Matilda the Musical – Lakewood’s Lively, Timely Take

Danielle Valentine and Stephanie Heuston-Willing,

Photo by Triumph Photography

By Tina Arth

I have known several talented, productive adults in my life who managed to survive seriously dysfunctional childhoods and somehow to emerge as functional, if somewhat scarred, individuals. The one thing they have all had in common was clear memories of one or more important figures, sometimes a teacher, neighbor, librarian, or employer who offered soul-saving support during the worst periods. What does this have to do with Lakewood’s current production of Matilda the Musical? Everything. Strip away the over-the-top evil of most of the adult characters, the outrageously talented kiddos singing and dancing their way through a series of high-energy, high-volume production numbers, a barrage of often vulgar, but funny adult and juvenile jokes, and costumes/makeup straight out of Toontown, and you are left with these enduring themes: childhood can be a very scary time, children flourish in the care of loving families, family is not necessarily defined by DNA, and self-confidence can be the key to surviving even the worst situations. (Oh, and books are a superb substitute for television and social media!)

Director Paul Angelo’s lively, colorful production of Dennis Kelly and Tim Minchin’s Tony-winning Matilda incorporates the essential themes organically, with little explicit moralizing, so at first glance it’s easy to just focus on the awful behavior of Matilda’s key antagonists (her parents Harry and Zinnia Wormwood, and the evil Miss Trunchbull). The good guys (Matilda herself, her friends Lavender and Bruce, Miss Honey and Mrs. Phelps) are comparatively quiet, conservatively dressed, and generally well behaved – but they gradually become more assertive and visible as the story develops. The story, in a nutshell is this: the Wormwoods’ second child, Matilda, is completely unwanted: Zinnia wants to pursue her career as a dancer, and Harry makes it clear from the moment he holds Matilda in the hospital and starts looking for her “thing” that he only wants a boy. The Wormwoods are selfish, vulgar, crooked, blatantly anti-intellectual narcissists, while Matilda by the age of 5 is reading Dostoevsky and Dickens, supported only by Mrs. Phelps the librarian. When Matilda starts school she is sent to Crunchem Hall, run by the tyrannical Miss Trunchbull, who terrorizes all of the children under her control. Matilda’s teacher, the timid Miss Honey, recognizes her genius and tries to protect and support the beleaguered little girl. However, Matilda is not your typical victim – she discovers that she has some magic powers that she uses to annoy her enemies and protect her friends. Gradually the other schoolchildren appreciate and begin to emulate Matilda’s strength of character – a transformation that culminates in the rousing “Revolting Children” ensemble number, drawn unapologetically from Les Mis’ revolutionary “Do You Hear the People Sing,” with the iconic red flag waving over the little rebels.

The role of Matilda is double cast, so I can only comment on the performance of 10-year-old dynamo Cora Craver. Craver delivers a barrage of rapid-fire dialogue with a lovely and consistent English accent – I may have missed a few of the words, but the meaning is always crystal clear. She really sparkles in the musical numbers, in particular her solos in “Naughty” and its reprise, where she is able to throw aside her faux-submissive demeanor and show us a confident, slightly devilish side to her personality. Brock Woolworth and Josie Overstreet (as Bruce and Lavender) are worthy allies, nicely demonstrating the importance of loyalty and acceptance for schoolchildren.

Trishelle Love is wonderful as the somewhat muddled librarian, Mrs. Phelps, who raptly hangs on every word out of Matilda’s mouth and reacts to each twist in the story like she’s engrossed in a telenovela. Brooke Moltrum’s “Miss Honey” is fun to watch as she gradually grows a backbone, and her vocals are heartbreakingly gorgeous, especially in “This Little Girl” and “When I Grow Up.”  When it comes to laughs, however, the evil characters get all the love – Andy Lindberg’s unwaveringly sadistic Miss Trunchbull would be terrifying if he weren’t so funny, a perfect parody of every bullying adult of our nightmares. Danielle Valentine (Harry) and Stephanie Heuston-Willing (Zinnia), as Matilda’ s equally absurd parents, sing and dance their way into cartoon history with their big, big hair and huge (if one-dimensional, and very messed up) personalities.  Heuston-Willing is at her best when she is dancing (if you can call it that) with her sleazy partner Rudolpho (Grant Thackray) – but she copes nicely with her character’s wide-eyed, imbecilic demeanor throughout. Valentine is fabulously overbearing as Harry, and her brightly confident “All I Know” is an upbeat, show-stopping solo that really lets her shine.

Two other characters demand mention – Jackson Wells (as Matilda’s disgustingly vacuous and sycophantic brother) and Jeremy Southard, who turns in a surprisingly warm-hearted performance as Sergei, leader of the Russian Mafia. Props also to Berl Dana’y’s remarkable costume design - his vision provides some truly memorable moments and clearly delineates the relationship between the oppressors and the (at least temporarily) oppressed.

In an era of blatant rejection of intellectualism, where “fake news” is an epithet hurled at scientists and investigative reporters, and political dogma is spewed in an endless storm of tweets, it’s reassuring to see the children and the adults in Lakewood’s audience respond so enthusiastically to this dark yet somehow light-hearted and timely retelling of Roald Dahl’s classic tale.

Matilda the Musical is playing at the Lake Oswego’s Lakewood Center for the Arts through Sunday, August 18th.