"In some ways, the original innocence of the piece has been lost. There’s a harder-edged quality to the New York staging: the general tenor is louder and more exaggerated...but the tremendous heart and intelligence of the piece remains undimmed."
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"One of the greatly appealing things about Matilda is the way the musical conjures up a special world with its own distinctive people and rules of behavior. With its pizazz, humor, style, intelligence and all-around entertainment quotient, Matilda is far and away, the best new musical seen this season."
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"The show's over-the-top level can be tiring--almost running over the audience--and a lot of the songs are wordy emissions that sound more work-in-progress than classic stage tunes. Still, it's a kiddie show done with spirit, audaciousness, and a minimum of cheap sentiment. Matilda will surely go waltzing home with some Tonys."
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"It relies on loud noise, constant aimless movement, an incessant barrage of flashing lights, and trick effects...The show’s oddity is made even odder, in Warchus’s largely thug-handed production, by its occasional lapses into tenderness and quietude, which feel less like the musical theater’s customary changes of pace than like the moments of exhaustion that follow manic episodes."
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"One of the most ambitious, energetic and technically mind-blowing stage musicals ever. Everything here, from Peter Darling’s acrobatic choreography to Rob Howell’s unique set, make it difficult to leave the theater without feeling, as the Brits say, 'gobsmacked.' Tim Minchin’s score is rich and textured on so many levels...From the opening number to the finale nothing here is conventional, but it all works, making 'Matilda' an instant classic."
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"The most engaging theatrical evenings on Broadway of the past few years need no stars to work their magic. Matilda belongs in such company. I found the songs fairly disposable, the storytelling a little slack, and the sound design muddy...But both kids and adults can watch this marvellous production and experience an escape from the usual Broadway-musical fare, which treats them as dolts."
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"Matilda arrives in New York with plenty of hype and awards, and it mostly delivers a thrilling blast of nasty fun, even if it's a bit swollen and in need of some fine-tuning."
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"Except for a bit of tedium in Act II, 'Matilda' delivers an enchanting and magical theatrical experience to audiences both young and old."
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