Matilda: The Musical

Last Thursday night I watched Matilda at the Lyric Theatre in Sydney. It was a birthday present from Mr Paella and it was incredible! I had heard amazing reviews from the musical but had zero idea about the musical aside from the obvious fact it is based off Ronald Dahl's novel.

I absolutely adore this musical. It is near the top of my favourite musicals right now, just under or very close to Wicked. It's a musical that appeals to both children and adults and is hilarious. That being said, I didn't expect it to be so well rounded or so touching. There are moments of hilarity (esecially with Mrs Wormwood and Mr Wormwood) but then moments of sadness.

The role of Matilda was played by Georgia Taplin for my show (shared with three other girls) and she was amazing. Actually everything about the show was incredible; the production, the songs and the amazing cast of children and adults.

My two favourite songs are: Naughty and When I Grow Up. I'm a little torn which one is my favourite because the lyrics of 'Naughty' resonate with me. But 'When I Grow Up' really touched me when I was sitting in the theatre. It was an incredible scene with the children and adults sitting and then "flying" on swings into the audience. It's a very bittersweet song. This review perfectly captures my thoughts:

And When I Grow Up, complete with kids and grown-ups playing on oversized swings over the front few rows of the audience, does something which seems impossible — it simultaneously speaks to adults and children in different ways. It’s joyous, cheeky and playful but has a bittersweet resonance for many adults. Have we grown up into the people we wanted to be? Did we take the innocence of childhood for granted?

And when I grow up, I will eat sweets everyday on the way to work and I
Will go to bed late every night.
And I will wake up when the sun comes up and I will watch cartoons until my
Eyes go square and I won't care because I'll be all grown up.
When I grow upHa staying up late. Late these days is 11pm because of work the following day. How adult is that?!

I would highly recommend this musical!