Photo Flash: MATILDA THE MUSICAL at Macomb Civic Theatre was a Little Bit Naughty & a Whole Lot of Fun!

Macomb Civic Theatre was the first community theatre group in Macomb County to perform Matilda the Musical. Performances took place two weekends ago, June 6th through 9th, at Stevenson High School in Sterling Heights. The musical is based on the beloved Roald Dahl book about a gift girl with extraordinary powers. She is the daughter of dimwitted parents and a student of a terrifying headmistress, Miss Trunchbull, which makes Matilda bury herself in books and create her own stories. She takes a stand against the adults around her and teaches strength to her teacher and friend, Miss Honey, and classmates. Those around Matilda learn that life can be tough, but "nobody but me is gonna' change my story," so "sometimes you have to be a little bit naughty." For MCT's production of Matilda the Musical, the role of Matilda was shared by Abigail Patterson and Julianna Fergan. The set was even designed by 13-year-old, Lila Niespolo. It was a wonderful and fun weekend for the whole cast and everyone who came to see MCT's Matilda the Musical!

MCT's production of Matilda the Musical had a cast of 90 performers ranging in age between 4 years to 50+ years old with approximately 85% of the cast being 18 years old and under. A grandfather and granddaughter even shared the stage! It was the first time on stage for approximately 40% of cast. They had only 16 rehearsal days and the kids only rehearsed two hours a day! All staff at MCT are volunteers. Approximately 10% of the cast participate in MCT's special needs program called Noah's Ark. For the past seven seasons, kids and adults have been cast alongside individuals with special needs with tremendous success. All abilities are welcome!

MCT is committed to an "open and fair casting" policy, which means all roles are competitively offered and anyone who auditions for their shows will be given a role. To allow for more opportunity to the community, many roles are double-cast, like the already stated Matilda's, which gives more people the chance to have lead or supporting roles. A couple interesting facts about a few of the double-cast roles are the role of Miss Trunchbull was share by a 15-year-old, Lorelei Bell, and an 'over 40' year old, Dawn Grant. The roles of Miss Trunchbull and Miss Honey were played by a mother, Dawn Grant, and daughter, Abby Grant, on Friday, June 7th and Sunday, June 9th.

Director, Melanie A. McCaw, and producer, Larry O'Grady, are proud to share all aspects of the theatre arts with the community. Macomb Civic Theatre member, Maddie Ramsey was MTC's annual scholarship recipient. Cast member, Grant Patterson, who played one of the students, identified The Escapologist as his favorite character throughout the show. He was gifted The Escapologist's hat, cape, and microphone at the end of the show by Shane Herberling who played the role of The Escapologist as a special memento. MCT production of Matilda the Musical started as a community and ended the show as a family.

Connect with Macomb Civic Theatre at www.BroadwayInMacomb.org or www.macombcivic.org and on Facebook at facebook.com/macombcivic.

Check out how much fun Macomb Civic Theatre's Matilda the Musical was below!