New Title Performers Announced for Broadway's Matilda

[KathyNYC2]

Nigel.

[broadway_show_fan]

Oh, so like Ava who aged into Hortensia? And they just hired a new boy for the small boy swing part?

It says on Playbill Vault that Ted's the swing (showing him as the alternate for Eric/Nigel). It still shows Jonah as the boy primarily playing Nigel.

http://www.playbillvault.com/Show/Detail/CurrentCast/13970/Matilda-The-Musical-at-Shubert-Theatre

[KathyNYC2]

Yes but Jonah was not there on Sunday.

[Wickedmonkey332]

Ted has moved to the boy swing track, Jonah remains the primary Nigel, and I have seen pictures of the new Eric but am unsure of his name.

[getatme]

Christian Michael Camporin is the new Eric. Ted is the new little boy swing.

[KathyNYC2]

I was told that Jill's last day might be September 5th. No confirmation..just heard from a somewhat reliable? but not definitive source.

Odd that someone might be leaving on a Friday but perhaps if another New Tinytilda is starting Sunday, it won't take the focus off of either one of them.

[AntV]

I did the lottery today and everyone won. They had 30 tickets, but only 20 got claimed.

It was my third time seeing the show, but first without the original cast. Chris Seiber was out which was disappointing because I wanted to see him, but there's still time to go back for him. His understudy was fine, but of course not as funny or scary as Bertie. Matt Harrington played Mr. Wormwood a lot more goofy than Ebert. And Ebert's height was also missed. But Jill Paice and Fina Strazza were both fantastic and my favorites that I have seen in those roles. I specifically wanted to see Paice before she leaves tomorrow. Her website says she does btw. They were both amazing, but I think what specifically made me like them better than the originals is their age. A younger Miss Honey really makes the character work better. And I've always thought the original Matilda's looked a bit too old to be treated the way she is. I'm not familiar with the first group of Newtilda's so I don't know if any of them appeared younger, but Fina being the youngest Matilda so far, I think it really worked for the character. Really glad I went to see Jill Paice before she left and happy that this show is still in great shape. Excited to see who is next.

[KathyNYC2]

I don't think the ages of any of the Matildas bothered me at all but I agree the very young Fina works well. (It's deceiving however because she is young but very tall for her age). She is very slim and waiflike like Oona was)..it looks like you could knock her over with a feather.

I have seen almost all the Matildas that have been on so far...they are all special girls and I have loved each of them - and appreciated that they have their own special talents. One might be a better singer,another a better actress or dancer or better at the comedy rather than the drama, etc. But I think for overall performance, for me personally, it's going to be hard to beat Ripley. That girl is an ACTRESS with all the nuances and talents of someone much older and if she want to continue in the business, she hopefully will be in command.

I totally agree Jill's younger version of Miss Honey works better - it's less appealing for a 40+ year old woman to still be affected by her childhood - you want to say "grow up already". And throw stones, but Chris Sieber is my favorite Trunchbull. Loved Bertie and Lauren but Jill and Chris became my personal favorites.


I wonder who the new Ms. Honey will be- someone from the cast or from the outside. I haven't read anything.

[getatme]

The new Miss Honey is being announced today. She's a new cast member, so it's not Jennifer Bowles or Nadine Iseneger, both whom make lovely Honeys in their own ways. The new Honey is younger than even Jill, and I have very high hopes for her.

[KathyNYC2]

Thank you for that news..I will miss Jill tremendously but I agree, a young Miss Honey is a great casting plan.

I have seen Jennifer and Nadine - they did a very credible job with the part too.

[Blockhead24]

Alison Luff is the new Miss Honey





News here

[disneybroadwayfan22]

^I was literally about to post that :P

[broadwayfan1995]

Alison will be wonderful as Miss Honey!

[GilmoreGirlO2]

Just a bit confused here – is Karen Aldridge currently in the show? In the article announcing Luff, it says that Karen is currently still the librarian, but I just saw her in a show at Steppenwolf here in Chicago (that just ended on August 31st). Is she going back into the role? I checked IBDB.com and it has her listed as April, 2013 – present. Did she just take a leave from the “Matilda” to do the Steppenwolf show?

[getatme]

Yes, Karen should be back in the show if not this week, then next week. I believe Celia Mei Rubin has been on for Mrs. Phelps the past couple days.

[GilmoreGirlO2]

Thanks for the response!