- Performances: 1,554.
- Open / Close: April 11, 2013 – January 1, 2017
- Theater: Shubert Theatre.
- Tony Awards: Nominated for an impressive 12 awards, winning 4. Two of the wins were technical.(lighting and scenic design), the book by Dennis Kelley won, and (somewhat surprisingly given his relatively minor role), Gabriel Ebert won for his portrayal of Mr. Wormwood. The four young actresses alternating in the title role won a special Tony: a Tony Honors for Excellence in Theatre award.
- Fun Fact: Matilda won more Olivier Awards (seven) than any other production in history at the time it was honored. That record has since been tied by Hamilton (2018), Cabaret (2022), and Sunset Boulevard (2024) The play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (2017) won 9 Olivier Awards.
Podcast
It’s weird how prescience can come from such unexpected places. When I recorded this episode about “Matilda the Musical” with the delightful Shannon Schilstra, I had no idea how relevant the show’s themes about the bad behavior of bullies would be. It’s a good thing that cloud wasn’t hanging over our conversation, allowing Shannon and I to have a fun and carefree conversation about the unexpected rapturous praise this wonderfully weird show, developed by the Royal Shakespeare Company, would receive.
While certainly popular on Broadway, the show was and is an absolute smash in London, still running there for more than 14 years. Though my entree into the story was via the 1996 movie directed by Danny DeVito. Shockingly, Shannon has still not seen the original movie; she found Matilda through the musical first and has loved it ever since. We talk about how playing Miss Honey was a dream come true, both for her and her husband.