Matilda opens to rave reviews on Broadway

Even more glorious than we were promised," raves the New York Times. The "flat-out best musical since Billy Elliot," booms Variety. The Hollywood Reporter "can't wait to see it again." Matilda: the Musical, winner of a record-breaking seven Olivier awards in London, has opened on Broadway to a hailstorm of accolades and, with the musical taking more than $4m (£2.5m) during previews, the Royal Shakespeare Company looks to have found a War Horse-style cash cow of its own. New York Times critic Ben Brantley calls Dennis Kelly and Tim Minchin's piece "the most satisfying and subversive musical ever to come out of Britain", adding that its mix of imagination and intelligence is enough "to make this show feel truly revolutionary" in the current Broadway repertoire. Brantley praises almost every single element of the production – and he's not alone. For him, Dennis Kelly's "bright, efficient book" is backed by "addictive songs from Tim Minchin" and is "brilliantly designed by Rob Howell and lighted by Hugh Vanstone, with choreography to match by Peter Darling". Among the actors, Brantley considers Bertie Carvel "incomparable" as the dastardly Miss Trunchbull. Associated Press critic Mark Kennedy goes further, arguing that Carvel's casting is "its most grotesque masterstroke" while the Hollywood Reporter's David Rooney writes, "Carvel has given birth to a magnificent comic creation," he writes, also praising fellow original cast member Lauren Ward for the "touching sweetness" she brings to Miss Honey. Elsewhere, Variety's David Benedict says the show "is so riotously enjoyable that if the figures can be made to work, its future could be limitless". The Royal Shakespeare Company will certainly hope so, but today it has other concerns. Its production of Julius Caesar, led by Paterson Joseph and subject to raves of its own in the UK, opens at the Brooklyn Academy of Music tonight. Print this Article history Stage Musicals · Broadway · Royal Shakespeare Company · Tim Minchin · Theatre Culture World news New York More news More on this story Oona Laurence in Matilda at the Sam S Shubert theatre Matilda is Broadway's new Dahling Review: With its epic burps, parenting parables and anarchic high spirits, it's no wonder the RSC's musical has New York enchanted, writes Emma Brockes Video Oliviers 2012 roundup - video Share inShare Email

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