‘Matilda’ imaginatively challenges the powerless to change their story

Driven by an intrinsic sense of justice and with so much brain it’s squishing out her eyeballs, the title character of “Matilda” brought triumph to the powerless by the strength of her knowledge with words as her weapons.

“Matilda: The Musical,” by Dennis Kelly (book) and Tim Minchin (music and lyrics), opened its touring production at Starlight Theatre on Tuesday. It’s as charming and precocious as its heroine, with clever musical numbers, a fantastic child (and adult) cast, ingenious choreography and darkly caricaturized adult characters, directed by Matthew Warchus.

Based on the novel by Roald Dahl, the play follows Matilda (a compelling Lily Brooks O’Briant, one of three in the role), an incredibly intelligent 5-year-old girl who is belittled and insulted by her crass, gormless parents (Darcy Stewart and Brandon McGibbon).

Her only respite is reading books and telling fantastical stories to a sympathetic librarian (Keisha T. Fraser). Sent to school, she’s placed with gentle Miss Honey (an endearing Paula Brancati). They are all abused by the despicably cruel Miss Trunchbull (David Abeles, comically frightening), who uses sadistic discipline to thwart the essence of childhood.

Minchin’s lyrics gave pause with poignancy (“When I Grow Up,” “My House”) and subversive imagination (the ABC lyrics of “School Song,” “Naughty,” “Revolting Children”), the music driving and melodic, orchestrated by Chris Nightingale (with some unconventional twists).

Peter Darling’s inventive choreography with props (balloons, swings, scooters, ribbon wand) and theatrical sleight of hand stunts offered surprise after surprise.

The nimble lyrics, coupled with some audio balance issues and on-again/off-again accents, made clarity a challenge in a few places, but over all the nine child actors were engaging and as professionally honed as their adult counterparts.

Rob Howell’s resourceful, whimsical design used oversized alphabet blocks and a wonky Mondrian-esque jumble of cubes and squares for the backgrounds.

Over 2.5 hours long, the play bogged down during the expository Act I, with the snappier Act II coming to a resolution overly quickly, considering that an entire sub-story and additional scenes were added to Dahl’s plot. However, Matilda’s storytelling and the accompanying shadow puppet theater show were among the most creative and emotive parts of the performance.

“Matilda” reminds us that a world that celebrates vulgar, mindless conformity, distrusts education and undervalues excellence and truth telling is a potential reality. And if the adults can’t take a stand for justice, it may just be the children who lead the revolt.

This story was originally published May 25, 2016 at 9:17 AM with the headline "‘Matilda’ imaginatively challenges the powerless to change their story."