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music and lyrics by Tim Minchin, book by Dennis Kelly, directed by Matthew Warchus

• David Mirvish, Ed Mirvish Theatre, Toronto

July 7, 2016-January 8, 2017

Matilda: “A storm can begin with the flap of a wing.

The tiniest mite packs the mightiest sting”

Readers who have strayed into the Elsewhere section of Stage Door will know from my review of Matilda the Musical in 2012 that I think it one the best-ever British musicals.  With a great story that celebrates the power of children, Tim Minchin’s memorable music and witty lyrics and Matthew Warchus’s unstintingly inventive staging, Matilda is a must-see for anyone visiting London.

Now Mirvish has opened a sit-down production in Toronto and the first question anyone who has seen the original West End show will ask is how the Toronto production with its all-Canadian cast compares.  The answer is that not only is the Toronto cast as good as the West End casts but in some respects it is even better.  Matilda the Musical is now a must-see for anyone visiting Toronto.

Based on Roald Dahl’s children’s book Matilda of 1988, the story focusses on the title character who is born into an abysmally stupid family.  Her father Mr. Wormwood (Brandon McGibbon) is proud that everything he knows he learned from television.  He is so disappointed at not having another son, he continues to call Matilda “boy”, “son” or “lad”.  Her mother Mrs. Wormwood (Darcy Stewart) tries to teach her that looks are more important than brains and concentrates on competing in ballroom dance competitions.  Her brother Michael (Darren Burkett) literally can’t put two words together and does nothing but watch television even if a test pattern is on. 

Matilda’s aggressively ignorant family, who abhor Matilda’s love of reading, can’t see that she is not merely smart but a genius.  Fortunately, Matilda finds a sympathetic environment outside the family home at the town library where the librarian Mrs. Phelps (Keisha T. Fraser) encourages Matilda to invent stories.  While Matilda always tells Mrs. Phelps that everything is fine at home, the story she creates in episodes clearly depicts the ideal family she wishes she had.  There the father, an Escape Artist (Justin Packard) and the mother, the Acrobat (Kim Sava), love each other and long to have a child to love.        

School might provide the perfect haven for Matilda, but there things are even worse.  The Headmistress of Crunchem Hall Primary School is the tyrannical Miss Agatha Trunchbull (Dan Chameroy), who believes that the purpose of school is to inculcate blind obedience to whatever rules she dictates.  Matilda’s own teacher Miss Honey (Paula Brancati), doesn’t believe in Miss Trunchbull’s views and tries without success to have Matilda promoted to a higher class.  Matilda is horrified by the cruel punishments Trunchbull metes out to students who cross her, but in Matilda this anger only increases her mental powers until she can perform telekinesis.

When I first saw Matilda the Musical, it seemed like a contemporary fairy tale of how a child born into a family with which she has nothing in common, conquers an ogre and finally finds success and recognition.  Seeing Matilda now, it’s clear that Dahl’s story and the way it is portrayed in the musical has even more resonance now that when the book was written in 1988 or when the musical premiered in 2010.  Now the story appears as a critique of the anti-intellectualism present both among ordinary people (like Matilda’s family) and in institutions (like Matilda’s school) that value conformity over individuality.  Dahl satire of the ignorance of Mr. Wormwood who gets all he needs to know from the telly is even more relevant in the age of the internet.  At school Miss Trunchbull, who won an Olympic medal for the hammer-throw, sees remaining within the circle as a model for all behaviour.  Mr. Wormwood’s song “Telly” thus parallels Miss Trunchbull’s song “The Hammer” in praising submission and incuriousness. 

While children will see Miss Trunchbull’s manner of governance as simply mean and bullying, adults will recognize in it the politics of brutality, scapegoating and fear-mongering currently rearing its head in formerly liberal, democratic countries.  Even the children’s brave rebellion does not stop her.  That Matilda develops paranormal powers to end Miss Trunchbull’s regime is still part of the fairy-tale aspect of the story, but that fact also serves as a warning.  What are we to do about characters and groups with Trunchbull-like tactics in the real world?  Thus, embedded in this extremely clever family musical are serious contemporary issues that give the work uncommon depth.

What will impress audiences most about the musical is the incredible performances of the children.  Not only do they act, sing and dance with perfect naturalness, they also have to do acrobatics.  Their confidence and precision are truly inspiring.  In a musical about how children are undervalued the young cast’s performances alone provide the conclusive counter-evidence.

While all the young cast is marvellous, Riley O’Donnell commands the stage on her own as Matilda’s best friend Lavender and Aiden Bushey shows a flair for comedy as Bruce.

Anyone who thinks that Dan Chameroy’s Miss Trunchbull will in any way resemble his daffy character Plumbum in Ross Petty’s pantos will soon change their minds once they see the frightening, repressive egomaniac he now plays.  The hefty Bertie Carvel, the original Miss Trunchbull, made a much uglier woman than Chameroy does.  But Chameroy compensates for this with an extraordinarily focussed performance.  He has calculated every word and gesture to create the maximum effect and the softness of his voice becomes a sign of the cruelty of Trunchbull’s intent.  He is a much better singer than the previous two British Trunchbulls I’ve seen, so it is a pleasure to heard his fierce rendition of Trunchbull’s big song “The Hammer”.  He is also the best acrobat of the three and received a well-deserved round of a applause for his surprising feat of tumbling.  It’s a fine touch that he remains sneering even during the curtain call.

Brandon McGibbon has played several roles in Mirvish shows before, but he really shines as the ignorant but self-important Mr. Wormwood.  He is in fact the best of the three Mr. Wormwoods I’ve seen.  He owns the stage when he starts off the second act improvising with the audience.  He puts over his main song “Telly” with panache and is a master of both physical and verbal comedy.  And yet, buried beneath all his brashness, McGibbon’s Wormwood makes us sense that he alone of Matilda’s family would like to understand her.  Near the end when Wormwood is in trouble and calls Matilda “daughter” for the first time, McGibbon immediately switches our ridicule to sympathy since McGibbon  makes us feel that Wormwood has finally said something he has always longed to say.           

Darcy Stewart is delightfully vulgar as Mrs. Wormwood besides being a fine dancer.  Paula Brancati is wonderfully sympathetic as the mousy Miss Honey and gives an emotional account of her big number “My House”.  And Keisha T. Fraser is a genial Mrs. Phelps and exudes warmth as the guardian of Matilda’s one safe haven.

Now that Matilda the Musical has opened in Toronto it becomes the number one show for families to see both this summer and fall.  It’s an enjoyable musical on so many levels it’s sure to please both children and adults. It’s so much fun, I’ve seen it in London twice and in Toronto once and could easily see it here again.  Here’s to Toronto’s Matilda – long may she reign!

©Christopher Hoile

After the sit-down production in Toronto closes it goes on a North American tour with the same creative team and all of the principal actors.

Tour stops after Toronto, ON:

• Popejoy Hall, Albuqueque, NM

January 12-15, 2017;

• Segerstrom Hall, Costa Mesa, CA

January 17-29, 2017;

• Civic Theatre, San Diego, CA

January 31-February 5, 2017;

• Gammage Auditorium, Tempe, AZ

February 7-12, 2017;

• Eccles PAC, Salt Lake City, UT

February 21-26, 2017;

• Keller Auditorium, Portland, OR

February 28-March 5, 2017;

• San Jose PAC, San Jose, CA

March 7-12, 2017;

• Smith Center, Las Vegas, NV

March 14-19, 2017;

• Washington Pavilion, Sioux Falls, SD

March 22-26, 2017;

• Orpheum Theatre, Minneapolis, MN

March 28-April 2, 2017;

• Aronoff Center, Cincinnati, OH

April 4-16, 2017;

• Fox Theatre, Atlanta, GA

April 18-23, 2017;

• Broward Center, Fort Lauderdale, FL

April 25-May 7, 2017

• Dr. Phillips PAC, Orlando, FL

May 9-14, 2017;

• PPAC, Providence, RI

May 17-21, 2017;

• Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts, Raleigh, NC

May 23-28, 2017;

• Lied Center, Lincoln, NE

May 29-June 4, 2017;

• Majestic Theatre, San Antonio, TX

June 6-11, 2017;

• Bass Hall, Fort Worth, TX

June 12-18, 2017;

1. •Chapman Music Hall, Tulsa, OK
   

June 20-15, 2017

-end of North American tour-

Note: This review is a Stage Door exclusive.

Photos: (from top) Cast of Matilda The Musical; Paula Brancati, cast of Matilda and Dan Chameroy; Hannah Levinson as Matilda. ©2016 Joan Marcus.

For tickets, visit www.mirvish.com.