Whenever he stages a show for Rise Above Performing Arts with many young characters, Artistic Director Jacob Ruscoe knows he will see a lot of people sign up for auditions, but even he was surprised by the “huge response” for his upcoming production of “Matilda: The Musical.”
“We have a cast of 32 and we had about 80 people audition,” Ruscoe said about the musical based on one of the last novels by author Roald Dahl, published in 1988.
“Matilda” is about a young girl (she’s 5 in the book, but older on stage), whose parents don’t care about her – the father would have preferred a boy. She is sent to a school run by a tyrannical headmistress, but Matilda finds some nurturing and caring from one of her teachers, Miss Honey. She begins to share her own, happier stories about a little girl with a mother who is an acrobat and a father who is an escape artist.
“When you do a show like ‘Matilda,’ or ‘Annie’ or ‘School of Rock,’ with named younger characters, it always draws more interest because there is a named part they can play,” said Ruscoe, who is staging the production with choreographer Danielle Calabrese.
Elle Wegesin, who will be starting sixth grade in the new school year, plays the title character in her first show with Rise Above, a non-profit performing arts program that offers year-round training, choruses, summer camps and a season of Broadway musicals performed by students from sixth grade through high school. College students return for alumni musicals, like the early summer run of “The Prom.”
“Our program starts in sixth grade so this is the first show she was eligible to do with us,” Ruscoe said. “She’s done some junior shows like Ariel in ‘The Little Mermaid Jr.’ and Gertrude in ‘Seussical Junior.’ For being just 11, she has an incredible voice, great stage presence and a lot of qualities that really drew us to her. She has an innocence and wonder about her that was really appealing.”
Guy Loebert and Gaby Suchan play her parents, Rue Brown portrays the headmistress Trunchbull, and Ava Odom plays the kindly teacher. Chance Horvath and Kiera Woelfel play Matilda’s fantasy parents.
Dahl was known for creating stories with twisted family or young people finding themselves in strange and unusual situations. He is probably best known for “James and the Giant Peach” and “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.”
A popular story becomes a musical
The book became a film in 1996 with Mara Wilson in the title role and Danny DeVito and Rhea Perlman as her parents. Australian songwriter, actor and musician Tim Minchin created a musical version with writer Dennis Kelly that got its start at the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford-upon-Avon in 2010. It moved to London’s West End in 2011 and Broadway in 2013, where it won four Tony Awards, plus a special honor for the four young actresses who alternated as Matilda.
Ruscoe has just one actress playing Matilda, plus Sophia Christeas as an understudy.
“I can see why they had multiple kids because of the complexity of the role,” he said. “Matilda has over 300 lines and a vast majority of them, when she’s telling stories, they’re long, like mini-monologues.”
When he and other leaders of Rise Above are working with a lot of younger performers, they spend more time nurturing the cast members.
“We’re focusing on character development and how they understand how characters evolve. We take them through the process of creating a character biography. There’s a lot more instruction than would happen with performers who have a bit more experience, but it’s part of the fun and joy of getting them there. And a show like ‘Matilda’ has a wide age range of performers, so the younger ones are able to see how the older performers work.”
‘Matilda: The Musical’
Music and lyrics by Tim Minchin, book by Dennis Kelly, based on the novel by Roald Dahl. Directed by Jacob Ruscoe. Runs Aug. 14-24, Rise Above Performing Arts, Crossings at Siesta Key shopping center, 3501 S. Tamiami Trail, Suite 1005. Tickets are $25-$35. 941-702-4747; riseabovearts.com
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This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Rise Above stages ‘Matilda: The Musical’ based on a beloved Roald Dahl story
Reporting by Jay Handelman, Sarasota Herald-Tribune / Sarasota Herald-Tribune
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