How is the Matilda Tour doing?

[¿Macavity?]

My family and I will be in Chicago in March and we were hoping to see Matilda. We will only be in Chicago for 2 days, the 22nd and the 23rd. We would only be able to make the performance on the 22nd, and I'm very uncomfortable with attending opening night performances. So, here's my question: is the tour in good shape? I read a while back that it wasn't doing so well. Would it be a good idea to attend opening night? Thanks for any help.

[itis2l84u]

The tour is doing quite well! I saw it multiple times in Washington DC and the cast was great. They recently changed it so only the adults do the British accents and the children speak in their normal accents. It has made the production much easier to understand and less distracting if they accidentally slip in and out of it because they didn't get much dialect coaching. The only issue it has now is it can be quite quiet. I saw the first week of the DC run and had some issues hearing everything because the mics were turned down so low. By the next week it was fine. Also the three young ladies playing Matilda do a fantastic job in the role!

[¿Macavity?]

Thanks! I think we'll go!

[Eliza2]

I saw it a few weeks ago and didn't notice any of the issues that were described in the other thread about the tour. Sarah McKinley Austin was Matilda when I saw it and she had almost perfect diction. I was impressed. And David Abeles is terrific as Miss Trunchbull.

[Broadway kid 2]

?Macavity? said: "My family and I will be in Chicago in March and we were hoping to see Matilda. We will only be in Chicago for 2 days, the 22nd and the 23rd. We would only be able to make the performance on the 22nd, and I'm very uncomfortable with attending opening night performances. So, here's my question: is the tour in good shape? I read a while back that it wasn't doing so well. Would it be a good idea to attend opening night? Thanks for any help.

 

"

 

[Mr. Nowack]

Glad to hear it's now in good shape. It comes through Pittsburgh in a few months and I'm extremely excited to see it.

[BroadwayMan5]

I adored the show on Broadway with the original cast but was very disappointed in the tour, which I saw a couple months ago. The humor didn't land, the performances were inconsistent, and there were sound issues. Hopefully some of that has gotten better or maybe it was an off night.

[TheGingerBreadMan]

I just saw the tour on Sunday 2/14, and it was great! Absolutely would recommend it. 

[bwayphreak234]

I am so glad to hear that the tour is in better shape. I know that it had a rough start. I absolutely LOVE this show. I have seen it six times on Broadway and would gladly go six more times!

[itis2l84u]

bwayphreak234 said: "I am so glad to hear that the tour is in better shape. I know that it had a rough start. I absolutely LOVE this show. I have seen it six times on Broadway and would gladly go six more times!

 

"

Unfortunately they really half assed the accents for the original kids on tour so they just sounded bad. The Matildas were still phenomenal actresses but the accents detracted from the overall performance which is a shame. The same thing is happening over on Broadway sadly. Hopefully they step up teaching the kid's their accents or ax them.

 

[Alessio2]

Are there any references at all in the show which implies they are in Britain? if not just axe the accents altogether. I was extremely disappointed when I saw the tour here in LA, I could barely understand  a word out of Matilda's mouth!

[playbill-love]

I saw the tour when it was in St. Louis. I have seen it on Broadway a ridiculous amount of times and the tour just was not that good in comparison. All the problems with the Broadway production were much worse on the tour. I would not recommend it unless it has improved greatly since late fall.

[NotTheComfyChair]

The accents for the Matilda tour, at least for all the kids, were axed sometime ago, I believe either just before or after the stop in Seattle.  So if people have had a problem with the hearing the kids, it isn't an accent issue.  The adults (for the most part) still have British accents including Matilda's parents.  Logical, that.

 

I saw the show in Los Angeles with the accents still in place and had no problems understanding the kids,  apart from the first number which, if this board is to be believed, has been an issue since London.  However, friends who sat elsewhere in the Ahmanson had major problems understanding. Make of that what you will...

[willep]

How did I miss David Abeles being cast as Trunchbull?? Enjoyed him in Once and The Great Comet.

[jen_in_toronto]

I saw it for the first and only time on Broadway last month and I wish they'd drop the accents. I don't think it's important to the story that they pretend to be Irish, and our Matilda sounded downright Irish at times...a bit odd and distracting.

And then I saw A View from the Bridge with a cast of Brits playing Italian-Americans and there were no accent issues whatsoever. :)

[Fosse76]

jen_in_toronto said: "I saw it for the first and only time on Broadway last month and I wish they'd drop the accents. I don't think it's important to the story that they pretend to be Irish, and our Matilda sounded downright Irish at times...a bit odd and distracting."

 

Except, of course, they aren't speaking with Irish accents. None of the cast uses an Irish accent. Calling it an English/British accent would also be generous to be sure, but it certainly isn't Irish.

[NotTheComfyChair]

Fosse. The Matildas on Broadway are now doing an accent that can sound Irish. I asked a friend on the show about this back in the day and they said the producers decided to change the accent for the Matildas only from the original British to something else. It was meant to go all the way to American but was then pulled back to a British accent with some American sounds (like having R consonants) - which can sound Irish. The original four used full British accents and I thought they did a pretty good job with it.  Better than many adult actors I've seen both in and out of NYC. But that's my opinion...

[jen_in_toronto]

Fosse76 said: 

"Except, of course, they aren't speaking with Irish accents. None of the cast uses an Irish accent. Calling it an English/British accent would also be generous to be sure, but it certainly isn't Irish."

 

I know my accents, thanks to my family. The little girl I saw, while great, definitely slipped into an Irish accent at times. I don't know if it was intentional, as the rest of the cast was fine. 

 

 

 

[jen_in_toronto]

jen_in_toronto said: "I saw it for the first and only time on Broadway last month and I wish they'd drop the accents. I don't think it's important to the story that they pretend to be Irish, and our Matilda sounded downright Irish at times...a bit odd and distracting.

 

Ooops, meant to say "I don't think it's important to the story that they pretend to be British/English." Only the lead girl sounded Irish.

 

[jen_in_toronto]

NotTheComfyChair said: "Fosse. The Matildas on Broadway are now doing an accent that can sound Irish. I asked a friend on the show about this back in the day and they said the producers decided to change the accent for the Matildas only from the original British to something else. It was meant to go all the way to American but was then pulled back to a British accent with some American sounds (like having R consonants) - which can sound Irish. The original four used full British accents and I thought they did a pretty good job with it.  Better than many adult actors I've seen both in and out of NYC. But that's my opinion..."

 

Interesting. She was still delightful but the hard-sounding accent threw me. 

 

 

 

[SoVa theatre mom]

Saw it last month in Durham.  My whole party, composed of theatre addicts, loved it.  

[KJisgroovy]

A lot of the major reviews here in Chicago point out the horrible sound. What's the deal? How can they still be struggling with sound issues? Do you think it just takes them a little bit of time to figure out the sound mix and it will improve over the course of the run? 

What gives?

[¿Macavity?]

KJisgroovy said: "A lot of the major reviews here in Chicago point out the horrible sound. What's the deal? How can they still be struggling with sound issues? Do you think it just takes them a little bit of time to figure out the sound mix and it will improve over the course of the run? 

What gives?

"

Well, first off I want to say that when I saw it last Tuesday in Chicago, that was my first time seeing it. Though I did have the OBC album. I thought it was near perfect for an opening night. No big sound problems, although heard some people in the lobby complain about how loud it was during intermission. I thought the sound was just fine, but again, I gave it slack considering it was opening night. Also, I LOVED the show, it was incredible! I'm surprised it didn't win the Tony for Best Musical. Sorry, that's not fair, I haven't seen Kinky Boots. KB must be one heck of a musical to beat Matilda to the Tony. Anyway, only thing that bugged me was how the kids said "He Can't" during "Bruce". I know they dropped the accents for the tour (which I didn't mind except for that part) but it just sounded odd after listening to the album.

[Call_me_jorge]

I read a Facebook post from someone saying how horrible the show was and I almost wanted to cry. I'm seeing it on Sunday in Chicago and I love the movie and the cast recording and I just don't want this tour to ruin my love of the Matilda story. I really hope my Matilda doesn't have any accent or diction issues. Here's a link https://m.facebook.com/groups/336966823148489?view=permalink&id=584449921733510&ref=m_notif&notif_t=group_comment_mention

Its from a closed group so it might not work, also in the comments so many people were being negative about it. I'm scared. I'd rather just wait to see the London production...

[itis2l84u]

Call_me_jorge said: "I read a Facebook post from someone saying how horrible the show was and I almost wanted to cry. I'm seeing it on Sunday in Chicago and I love the movie and the cast recording and I just don't want this tour to ruin my love of the Matilda story. I really hope my Matilda doesn't have any accent or diction issues. Here's a link https://m.facebook.com/groups/336966823148489?view=permalink&id=584449921733510&ref=m_notif¬if_t=group_comment_mention

Its from a closed group so it might not work, also in the comments so many people were being negative about it. I'm scared. I'd rather just wait to see the London production...

 

"

Don't listen to them. I saw the show back in Feburary (so with the cast you'll be seeing) and they were all great. The three girls who rotate Matilda are all very strong actresses and singers. I've seen each of them perform and they delivered the role extremely well (I saw them all at the very very beginning of their runs) and they've only gotten better as time has gone by. David who plays Miss Trunchbull is fabulously insane in the part, one of my top three miss Trunchbulls. Quinn who plays Mr Wormwood makes the role more comedic than others with his hilarious body movement and gestures. Cassie as Mes Wormwood gives an extremely energetic performance every time I've seen her. The show is in great shape the only issues they ever have is sound and they usually get it figured out after a day or so. I can only identify one weak link in the show which is the Miss Honey who I'm not overly fond of. But she still does quite well. I just don't like how she plays the role as really cold I prefer Jill Paice and Allison Case's much warmer interpretion of Miss Honey. 

Not everyone likes all shows but if you've liked the music and story for a while now I'm sure you'll have an amazing time Sunday.

[ZellMorrowsPledge]

Show is amazing and a nice night out at the theater. Don't miss out.