4th and 5th).

The Broadway Production performed with only 3 girls for about 2 months while Brookyln Shuck left prematurely to do Beaches in Chicago.

I'll be seeing it for the first time when it makes its way to Boston next summer, and I won't mind at all if the accents are gone. I mean, i wouldn't mind them if they were there, everything else being equal -- but it doesn't sound like everything else is equal, and I'm not attached to the accents. Clear diction matters more.

Wasn't most of it obvious when they said hammer thrower

"I saw the tour yesterday in LA. Matilda stands on the floor during 'quiet', and she was so quiet during the number she could not be understood....one of the many problems currently plaguing this production.
The pacing was so slow and the sound mix was so polite (music and book scenes) the audience seemed to be asleep for most of the performance. 'Miracle' didn't have the intended affect of drawing you in. Something about music the end of the show is confusing and you weren't sure when it was time to applaud. The awkward curtain call staging and lack of exit music really were a big letdown. Why have the audience walk out in silence for an uplifting show with a happy ending?
Bryce Ryness is doing nothing with Trunchbull. The character isn't scary or funny or imposing. This is one of those roles you go big with and let the director pull you back. Ryness falls flat. The other adult principals seemed to be doing shades of their Broadway and London predecessors- no one seemed to make the parts their own.
The show still suffers from a major core problem: The audience is supposed to have a big 'ah ha!' moment with Matilda when she discovers how certain characters are connected, but with the real plot of the show told in four very vague and fragmented parts it is very difficult to follow and very easy to "check out" and miss what the authors are building to. Also, Matilda is difficult to understand during these monologues.
Most of the scenic and blocking changes from the Broadway and London productions were done just as elegantly as the original transitions. This is a beautifully designed show but it needs a major shot of energy and focus.
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."

NETworks is a production company that produces tours, primarily non-Equity (their name is an acronym of Non-Equity Touring works, though they do sometimes produce Equity tours now). When somebody speaks of a tour being "taken over" by them it typically means that the original tour has closed down and NETworks is going to be sending it out as a non-Equity company.

There have been some very talented and well-produced non-Equity tours, and some not (and the same can be said of union tours), but it is often perceived as a step down for a show when it becomes a non-union tour after having been out under an Equity contract. The show is cheaper to run when it's non-union and there are less restrictions on things like how many performances a week they can give, how many different venues a week they can play, how far the company can travel in a given day or week, and so forth.

AEA AGMA SM, thank you! That's very helpful.

"The broadway rotation is very messed up. 2 Tinytilda's have left, but Tori and Fina seem to be hanging around until the end of the month. 2 new Matilda's have been announced, but only Mattea has performed (July 4th and 5th).

The Broadway Production performed with only 3 girls for about 2 months while Brookyln Shuck left prematurely to do Beaches in Chicago."

So it's new Matilda's on Broadway now? We'll be going end of the summer.

The San Francisco Leg of the tour is doing rush, 2 Hours prior to the performance. Seems like the seats are Front Orchestra, on the side. If anyone goes, let us know about the view!

Updated On: 7/16/15 at 11:49 PM