Billy Elliot the Forum

Not sure where the best place for this post is, but congratulations to former Debbie Dayna Dixon, as she has been cast in Matilda the Musical!

http://www.pdmanagement.org/news.php

Yesterday I used a stormy London afternoon for a visit at the Cambridge Theatre to see "Matilda", and even though I may have caught a cold from one of the approximately 300 coughing children all around me, I do not regret it. In fact, it was amazing. Both the children and adult cast could not have been better, and the stage is just incredible. I'm one of the biggest BETM-fans, but if I had to vote for that musical award, I think I'd go for "Matilda". It's so much text, the choreography is very complex, the effects are bombastic, the songs are incredibly catchy, everything appears to be high-end-musical-art. Thinking about it, you shouldn't compare it to BETM at all, it's a totally different approach to the genre.

Anna-Louise Knight was a perfect Matilda. How she told the story of the Acrobat and the Escapologist was overwhelming, and the effects and the music bring the world of Roald Dahl really to life in absolute perfection. All in all it moved me to tears almost as much as Billy Elliot did - there's something about revolting children that just does it for me. And in "Matilda", you get 10 of them. (BTW, the boy who played Bruce looked like a young Layton Williams - from my Dress-Circle-seat, that is).

jtsw1 wrote:Yesterday I used a stormy London afternoon for a visit at the Cambridge Theatre to see "Matilda", and even though I may have caught a cold from one of the approximately 300 coughing children all around me, I do not regret it. In fact, it was amazing. Both the children and adult cast could not have been better, and the stage is just incredible. I'm one of the biggest BETM-fans, but if I had to vote for that musical award, I think I'd go for "Matilda". It's so much text, the choreography is very complex, the effects are bombastic, the songs are incredibly catchy, everything appears to be high-end-musical-art. Thinking about it, you shouldn't compare it to BETM at all, it's a totally different approach to the genre.

Anna-Louise Knight was a perfect Matilda. How she told the story of the Acrobat and the Escapologist was overwhelming, and the effects and the music bring the world of Roald Dahl really to life in absolute perfection. All in all it moved me to tears almost as much as Billy Elliot did - there's something about revolting children that just does it for me. And in "Matilda", you get 10 of them. (BTW, the boy who played Bruce looked like a young Layton Williams - from my Dress-Circle-seat, that is).

I am a huge Matilda fan, and I think it's so nice to see past Matilda kids (maggots) in billy, and many Billy children now in Matilda!
the Bruce you saw would have been Remi Gooding - he has a younger brother called Emile, and they are both phenomenal dancers!
Emile especially at ballet, and gymnastics!

Yes, it was Remi. I just learned from the facebook-page that he and the other kids are new in the cast. That is even more amazing. They had a lot of fun on stage and were absolutely professional at the same time.

Plans are in the works to make a movie version of MATILDA THE MUSICAL:

http://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Ti ... l-20150720

casting update for Matilda starting this September:

http://uk.matildathemusical.com/news/3710/

Dayna Dixon will continue in her role as Hortensia.
Sadly, Charlotte Ross-Gower, Imogen Kingsley-Smith and Rory Toms will be departing the show during the cast change weeks.

with other girls leaving the cast in September too, we may see some of them in future groups of ballet girls!

A new trailer has been released, ahead of the show's return to the West End in September. The new cast has been posted in the description section of the video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NjCosN40u94

Here is the first trailer for the movie version of MATILDA THE MUSICAL, due out on Netflix later this year. It looks great!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EzKASl2T9d0