Time is the one thing that no one is master of and time is running out for you to catch this quirky and delightful tale— a Roald Dahl tale, to be exact, not to be confused with a Roald Dahl tail…as that would be…right up Mr. Dahl’s alley, actually, but that’s beside the point! But the Roald Dahl tale in question is that dark and delightful Matilda. With Book by Dennis Kelly, Music & Lyrics by Tim Minchin and it’s taking over the Kensington Town Hall as The British Players’ summer offering! Directed by Nicola Hoag with Musical Director Charles Hoag and Choreography by Shannon Cron, there’s a lot of lovely things happening in the production that make it well worth investigating.
In the interest of full disclosure, it’s been a good decade and then some since I’ve seen a British Players’ show (March of 2014 Bedside Manner was the last one I reviewed personally for a different publication at the time and that five months before TheatreBloom was founded!) It was a delight to hear that they are still around and still producing and still keeping tradition by offering ‘traditional’ British theatrics! Though I think there was a slight hiccup in understanding Matilda on the whole when it comes to Nicola Hoag’s approach to the show, there’s heaps of good things about the production, but it’s always best to slosh the sticky bits out up front.
Matilda is a dark story. It’s meant to be edgy and lots of the humor that comes from that is found in the darkness and the ability to exacerbate the hardness of some of those more nefarious characters— like Mr. Wormwood and Agatha Trunchbull. Nicola Hoag seems to push both of these characters into more of a panto-vein when it comes to their villainy, aiming for caricature-over-the-top ‘not-too-scary’ performances rather than embracing the darkness that Dahl and Kelly focus on flushing into the tale. And while this tactic is an extraordinarily successful one when it comes to traditional British Pantomime (I may not be an ex-pat but I’ve been married to a Brit for some while now) it isn’t one that does the best of justices to this particular piece of theatre. That isn’t to say the two performers aren’t up there being talented, and particularly in the Trunchbull’s case, giving it their all, but it’s just the direction they’ve been given, which doesn’t serve the show as a whole. Hoag shies away from the darkness, embracing the lighter side of things and ultimately it just makes for a somewhat uneven production. I don’t want to denigrate Hoag’ efforts— it takes a tremendous amount of work and a whole village worth of support to get a full-scale musical theatre production like Matilda off the ground— it’s just in this case, the overriding tone of the show feels off from the way the show is written.
That said, where Hoag shines is in a lot of the design components in addition to things like pacing; the show runs smoothly and you don’t feel like scenes are dragging or lagging. There’s a live orchestra (which for the most part keeps a timely pacing with the musical numbers and doesn’t overplay the performers!) and the scenic transitions, for the most part, run smoothly. Hoag may have some theatrical moments that are overcomplicated— like the spinning of Amanda Thripp (slow the lighting down even more and go full-melodramatic into having her just leap onto the cart rather than use a body double, the audience will suspend their disbelief and buy into the theatrical magic of it)— or oversimplified— like the rocking of the ears with the other little boy (get silly putty for a simple visual gag that your audience will go with, just like they’ll suspend their disbelief for the ‘thrown-like-the-hammer’ girl) but there are some where she really radiates— like with Bruce’s disappearing cake. Wearing the title of Director, Set Decorator, and Costumer seems an awfully tall order though the show’s costumes are delightful, particularly the ones featured on Mrs. Wormwood, who has the perfect accent for the character and really solid dance moves but no loudness to her character delivery or pop in her attitude, which is just a shame considering she has that number literally all about being loud.
Matt Mills, who does the show’s sound design and the projections, helps readily draw the audience into the world of Matilda with all those shifting projections that take you from place to place. And Stage Designer Mike Lewis backs that up with brilliant set pieces like the wrought iron gate that says Crunchem Hall. Lighting Designer Don Slater fills in the aesthetic gaps for the most part in this production, though there was something missing when Trunchbull goes for her “chokey for all of you” moment. That particular sound cue needs a visual to support it, and whether it was a missed lighting cue, failed or obscured projection, it was just a missed opportunity. But for the most part these designers have done a great job transforming that space on which the players are bringing the story to life. One of the most brilliant things seen on the stage from a ‘theatrical magic’ standpoint is the way Lewis and Hoag handle the iconic ‘swings.’ Kensington Town Hall isn’t equipped with a fly space. So Lewis and Hoag put upright ‘rope poles’ on black boxes. And the kids sit on them and swing their feet as they lean back and forth. If every trick and complication in the show were treated with that level of ‘outside-the-box’ thinking, they’d have a practically perfect production on their hands. That beautiful simplicity makes a beautiful moment on stage; the kids singing and pretending to swing you, the audience, believe it.
Choreographer Shannon Cron delivers a lot of really militaristic moves, particularly in the opening number “Miracle.” And the swift routines between Mrs. Wormwood and Rudolpho during “Loud” are sublime. The kids really get their spirit on with Cron’s choreography during “Revolting Children” and you get a sense of Cron’s range of experience during both “The Hammer” and “The Smell of Rebellion.”
Vocally the show is a little uneven. And ironically enough it’s not the children. Part of this is that the Trunchbull role was originally written for a man in drag and the woman playing the part at this performance (Missi Tessier), talented though she is, sings higher in her natural range than where the character is written. There’s also some shaky delivery when Mrs. Wormwood (Chloe McGinness) is singing during “Loud” though it’s not the quality of her voice. That number needs a huge push of panache and volume to land as humorously as it’s written.
Outstanding vocal performances include the Escapologist (Ian Swank) who performs in several of the “Acrobat Story” segments (partnered opposite the vocally delightful Lauren Pacuit as Acrobat) with his luscious, smooth vocals, and Rudolpho (Doug Richesson), whose whole performance aura is just screaming with humor and radiance and over-the-top theatrics. It’s perfect for the character but one can’t help but wonder if he could have taken all that resplendent energy and been used in a larger capacity somehow. And although he doesn’t arrive until the final moments of the show, Robert Leembruggen’s Sergei is both intimidating and hilarious. His stage presence alone makes the lengthy wait of the entire show for him to arrive well worth it. Priscilla Howell also delivers a spectacular performance as Mrs. Phelps, the librarian, with her melodramatic antics, particularly when she’s reacting to Matilda’s stories.
The children (Alex Silvey {at this performance} as Bruce, Allison Ceballos as Lavender, Anna Tyrrell as Amanda Thripp, Tyler Guenther as Nigel, Scarlett Alam as Hortensia, Ella Milone as Alice, Una Pereira as Eric,) are rowdy, full of energy and give exceptional performances throughout the production. Backed and supported by the teen ensemble (Sonia Alam, Puck Elkins, Milani Kline, Charlotte Leembruggen, Lily Miller, Charlotte Richesson) you get really rousing numbers like “School Song” and “Chokey Chant” that showcase exquisitely the darkness that the show is meant to have. Allison Ceballos and Alex Silvey in particular have extraordinarily lively command of their stage presence, with Silvey going on in a most amusingly enthusiastic way about his big chocolatey burb right before the kids sing “Bruce” and Ceballos having a total squee-fest of giddy glee when telling the audience in an adorable little aside all about her plans for the newt.
The whole Wormwood family, Matilda notwithstanding, is meant to be comprised of villains and vamps…though I guess Michael (Julien Kirstein) is the exception to that rule. Kirstein’s character is actually really hilarious— the character is scripted to be quite dim-witted and often just repeats things he hears the father character say. Kirstein does an excellent job at keeping the audience laughing at the Michael character. We mentioned Mrs. Wormwood earlier, and while Bob Schwartz’ clowning is perfectly suited for panto, a little more nasty, a little more villain, a little more grimy, gritty edge would have better served the character. He does really get on with the audience though, at the top of the second act, going into “All I Know”, a duet he shares with Kirstein’s Michael, and you get a good sample of his more-than-capable singing voice. And he’s got a British accent, that leans a little Dickensian, but it passes for the show as a whole.
The real shining star in the adult column is Miss Honey (Hollie Dickman.) A tiny bit shaky upon her first vocal solo, and that can be chalked up to a nervous-driven character choice, Dickman really fleshes the character out and has the audience hanging on her every move and word, even when her character is the mousiest mouse on stage. Dickman’s responsive and reactionary style of acting is extraordinary, delivering a level of professionalism that is rare in supporting characters. Watch her facial features and body language during “Loud” or really any scene where she’s simply a part of the background and you’ll find her most enjoyable. Even more so when she puts that dulcet siren’s sound to use during “This Little Girl” and “My House.” Dickman shows an incredibly comprehensive vocal skillset with her articulate patter during “Pathetic” and she shies away wholly from Miss Trunchbull (Missi Tessier) during those moments when ‘bully-mode’ is meant to be activated by the hammer-throwing fiend. (To Tessier’s credit, she’s up there pouring her heart and soul into the role, albeit misdirected, and does have the audience laughing at some of her more simperingly sweet moments of saccharine silliness.)
Laying the role of the titular character on a young performer is never an easy task. At this performance, Jules Kanarek rises to the occasion and delivers full-on self-motivated, justice-minded brat every step of the way. Kanarek is a vested storyteller, not just when the character of Matilda is telling the story of the Escapologist and the Acrobat. Every scene Kanarek is in feels like one that’s being directly explained to the audience in a most fascinating way. Kanarek’s accent is impressively consistent, a rare gem for those not in possession of a natural British accent at the community level, and the way in which Kanarek approaches Matilda’s dilemmas feel fully fleshed out and authentically processed, as if Kanarek has marinated inside Matilda’s mind before making the character do anything. Vocally, Kanarek has a stellar set of pipes that are bringing effervescence and vivacity to numbers like “Naughty” and its reprise, as well as all the parts of the Acrobat story. But the “eleven o’clock number” (not that a show like Matilda really gets a designation of one of those) for Kanarek is “Quiet”, which showcases not only the quintessential emotional build-up of the character but the vocal, tonal, and overall emotional control of which Kanarek exudes with flying colors. It’s quite the impressive performance.
No one else is going to change your story for you; and if your story says you haven’t seen The British Players’ Matilda, then you’d better change that part of your story and catch their closing weekend this weekend!
Running Time: Approximately 2 hours and 35 minutes with one intermission
Matilda, a production of The British Players, plays through June 28th 2025 in the Kensington Town Hall— 3710 Mitchell Street in Kensington, MD. Tickets are available at the door or in advance online.