Celebrating Read a Book Day With a MATILDA Opening Throwback!

Hello, I'm Richard Ridge for Broadway World

One of this season's most eagerly awaited new shows is the Olivier Award-winning Matilda the Musical

which has come to Broadway's Schubert Theatre. It is directed by Tony Award winner Matthew Warchus

and we're here on opening night to celebrate with the company. What about rules, honey

Rules. I believe that Matilda Wormwood is an exception to the rules

An exception. to the rules in my school. We are full of truth

You'll never again be something to abuse, or you're an ex-capice. She'll call the truce

Bruce, with every swore or you are tightening the news. We never thought it was possible

but we reduced coming true. We can have our cake and eat it too

It's opening night. How do you feel? Good. We feel good. I mean, it's been some time since we were actually at the Coalface

and I think we both feel sort of so spoiled because we flew in yesterday

and all this absolute, focused, obsessive hard work that's been going on in the last five weeks

pays off in us being able to take the credit for this piece, you know

And so I feel relieved because I'm invested in it emotionally. But mostly I just feel grateful that someone, Matthew and all the associate directors

and all these actors are putting their blood and sweat into it, and we just swan around, you know

Who came to the project first? Was it you or Tim? Who came first

It was me first. The RSC asked me if I wanted to do musical of Matilda

So I did a script version. Then I worked on and off for about a year

and then Matthew took a look at it, liked it, and then he started looking for people

and then he approached Tim, and Tim came on board. And then they ruined everything

From that moment on, it was downhill. It was a compromise from then on

That was a great show, but we'll never know what it was. It was a beautiful play

It was very serious. It was a great play. Matilda was 6'5 in that one

But it was, you know, from then on, that's when, you know, it's sort of like, you know, you think the work's done

and then these blokes come along and make, there's a lot more work to do

But it was great. Yeah. And talk about writing this score. I don't know

I worked off the script. I mean, I knew the story, and I know all dials worked very well

but I didn't go back to the book. I just used the script as the source text

and I just try to, I mean, I'm not equipped to be particularly intellectual

about composition, I don't read or write music. I haven't seen many musicals

I'm not trained or have been taught to write lyrics. I just try to..

And because I'm not equipped to be... to over-intellectualise it, I try to use that as my asset

and try to respond as sort of viscerally as I can using my limited palate

I just sort of go, well, how should it feel? And what should they say? and it's kind of trying to create a few steps between me and the text

try to just go, it should feel like this, so this is the color of it, and, you know, it's sort of a fairly low-fi way of writing

but I loved it, and part of me felt like I didn't deserve to be working with these people

at this level, and part of me thought, I'm the guy, I should be doing this, you know

Part of me felt entitled because I love Dahl and I like funny words and I write comic songs

and I thought, oh, this will be good. I sort of realized you're in the process of this

I'd always thought that, you know, I mean, collaboration is about strength, you know what I mean

When you collaborate and you collaborate with the right people, you end up looking at something

I mean, one of the things I enjoy about looking at Matilda is sort of looking at it and knowing, I mean, that I could never have done it

You know, it's not, it couldn't be me, you know what I mean? I mean, obviously, because I can't write music and stuff

But even that aside, just the way, It is. It's not a Demiskelly piece. It's all of us. It's everyone that worked on it

I always watch it and feel embarrassed because I, because you're swung around. I go, yeah, I've got a musical and I sort of take ownership of it in my head

And then I come and watch it and go, oh God, it's nothing to do with me. I'm like this much, you know

Take you back to the beginning of what attracted you to want to do this? Well, I've worked with Matthew a lot. There's a lot of us on the creative team

We've worked together for a long time. So, you know, that's obviously a plus

and the story, you know, Roldahl's work is part of all of our childhoods

and it was irresistible on that level, but also because of the group of people that were going to be working on it

It was a treat, and we knew working with the RSC that we would have some comfort, some time, some patience

and without an immediate commercial pressure to push things forward which is rare when we doing things on this kind of scale What were the challenges for you Were there some There lots I mean we had to when we started we were on a thrust stage and we had to you know I had to get a school room on there and living room bedroom

and all sorts of stuff. So cynically, it was quite a challenge because we were on a thrust stage

with no backstage ready to speak of. So the show that we're seeing now is enjoying the benefits of all of that

sort of rigorous work that we had to do because we didn't have the normal resources

of a normal theatre? I'm just taking it all in right now. I'm sort of, I mean, people seem to be thrilled

and I'm thrilled that they're thrilled, and I'm just happy to be along for the ride, yeah. Talk about this wild role you get to play

I know. It's preposterous. I don't normally get to play villains, you know

so it's an exciting thing. In a way, he embodies some of the things

that I dislike most in humanity, which is daftness and cruelty. But in the end, I think it's so well written

by Roldall and by Dennis Kemp. Kelly, that he has a little bit of humanity, which I cling to desperately as an actor

And now I'm starting to really enjoy being sort of terrible and cool

Now that I'm getting into it, it's actually a really fun part to play. Yeah

Tell me what it's been like working with your director, Matthew Warshis. Man, well, I've never quite worked on, well, I've worked on something that's transferred from England before

but working on a show that's sort of set is a new experience for me. and so I was coming into a role that had already been originated

So there was a structure that I walked into. You know what I mean? But within that structure, he gave me an immense amount of freedom

which at first felt sort of frightening, but then I began to grab onto the pieces of structure that were there

And in a way, I think I found more freedom within that

And he supported that freedom because I think he believes in the people that he casts

And so he wasn't asking him. me to portray what someone else had already chosen

He had perhaps where I needed to walk on from and where I needed to go out

But within that, I had my own opportunity to create the role

and to create my version of Harold Wormwood through what I'd read of Roldall

and also through the script. And so at first it was a really new experience

but then actually it allowed me a new sort of freedom that I haven't quite felt

Tell me what it's been like working on this show. I mean, from day one, you knew it was a special project, and I think it's just been joy and fun every day

There's a lot of hard work, but they've made it so fun, and these kids have made it so fun to come to work

That's just been awesome. It's been amazing. How about this great role you get to play

I love her, and not many people do love her. Mrs. Swarmwood is the worst mother in the world, but I love that she is so stupid and just doesn't care

She just, you know, makes everything work for her, and I really love that about her

She's loud. Talk about her great look. Her look is fantastic. She's, you know, beautiful, beautiful, natural blonde hair and natural makeup, really

It's not drag queenie at all. I think she's understated, and, you know, she's cinched in

I think she's very much a lady. And, you know, a little bit like me tonight

It's a little tacky, but it's in the good way. I would say gorgeous

Oh, thanks, thanks. So tell me what you love about the material. This was so beautifully transformed from the book to the stage

I was a huge fan of the book. And so when I heard about the show, I of course went, oh, of course, that's an easy, easy musical

It's going to be, you know, for kids of all ages, really. And they got it right in London, so it was an easy transfer for us

And it's just been a blast. The story is so touching And it's not a kid show

Dahl doesn't write for kids It's for everyone So I think it's been really special

To see adults and kids love it so much It's opening night, how do you feel

Same as I always feel on opening nights here I don't know, this is probably my 10th or 11th show here now

I feel sort of buoyed up by the enormous warmth That there always is an enthusiasm here

You know, we're not very good at that kind of celebration in the UK, to be absolutely honest

Our opening nights are a little bit low-key. So it's fun, and yet it comes at a time when we're all absolutely exhausted

So it's exactly what, it's a kind of shot in the arm. We don't quite know where we are or what we're doing anymore at this point

And what we all need is a few days off. But, no, it's good

It's nerve-wracking, bringing something as unconventional, slightly off-beat as Matilda is to Broadway

because in some ways it's not what people are expecting if they've seen the movie perhaps

or it's not a conventional musical really and so we didn't know whether it would work

but then I keep reminding myself we didn't know the same questions hung over it in London as well

there aren't a ton of shows like Matilda on in the West End either

it's always going to be a little idiosyncratic and a bit different

and it's just a relief to see it landing each time and working in each new audience issue territory

This is without question one of the funnest experiences I had three years of developing something with two people that really make me laugh more than anyone I know We spent a very high proportion of our time just in fits of laughter

But their standards are very high as well. They're funny people, but they're actually very rigorous people as well, both of them

They're very, I want to say, they care a lot. They don't easily compromise with each other

And that's a good sign, I think. You know, they believe, they've got their own values

And so it was fun, but it was rigorous working as a sort of, in a triangle we had

developing the piece. And but I think the kind of, the way that they would each defend their own territory

has resulted in the bar being raised as a result. It's lovely to have, you know, to be here with the RSC opening this great show, Matilda

at the same time as opening Julius Caesar down on the road at BAM. It's a wonderful week for the RSC

So what was it like today for you and tonight? It was a blast

I mean, I kept away from backstage because I knew the nerves would be high

But in the house, there was just a spirit of joy and surprise

That's what's great about this show. You don't expect it to be so funny to appeal to such a wide audience

And there are new jokes that weren't there in Stratford. Or at least I must have missed them when I saw them in Stratford

It's just lovely. It's a definition of pure joy. Tell me what you've learned about the show between Stratford, the West End and now Broadway

I guess there's been the ability to try things out, to try different, I mean, a lot of the work was done before we ever went near rehearsal

But I guess also they used the previews both to work in the four sets of Matildas

but also to work out how it was working in front of an American audience

whether the humour was universal. And, hey, it seems to be so

I was amazed by those kids' British accents. I thought, that was the one thing I was thinking to myself

I know they say it's great. and I know they say they had a good English accents

But my goodness they do. They really, really have worked hard at that. What was tonight like for you

Well, it was great. It just felt like a normal show, really, because, you know, we've been kind of doing it

for five weeks in previews, and you just kind of want to get through it

and have the celebration, and it felt just like any other night

You were stunning in this show. Thank you. Tell me what it's like. Talk about the role that you play

and what you love about her. I love her because I think that she is a survivor in many ways

She's figured out a way to survive and she is still capable of giving so much to her students and, you know, to Matilda specifically

I love her for her vulnerability and her strength. Talk about working with the four different girls, what that's like

It keeps it fresh every day. I mean, they all have different things

that they bring to the table that's positive and so it keeps

it alive for me. I mean, no performance is the same as the one the night before

and that's fantastic as an actor. It's really, really great. I'm talking about working with your husband

Well, he's fantastic and we don't choose to work together that much

because we have three children and that makes logistics a little bit hard, but

it's been a wonderful experience for our whole family and we work really well together, so

I trust him completely. lately. What's made Matilda so special to work on and what audiences are taking away from it

Well, I think there's so many different themes that are thread throughout. I mean

partly that, you know, you could take your own power into your own hands to change how your life's going to turn out

I just love the end line, which is nobody but me is going to change my story. You can't blame it on everybody else

You have to have your own inner strength to get through. life and it's not going to be easy and um that's what it says to me the most you know all of

our effort goes into making the thing and if it's like um acting's like uh sport exactly like sport

you you kind of got to keep your eyes on the um target and it's quite difficult sometimes

to know what the target is but um so all of this stuff is

um like um you know it's like playing to in the biggest stadium in the land isn't it and um you've just got to make sure that you play a good game

and then now you get here and then you know you stick a microphone in my face and i can uh talk about what it feels like

but actually i still uh sort of two hours behind myself thinking you know um It takes a little while to disengage from the kind of focus I think it requires to do a job well So that how I honestly feel

At the same time, I feel amazing. I feel amazing just to be here

The point about this character is that she's larger than life, but she's alive and she's real

And the only way that we can really enjoy her is because we recognize her

we recognize that people like that exist and she you know the dial is turned up on some of these characters but they're not they're not characters that you don't recognize they're people with attributes and ways of behaving that you absolutely see i think dar was really good at that um drawing on things that we all kind of nod to as we're reading and uh thinking yeah that really nails it and the so the point of

about a character like that is that you've got to be able to inhabit this sort of huge thing

at the centre of which is a smaller person than you are often

The same is true of that character. I don't know how people recognise that

I don't know how the casting process is a mystery to most actors. And, you know, which way is the wind blowing on any given night

And I met Matthew. We had a fairly brief chat. I knew his work

I hoped he knew mine. And we went away. And I've got a call 50 minutes later saying, would you like to do it

And I said, yes, thank you very much. You know, that's pretty much how it went. Well, congratulations

You're all making your Broadway debut. How does it feel? It feels pretty amazing

And to believe that we're really making a Broadway debut, it's kind of crazy to think about

because you're like, oh my God. And, you know, the whole time you're doing the show

the audience is black so you can't see them. But when they're in the boughs, there's so much light

And you see, wow, look at all those people. How many you watched us

And, like, it's just so cool. It's so fun. I love, like, doing everything

And, yeah, it's really fun. to me it's just magical it's so amazing

seeing like you just do a show and you tell people a story it's like you're reading from a book

I love it because it's like it's just in Broadway it's just so real when you perform

but like just like any other play but it's just so much

it's just so amazing just being out on that big enormous stage and just telling

that story like working on this show? What has it been like creating it? Um, creating it. You know, when we first

started out in rehearsals, you know, we only knew a little bit. But then when we did the dress rehearsals

it was like, I can't believe I put all this together. So creating it was probably one of the most

interesting things, interesting things that we've ever seen, like, come together. It was cool

seeing the whole process, like one by one kind of like page turning in a book

come all together to the end. For you? Well, we've been working bit by bits in rehearsal

but then when we finally had, like, one rehearsal where we did the whole show, it was like, wow, I never realized that there was that much in it

and it's really, like, so fun to watch and parts you don't do

Well, the creating process was really cool. And when we did the first run through, I felt like I didn't know if I knew the whole thing

and then I did it, and I'm like, wow, that's a lot. Like, when we just did the little parts

I thought that it was a lot less than it actually was all put together. So it was really cool putting it together

Well, like Millie said, it's pretty, it's just, it's like tiny little parts

almost like a cookie, let's say, tiny little parts. And when you put them together, you get this, like, really tasty, enjoyable cookie

So it's kind of like that. R-E-B-O-L-T-I-N

Revolting time! U-S-I-N-G, U-S-I-N-G, U-S-I-N-G, R-E-R-B, R-E-V-R-E-B, R-E-V-V-R-E-V-V-V-T, I and T's 2a8 for you

We are be voting. We are revolting children living in revolting time

We sing, revolting stock. You see, revolting marks. We'll be revolting children, till our revolting time

It's his too and a bit for you. We are rebolting children

We're going to be a revolting time. We'll be our hunting. We wish our revolting life

We'll be a revolting