Matilda the Musical

     Yesterday I went to see “Matilda the Musical.”  The theatre sets aside eight tickets for each showing for people between the ages of 16 and 25.  The first eight to come to the Box Office get a ticket for £5 (instead of the normal £25-ish).  It is one of the perks of being young in the City of London.

     I enjoyed the musical (it actually takes a lot for me to not enjoy the theatre, but this was entertaining).  It is not necessarily a story I would have nominated to be turned into a musical, but then again, neither was “Ghost” or “Silence of the Lambs…” 

     The children did a great job, as did the entire cast.  My favorite part was that Ms. Trunchbull was obviously played by a man.  She is a masculine character…this just takes it up a notch. 

     A word of caution if you were on your way to see this show: it is NOT the movie.  I have not read Roald Dahl’s book, but this is not very close to the movie (I was hoping at least for a little Danny DeVito narration, but no).  It is aimed for all audience (including young children), but can get quite scary at times (if you’re young of course…).  The story gets dark every now and again, which can be frightening.  It stands on its own, as long as it is not being compared to the movie (a cinema and theatre production should never be compared to one another anyway).  Out of 10, I would give it a 6.8.  It is a "see it if someone you like really wants to go," or if you are between 16 and 25 and have time to kill around 9:30 in the morning to wait for the Box Office to open.