Photo Credit: Lindsey Abendschein
Matilda The Musical is the story of a young girl who uses her wits to face the oblivious adults who seem to block her every path. Based on a 1988 story by Roald Dahl, best known for writing Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, First Stage artistic director Jeff Frank calls it an uplifting tale of empowerment, learning the value of words and stories in the battles against injustice.
In casting Tim Minchin’s Tony Award-winning musical, First Stage chose two casts and three actors in the title role (Taylor Arnstein, Reese Bell and Marina Evans). Frank is confident in his homegrown talent. “We have so many amazingly talented young people that have developed strong skills through our [Theater] Academy programming,” he says. “They bring a lot to the table, and then we work to continue their training through rehearsals; it becomes a natural extension of their training. The only major difference in rehearsing a typical professional production is that we have two casts of young performers to get ready, so it is critical to track changes from one cast to another as we move through the rehearsal process.”
The precocious title character rises above challenges presented by her parents and headmistress, finding allies in her teacher and fellow students to control the narrative of her life. According to Frank, “casting Matilda was about finding young actresses with a great combination of skills—being able to sing, act, dance and have the work ethic to take on the challenge. We were lucky to find three remarkable young ladies that continue to prove to be up to the challenge on all levels.”
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The dance numbers are choreographed by the Milwaukee Ballet’s Jayne and Michael Pink.
Director Frank’s connection to First Stage goes back to 1996, when he began there as education director and associate artistic director. His vision may seem simple, but there is a track record to back it up. “Working with an actor of any age takes insight. It is the role of the director to figure out how to successfully communicate and collaborate with each actor—all of whom bring different backgrounds, levels of experience and communication styles,” he says.
Finding a ‘Strength of Purpose’
Frank recalls past actors who came up through the First Stage program. “So many amazing young people have impressed me in the classroom or in auditions and have gone on to great things locally and nationally. I can remember Kat Wodtke as a third-grader in my creative drama classes demonstrating such a strong emotional connection to our improvisational work. Her work now as an adult continues to shine. Jeremy Tardy showed such a great spark as a 9 or 10-year-old that I cast him in a musical. That spark, and an incredible work ethic, led to his studying at Julliard, and he is currently appearing in the Netflix series ‘Dear White People’ and HBO’s ‘Ballers,’ among other things.”
“I just heard from another former student, Conlan Ledwith, who first appeared in 12 Days—A Milwaukee Christmas,” Frank continues. “He will be appearing in Sweeney Todd at South Coast Rep this summer. And there are so many more out there doing great work—and not just in theater. We encounter so many young people that come to First Stage’s Theater Academy and find a strength of purpose for themselves and a desire to make a difference in the world.”
Some projects are condensed versions of full-length Broadway productions. In the case of Matilda, the rich and complex story deserves to be told in its entirety. Frank explained why he thought it would be a good fit for First Stage. “I put together each season with input from our programming and community engagement committee and our artistic team. I’d seen Matilda twice on Broadway, and I was convinced it was a show that we needed to do, so once it became available, we jumped at the opportunity.”
Entertainment value aside, Matilda’s relevance may be in the power of an individual (in this case, a young girl) to face up to an aggressor (a bullying teacher). Frank characterizes the story as funny and clever—at turns dark and hopeful. His idea of a successful production? “Observing families and classrooms exhilarated by the production and having conversations about their shared experience at the show. In this day and age, with so many of us looking at our devices, it is so nice to give people a reason to look up, to come together and to experience the power of a great story being told.”
First Stage presents Roald Dahl’s Matilda The Musical Jan. 11-Feb. 24 at the Marcus Center’s Todd Wehr Theater, 929 N. Water St. For tickets, call 414-273-7206 or visit firststage.org. Matilda is highly suitable for audiences age 8 and up.
