Peter Marks, Matilda, can you hear me? ( Washington Post, December 21) The best song in the score, which is full of jazzy fun but not always memorable, is an ensemble one, the bittersweet but not saccharine When I Grow Up, which opens the second act. It could be a disaster, but thanks to the cleverness of the show, it somehow is not. Part of the appeal of the show is that the creators - Tim Minchin (lyrics and music) and Dennis Kelly (book) - bet on the ability of a group of kids of varying ages to be a reliable and entertaining ensemble in this show.

In the cast seen last Friday night, young Mabel Tyler was a spirited Matilda, doing remarkable things as actor, dancer, and singer. A former Olympic athlete in the hammer throw, the brutish Miss Trunchbull is also known to hurl children across the schoolyard. Crunchem Hall Primary School is run by a tyrannical headmistress, Miss Trunchbull, who instead of the caning used as corporal punishment during Dahl's childhood in Great Britain, locks children in a torture cabinet known as the Chokey. When she finally gets out of her awful home, it is to go to school, which all children, including Dahl himself, know is the most horrible place imaginable. Dahl's Matilda is a brilliant little girl whose parents openly loathe her. It's a nasty place, filled with rotten people who have no reason to be anything but mean to you, and the only person you can rely on is yourself. Roald Dahl's books are a household favorite at Ionarts Central, featuring children who understand the truth about the world their parents so often try to hide from them.

Matilda the Musical, Broadway Cast Recording (Yellow Sound Label, 2013) A British show premiered in 2010 and showing on Broadway since 2013, it is now on its first United States tour, after having won a pile of awards, all well deserved. It is even better when the work in question is a solid one, entertaining for all ages, and that is certainly the case with this year's option, Matilda the Musical, now playing at the Kennedy Center Opera House. Matilda the Musical National Tour (photo by Joan Marcus)Ī holiday musical at the Kennedy Center is a fun tradition, especially during those days when children are home from school. Bryce Ryness (Miss Trunchbull), Mabel Tyler (Matilda Wormwood), and Company in

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