REVIEW: Matilda Jr. showcases bright young thespians honing their skills

Curtain Call Performing Arts Company’s sold-out run of the popular musical promised a ‘joyous romp,’ and it delivered in impressive fashion.

Late last week, local performing arts company Curtain Call held four sold-out performances of the musical Matilda Jr., the culmination of its 2026 intermediate musical theatre program with performers ages 10-18.

At the centre of the story is Matilda Wormwood, a clever little girl who loves reading and maintains an indomitable spirit despite daily verbal abuse from her horrible parents as well as mistreatment by her sadistic (and hideous) headmistress Miss Agatha Trunchbull. Matilda and her classmates, called “revolting children” by Trunchbull, withstand hardships, pull pranks, and overcome obstacles with heart, humour and a dash of rebellion. Matilda stays true to herself while helping the teacher who believed in her to reclaim her life, and even reveals a special talent.

Curtain Call promised a “joyous romp,” and it delivered. I’m always impressed at the dedication, commitment and focus shown by its young performers, and this production was no exception. The musical is described by Musical Theatre International as being full of “high-energy dance numbers and catchy songs,” and this was certainly true of Curtain Call’s Matilda Jr. A packed house of all ages appeared captivated and delighted by the songs and complex dance routines. 

These routines are especially notable for having been nimbly designed by choreographer and co-director Kat Baranowski, and executed smoothly despite the large cast and the relatively small stage. At times over two dozen performers moved fluidly and without a stumble or mishap, a testament to the remarkable level of skill development nurtured by this theatre company. Along with the swirl of movement, a series of strong vocal performances carried the story along under the vocal and co-direction of Danielle Viola. With so many moving parts and people, I can only imagine with awe the efforts contributed by stage manager Mary Bergin (as well as technical director Zachary Viola) to make these busy proceedings succeed.

Matilda Jr. is the youth version of Matilda or Matilda the Musical (2012), based on the 1988 eponymous novel by Roald Dahl. The musical had its West End premiere in November 2011 at the Cambridge Theatre and its Broadway premiere in April 2013 at the Shubert Theatre. Dennis Kelly wrote the book for both versions of the award-winning musical, receiving a Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical. Kelly also wrote the screenplay for the film adaptation of the musical released in 2022, starring Alisha Weir, Lashana Lynch (James Bond’s No Time to Die), Stephen Graham (of Adolescence fame), Andrea Riseborough, Sindhu Vee, and the incomparable Emma Thompson as Miss Agatha Trunchbull. This is in addition to the 1996 American film co-produced and directed by Danny DeVito and featuring Mara Wilson, DeVito, Rhea Perlman, Embeth Davidtz and Pam Ferris.

Matilda and Matilda Jr.’s music and lyrics are by Tim Minchin, a musician, comedian, composer and actor who has been the composer/lyricist behind two hit musicals, Matilda and Groundhog Day, both of which won the Olivier Award for Best West End Musical and were nominated for Best Score and Best Musical at the Tony Awards. Matilda the Musical won seven 2012 Olivier Awards as well as five statues at the 2013 Tony Awards. Hilariously, Miss Trunchbull was played in the West End and original Broadway productions by Bertie Carvel (recently seen in a very different role as Prince Baelor in HBO’s A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms).

The strongest criticism I have of the production relates to the sound; specifically, the performers’ mics were set at too high a volume. It negatively impacted the ability to follow the story, one I was not overly familiar with, and occurred throughout the performance. At a few points, I could hear the reactions by other audience members, flinching at especially loud noises or shouts. Unfortunately, this did a disservice to Mae McCrory, who performed the key and challenging role of Miss Trunchbull with a great deal of commitment and chilling enthusiasm. Much of Trunchbull’s lines are delivered at high volume already, or else are bitten off abruptly and sarcastically. Since the volume was set so high, I’m afraid I could only follow about a third of what the sinister Trunchbull was howling to the “revolting children” under her charge. It was an opportunity lost.

I must mention, however, that the young performers did a wonderful job with their English accents. Accents can go very, very wrong, and kudos to the cast for finding such a great balance and tone to their voices. Also, during the last number titled “Revolting Children,” Savannah Van Roon (as Bruce) displayed some seriously impressive pipes that I hope we hear more of in future.

Olive Heywood made Mr. Wormwood the man we loved to hate for his warped values and cruel jabs at Matilda. Sloane Richmond created a trashy kind of “anti-Matilda” in her Mrs. Wormwood, a superficial, selfish and materialistic woman. Lucas Pearson as Matilda’s simple-minded (but favoured) brother Michael didn’t have many lines but made them all count, eliciting lots of chuckles from the audience.

And as for Matilda, played by Elizabeth George? The production found a wonderful, believable Matilda in George, who succeeded in making the character that holds the whole story together such a winsome, clever, courageous, and creative young person with a lovely singing voice.

Up Next:

Footloose: The Musical

July 2 to 4, Gasworks

Footloose will result from Curtain Call’s Musical Theatre Intensive program for emerging youth and adult artists (13-30) pursuing careers in the arts. Audition-based, the program runs twice weekly from May 13 to July 4 at Gasworks in downtown Hamilton.

Past productions have included 13 The Musical, Heathers, Cabaret, Into the Woods, The Lightning Thief and Rock of Ages. Buy your tickets early; Curtain Call shows sell-out quickly!

For more details, visit here.

Pippin

Aug. 14 to 22, Gasworks

Curtain Call’s Passion Project series runs full-scale musicals with high-level performers who have post-secondary training in the arts or experience performing in shows around the Greater Hamilton and Toronto area. As the CCPAC website says, “the intent of the Passion Project Company is to give professionally trained performers in Hamilton and surrounding areas an opportunity to work in an environment that encourages experimenting and working together.”

There is currently an audition call for the upcoming production of Pippin, as well as a production call for the choreographer and vocal director roles for the same production. Find the full details on the website here.