The saying goes that a final dress rehearsal needs to be riddled with dropped lines, missed cues and costume snafus in order for opening night to shine. City Circle Theater Company’s final dress of Matilda: the Musical may not need to accept conventional wisdom in order for their show to be a success.
The show, directed by Elizabeth Tracey, is thoughtfully cast and crafted. Adapted by Dennis Kelly from the beloved 1988 Roald Dahl novel (with music and lyrics by Tim Minchin), Matilda centers around the title character (Sasha Jakob) and her experiences with family and school.
The set is cleverly designed by Michael Blake to be at once whimsical — constructed, by and large, out of larger-than-life alphabet blocks — and elegant, as when beautiful wood-sculpted books and shelves seemingly float on stage to create Mrs. Phelps’s (Krista Neumann) library. Neumann herself is a delightful and enthusiastic listener to Matilda’s story.
Costumes (Melisa Wallace Rusk) and lighting (Hans Hinrichsen) build the characters and scenes throughout the show. While accents may have wobbled at times and the Russian at the end of the show was indecipherable, both the whimsy and messaging shone in each scene.
Jakob brings a certain beautiful hauntedness to her character; the audience can see Matilda’s desire to learn and be loved as well as her honesty and loyalty through Jakob’s acting and lilting vocals. In contrast, Matilda’s parents — Mr. Wormwood (Joshua Fryvecind) and Mrs. Wormwood (Stephanie A. Zimmerman) — are brought to life with delightful garishness. Mrs. Wormwood’s dance partner Rudolpho (Bryant Duffy) rounds the pair out into a trio of humorous vulgarity.
A surprise minor character who is often overlooked is Michael, Matilda’s brother. City Circle’s Michael is played by Oliver Miller, who steals scenes with just a word or two. His timing and intonation add texture and humor to his father’s scheming.
Chloe Schroeder brings a clear, beautiful singing voice to the stage as Miss Honey, in addition to her sincere acting performance as the caring teacher. Miss Trunchbull (Jason Millsap) is the foil to Miss Honey. Although the character is rendered as a caricature, in this production, be prepared for Miss Trunchbull to be all loud, all the time.
Musical direction (Christian Drollinger) supports the storytelling throughout the show, and the choreography (Katie Milani), while a bit inelegant, is performed enthusiastically by all cast members. Indeed, all of the ensembles — young children, older children and adults — deserve a shout out for their tireless work as both characters and set changers.
A couple of standouts get an extra round of applause: Lavender (Nora Yates) and Bruce (Luke Reimer) bring great fun to the stage by putting a newt in Miss Trunchbull’s water and eating a whole chocolate cake, respectively.
Indeed, the scores of people who were assistants, painters and crew members on this show all deserve kudos for bringing Matilda to life at a time when families may want to step into another world, enjoy some laughs and watch as good triumphs.
Matilda: the Musical runs one more weekend, Friday and Saturday, Dec. 17-18 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, Dec. 19 at 2 p.m. Tickets start at $14 (for children 10 and under). Masks are required, regardless of vaccination status, and for those wanting to take extra precautions, a limited number of socially distanced seats are available in the balcony.
