Posted: 7/17/15 at 12:57am
Curious to hear further reviews of the tour, since it's coming here in August/September. Worth dropping $100+ on? I love the score to pieces but I don't exactly have money coming out my ears.
Posted: 7/18/15 at 2:50pm
seeing the matinee in SF today
second row center
excited
It got strong reviews locally
I saw the OBC so Ill report in after the show and let you know how the touring company is....
the problems in LA sounded bad, but Ive got an open mind
I had trouble understanding some of the accents with the OBC too....
(still think Kinky boots was the better musical...)
Posted: 7/18/15 at 10:33pm
ok, just back from Matilda SF matinee 7/18
I will start by saying (and i say this for every show still playing on broadway)
if you really want to see this show at its best, go to NY and see the broadway production.
The sets in new york were bigger and more three dimensional, which was fun.
This is kind of an odd show.
I love musicals and go into every performance of every show wanting to love it and have an incredible experience.
I did not have that experience during the first act, except maybe during the song Naughty. My conclusion is the first act songs are not as strong, the first act ends oddly without a big first act closer, and the script and character development does to not build strong connections with the characters the way the movie does....
The second act was much better, from the intro bit with Mr Wormswood all the way through, and when i grow up is one of the catchiest new musical songs of the last decade. The smell of rebellion, my house, revolting children...the songs are much stronger in the second act.
The Matilda for this performance was Mia Sinclair Jenness. She was very strong both acting and vocally, was on broadway and tour for Les Mis, and on par with the matilda i saw from the OBC(forget which I saw)
there were several times when it difficult to understand her words with her accent(she must have studied with Ken watanabe's accent coach), especially when shes telling the story in the library, but i had this issue on broadway as well.
Quinn Mattfiled and Jessie Silva as the wormwoods were both excellent and appropriately over the top
since bertie do trunchbull on broadway was an acting highlight of two years ago for me, so i was concerned about how id like Bryce Ryness in the role. I thought he pulled of the role fine for a touring version when you are being compared a a legendary OBC Tony nominated performance. Jennifer blood was fine as miss honey(the obc actress was outstanding in this role)
Where the tour production drops a bit is with the kids in the chorus and the older kids. The singing and dancing was fine, but not even close to the obc, and the older kids who are supposed to be 17 or 18 all looked 28-30, which was a mismatch for me. The orchestra was well led and did not overpower the singing
I did not have sound issues or lots of accent issues that people complained about in LA but i was center stage second row, and used to both the show and the songs.
I saw the recent tours of both Book of Mormon and Kinky Boots multiple times, and both those tour casts were on par with broadway casts Ive seen, and blew this cast out of the water,so maybe this review is suffering by comparision
My net net is that Matilda on tour is definitely worth seeing if
a) you aren't going to NY anytime soon
b) like the show or story
c) like musicals
ps i think this show is pretty dark (its not Annie, among many other things trunchbull grabs a kid by her pigtails and hammer throws her into the air, there are also several loud and jarring sound effects that had a few young kids crying), and dont think its great for kids under 8 or so if they are more sophisticated or 10 or so if more sheltered..
Posted: 7/19/15 at 10:04am
^^^
The thing is that the show is not at all based on the movie, it's far closer to the book than anything else. I think that since the movie is a known entity here, there have been folks that I have encountered/chatted with outside during intermission etc, who were surprised to find that out. Good example between the two is that in the movie they made Matilda's superpowers into a bigger thing than it was in either the book or the show. And, there were folks who were taken aback by that fact that they only showed up in one scene. So, comparing the movie to the musical in any capacity is just plain silly.
Furthermore, one of the things that I think that makes Matilda a great show, is that it doesn't follow the formula of a typical musical. In other words Matilda doesn't have a big act one closer. They don't need one. Hell, no show needs one, it's not the rule. And, as for the accents, specially with the girl playing Matilda, let it go, hell she's what like eight or nine?
And, I wouldn't call Bertie's performance "legendary" at all. Great, yes? Should he have won the Tony? Yes, no question in my mind. But, if you want legendary look at Merman in the original company of Gypsy for that. I saw the tour too, and it's not Broadway, it's not going to be or should be. When you have shows that have a lot of set pieces that come up from the stage, it's always going to be a challenge to alter that for the tour. I think that the creative team of Matilda did a great job with that.
Posted: 7/25/15 at 6:22pm
End of act one. Pretty wonderful so far. Not a huge fan of the music, but the lyrics are witty and clever. Really captures the spirit of Dahl like no other adaptation of his has before. And it's a wonderful story, of course
Posted: 7/25/15 at 7:29pm
islander, give it ten years and then bertie in Matilda will be legendary.
Posted: 7/31/15 at 7:53pm
Caught the show in SF last night. I think broadwaysfguy's comments pretty much nailed it.
My husband and I did enjoy the show, but it is definitely lacking in comparison to the Broadway version which we saw with the original cast. Gabby was a fine Matilda, on par with Sophia Genussa. Justin Packard was playing Trunchbull, and while he did a fine job he did not have the menace that Carvel brought to the role. Jennifer Blood as Miss Honey was the standout for me, though, and I thought she was perhaps even a bit more engaging than Lauren Ward. The children's voices were tough to understand during Miracle and Revolting Children, but it's hard to judge what that must have been like for new audiences since we knew the material well already.
Some of the older children really do look like they're in their 30s. It was slightly noticeable on Broadway, but much more so here.
I think it was a good translation. See it on Broadway if you can, but if that's not possible the tour is still enjoyable and I'd recommend it. The theater was about 90% full on a Thursday night, and the audience was very receptive to the show.
Posted: 7/31/15 at 7:59pm
I'm seeing this in SF next Wednesday. That will be my first experience with the show at all so I'm looking forward to how it will be.
I will certainly write in this thread of what I think of the show when I see it!
Posted: 7/31/15 at 8:12pm
Thank you brerbear for the shout out
Hugh jackman has a pretty good bear look in that photo
i may go see it one more time if I get a decent gold star tickets but it's not gonna make my top 25 musicals....
Presale is on for amelie
you guys going?
Posted: 8/1/15 at 10:24am
Not yet, but I should check that out. Husband has been a big Amelie fan, so thanks for the heads-up.
Posted: 8/6/15 at 12:24am
Hey guys I'm here now and it's intermission so I'd thought I'd share some thoughts. I've gone into this material totally blind and I think the presentation and physical production are superb and while the score has had its moments, I think the book is the driving force of show and is definitely strong. Shoutout to the scenic and lighting designers cause both of those are superb.
Posted: 8/6/15 at 2:19am
After the Show Thoughts: I thought Act 2 was much better. I really liked how they tied Miss Honey's story to the one Matilda'd been telling throughout the show. I enjoyed the lighting, scenic design, direction, overall score and the book most of all. Very good show and especially good Act 2!
When I was watching I was thinking about how cinematic-looking the staging was. It really had a feel like that in the staging! I'm excited to see what happens with the film adaptation that's supposedly in the works! Great Show!!!
Posted: 8/6/15 at 3:30am
I saw the show on Tuesday night and had a great time. I saw the Broadway production in previews and completely fell in love with the show, and even saw it again a few months later. While the touring production definitely doesn't have the same over-the-top-amazing quality as the OBC, it's a fairly good representation of the show. Bryce Ryness's dry, Alan Rickman-esque portrayal of Trunchbull was very good (though nobody can touch Carvel's level). He did some great vocal riffs at the end of Smell of Rebellion. I definitely preferred Cassie Silva to Lesli as Mrs. Wormwood. Saw an understudy for Mr. Wormwood (the actor who usually plays Michael), and he was excellent.
I saw Gabby Gutierrez as Matilda and thought that she was fine. She seemed like she was kind of going through the motions though. I saw Milly Shapiro and Bailey Ryan on Broadway (and I've seen bootleg videos of the other 2 original girls). It seems to me that all 4 of the original girls brought something personal and unique to their portrayals of the role, and I didn't get that sense from Gabby, but maybe I wasn't looking hard enough.
Despite not having quite the same level of magic as the Broadway production, I definitely the show holds up on the road. It's still the extraordinary show that I fell for in 2013.
Updated On: 8/6/15 at 03:30 AM
Posted: 8/6/15 at 3:56am
Saw it in SF last week. Even this downsized staging was magical. We never saw it in NY, so we can't compare, but it's a tight, totally satisfying, first class tour with no signs of wear-and-tear in the sets nor sloppiness in the presentation. We had a great time.
As has been consistently noted even from its NY opening, the words are unclear in the large childrens' numbers. This is especially a problem in the Orpheum Theatre which I call "the house of mud."
For the second act, I picked up one of the headsets. Crystal clear sound direct from the sound board for the big numbers. (Took them off for the book and quiet scenes).
Updated On: 8/6/15 at 03:56 AM
Posted: 8/6/15 at 10:45am
"As has been consistently noted even from its NY opening, the words are unclear in the large childrens' numbers. This is especially a problem in the Orpheum Theatre which I call "the house of mud."
I too noticed this. The diction in general was not very good. I could not understand a good portion of School Song (Luckily the lyrics were in the program). I thought the adults diction and the orchestra sounded fine though! Beautiful theater!
Posted: 8/18/15 at 2:56pm
Caught the tour again this past weekend in SF. This time with Gabby Gutierrez as Matilda. Like Mia, I did not have any issues understanding her. Gabby's diction was actually clearer and had a little more playful take on the character. Justin Packard was on as Trunchbull and while I enjoyed Bryce in the role, Justin was SO MUCH better. He did not posses the imposing physical quality of Bryce but never once did I question whether Trunchbull was a man or a woman when Justin was on. He just nailed it and subsequently, I enjoyed the show even more. The biggest issue I have with the tour is the opening song. It is supposed to set the tone for the musical but the cast is so difficult to understand, it falls flat. None of the adults and kids were hard to understand in all their other scenes so I blame it on the staging (big jerky moves which unfortunately takes the pronunciation along with it). Likewise, the doctor just could not reach his notes. The first time I saw it and he cracked, I forgave him. But seeing it a second time and he still couldn't do it, he was clearly not right for that role. It just sets the wrong tone for the evening.
Posted: 8/18/15 at 4:31pm
Those Packard brothers are both amazing. His brother Geoff is my favorite trinchbull understudy as well. He really impressed me when I saw him about a month ago. And his usual escape artist is great as well.
Posted: 8/18/15 at 9:26pm
I also saw Geoff as Trunchbull on Broadway. This Sunday he played the Doctor and Sergei(since Sean was on as Mr Wormwood) plus his usual Escape Artist role.
Updated On: 8/19/15 at 09:26 PM
Posted: 8/19/15 at 5:51pm
The first performance in Seattle ( 8/18 ) was a bit of a debacle, unfortunately. More discussion here: https://forum.broadwayworld.com/readmessage.php?thread=1086071&dt=11
Updated On: 8/19/15 at 05:51 PM
Posted: 8/19/15 at 6:09pm
I really hope this tour doesn't end by the time it comes to TPAC in January...
Posted: 9/9/15 at 11:52am
Any recent tour updates? Hoping to see this in Dallas in a couple of weeks.
Posted: 9/10/15 at 2:11am
JBroadway said: "I saw Gabby Gutierrez as Matilda and thought that she was fine. She seemed like she was kind of going through the motions though. I saw Milly Shapiro and Bailey Ryan on Broadway (and I've seen bootleg videos of the other 2 original girls). It seems to me that all 4 of the original girls brought something personal and unique to their portrayals of the role, and I didn't get that sense from Gabby, but maybe I wasn't looking hard enough. "
I saw her here in Seattle and unfortunately I had a similar experience. I hate saying anything badly of a child actor but she performed her lines in an almost robotic way that took me out of the show a couple times and really put a hamper on the ending, barking out "YES, THEY'D FOUND EACH OTHER" in the same unfeeling way she'd said "That's not right" several times earlier. The rest of the show was superb, silly and over-the-top and absorbingly energetic, so her monotone kind of stuck out (her singing was terrific, though).
Posted: 9/28/15 at 9:41am
Here's my review on the national tour stop in Dallas:
https://www.broadwayworld.com/dallas/article/BWW-Review-A-Progress-Report-for-MATILDA-at-Winspear-Opera-House-20150925
Sadly, our whole city seems to be frustrated with the sound issues. TONS of complaints on Facebook about it every night.
Posted: 9/28/15 at 10:53am
Is that supposed to be a professional review? Between the pizza metaphor and excluding the actresses's name who played Matilda (who is a paid professional actress), it seems like you're reviewing a community theater.
