Top Five Songs: Matilda

Matilda is a sly show with a bouncy score and witty lyrics.  I hope Tim Minchin continues to write for musicals, because his theatrical debut is terrific – not perfect, of course, but brimming with personality and potential.  Here are my favorites.  (Pictures are taken variously from Stratford-upon-Avon, West End, and Broadway productions.)

 

 

“Miracle” – I get such a kick out of this opening number, which plays on the idea of “perfect little angels” and “participant trophy” culture.  Scores of smug children bask in the glow of their parents’ indiscriminate, hyperbolic praise, and in addition to being wonderfully funny, it provides a nice contrast with the disgust and disinterest of Matilda’s horrible parents.

 

Best line:  “Special-ness seems de rigueur. / Above average is average – go figure. / Is it some modern miracle of calculus, / That such frequent miracles don’t render each one un-miraculous?”

 

 

“Naughty” – No surprise here, since I gushed about it in my original review.  This solo is utterly fantastic, smart and spunky.  I like the literary references that show off how extraordinary Matilda is, and the message – in order to take control of your life, sometimes you have to break the rules – is brilliant.

 

Best line:  “Even if you’re little you can do a lot, you / Mustn’t let a little thing like ‘little’ stop you.”

 

 

“When I Grow Up” – This song, with its lovely, simple melody, takes a short break from the action to let the kids in the ensemble muse about life and the future.  They’re all anxious to be older, when they’ll no doubt be taller, smarter, stronger, braver, and able to handle everything life throws at them, yet still maintain everything they like about being young.

 

Best line:  “When I grow up, / I will have treats every day, / And I’ll play with things that Mum pretends / That mums don’t think are fun.”

 

 

“Quiet” – Another solo for Matilda, a nice 11 o’clock-ish number that depicts her breaking point.  What starts as a frantic cascade of facts, questions, and frustrations coalesces into stillness as a sudden, crystalizing calm washes over her.  A fantastic character piece, and a treat for the young actress playing her.

 

Best line:  “I’m sorry – I’m not quite explaining it right, / But this noise becomes anger, and the anger is light, / And its burning inside me would usually fade, / But it isn’t today.”

 

 

“Revolting Children” – Here, the kids follow Matilda’s example from back in “Naughty” – they take control by acting up, turning Ms. Trunchbull’s adjective use of the word “revolting” into a verb.  The rock flair and anthemic chorus bring the show to a rousing climax.

 

Best line:  “We will become a screaming horde! / Take out your hockey stick, and use it as a sword! / Never again will we be ignored! / We’ll find out where the chalk is stored, / And draw rude pictures on the board! / It’s not insulting; we’re revolting!”

Matilda (2010)

 

When this British-import musical performed at last year’s Tony Awards, I enjoyed myself but wasn’t immediately taken.  The number, a short medley performed mainly by the young ensemble, was cute and fun, just enough to make me poke around for a little more about the show.  I hadn’t read the book by Roald Dahl or seen the film from the ‘90s, and I didn’t really get hooked until I found this older video of the West End Matildas at the Olivier Awards.  I was completely taken by this wonderful, charming song and knew that I had to hear more.

 

If you didn’t pause to watch the video (which you really should,) the song in question is “Naughty;” though performed by all four young actresses on the telecast, it’s a solo for the brilliant, diminutive heroine to ponder the veracity of accepting one’s lot.  She opens on literary figures – Jack and Jill, Romeo and Juliet – wondering “why they didn’t just change their story” and positing that so-called naughtiness is sometimes needed to improve an unjust situation.  Winningly, she sings, “Just because you find that life’s not fair, / It doesn’t mean that you just have to grin and bear it. / If you always take it on the chin and wear it, / Nothing will change.”  She goes on to state that even small people with small power aren’t destined to oppression (“You mustn’t let a little thing like ‘little’ stop you”) or being “stuck in [their] story.”  She celebrates tiny acts of rebellion such as “the seed of a war in the creak of a floorboard” and reminds the audience that such tiny acts are how all large-scale change begins:  “Every day starts with the tick of a clock - / All escapes start with the click of a lock.”  In the end, she acknowledges that the only person who can change her story is herself, and she gets ready to do just that.

 

Catchy, clever, and heartfelt – there’s so much packed into this number, and it instantly spurred me to further investigate the show.  Like the book, the musical tells the story of Matilda Wormwood, a 5-year-old genius born to a depressingly-ordinary family that couldn’t care less about her extraordinary abilities.  Matters worsen when she starts school and comes face to face with the tyrannical Miss Trunchbull, whose strictness and inhumane punishments keep the student body in fear, and it’s up to Matilda to stand up to the Man (or Woman, in this case.)

 

The cast recording I own is from the original Stratford-Upon-Avon production, featuring many of the same adult actors who followed the show to London and then Broadway.  The Matildas (three, all of whom are represented on the album) were too old for the role by the time the show moved to London and later crossed the Pond, but it’s nice to hear them on the CD.  Fun fact – the one picture above is Kerry Ingram, who currently plays Shireen Baratheon on Game of Thrones.

 

None of the other songs quite live up to the perfection of “Naughty,” but there’s still a lot to like.  Tim Minchin’s score is bouncy and fun, and his lyrics sparkle with sly wit.  The opening number, “Miracle,” is a cheeky nod to participant-trophy culture and parents who think their unremarkable offspring hung the moon.  “When I Grow Up” is a lovely ensemble piece, “Revolting Children” is an anthemic crowd-pleaser, and I love the clever, quasi-acrostic flavor of “School Song.”  Additionally, “Quiet,” Matilda’s other big solo, is positively gorgeous, a real treat for any young actress.  I’ve gotten tons of mileage from this CD (literally – it frequently occupies my car stereo,) with my only complaint being that it’s sometimes hard to move forward instead of repeating “Naughty” and “Quiet” on a loop.