History Theatre / Matilda

* CrosscastRole: Trunchbull.

* RefugeInAudacity: Miss Trunchbull's standard policy is to punish the kids in ways so outlandish that if they try to tell others about it, no one would believe them. This is something that her book counterpart does as well.

* ScrewDestiny:

-->--'''Matilda''', ''Miracle''
TheMusical based on the Creator/RoaldDahl novel ''{{Literature/Matilda}}'', which opened in Stratford in 2010. Moved to the West End in 2011, cleaned up on every award going, and made it to Broadway in 2013. Once again we follow young {{Bookworm}} Matilda as she contends first with her appalling parents, and then with the far more terrible figure of Miss Trunchbull, monstrous ChildHater and abusive head of Crunchem Hall who intimidates pupils and teachers alike -- only this time we have the whole thing set to songs by Music/TimMinchin.

* AlphabetSong: The "School Song", which teaches the letters during the song by emphasizing them in a sentence (Notably, the letters are mostly emphasized in words that don't start with the letter in question):
-->So you think you're A-ble [able]
-->To survive this mess by B-ing [being]
-->A prince or a princess, you will soon C [see],
-->There's no escaping trage-D [tragedy].
* AnAesop: In "Naughty," the main character comments that while toughing out the hard times is occasionally necessary, ''always'' doing that leads to nothing ever getting better: "If you always take on the chin and wear it / nothing will change." The point of the song, and one of the points of the play as the whole, is to encourage people to make things happen, rather than waiting for their situations to improve.
%%* AlliterativeName: Bruce Bogtrotter.

**
--->My daddy says I should learn to shut my pie-hole,\\

Dad says I should watch more TV.

* AsLongAsItSoundsForeign: Upon ending a phone-call with the Russians, Mr. Wormwood says "Do svi-doo-dah!" a bastardized pronunciation of the Russian phrase "до свидания (do svidaniya)" meaning "good-bye."

* BerserkButton: Don't let that equally-frightening [[SoftspokenSadist soft voice]] fool you. Miss Trunchbull has ''many'' of these.
* BigEntrance: Every one of Miss Trunchbull's entrances (ie. an ear-piercing whistle, shouting, or [[spoiler:[[TheReveal the moment we learn she's Miss Honey's aunt]]]]). Either way, you'll know she's coming. "Miracle" also builds up to Matilda's first appearance.

** Sergei has a small argument in Russian with his [[TheMafiya henchmen]] after finishing his poignant musical interlude. When he sings Matilda's name, his thugs think that he says "да (da)", the Russian word for "yes".

* CanisLatinicus: "What is the school motto, Miss Honey? ''Bambinatum est magitum - children are maggots!''" [[note]]The correct Latin is 'Liberi sunt vermiculos'.[[/note]]

* ChildProdigy: Matilda!

* HeavySleeper: Nigel "suffers from the rare chronic sleep-disorder narcolepsy" -- not really, but Matilda fabricates this lie to save him from Miss Trunchbull's punishment for a wrongly-accused prank.

* InnerMonologue: "Quiet," as Matilda discovers her powers. The world around her continues moving… and then time stops.

''[Silence]''\\

* ObfuscatingInsanity: Miss Trunchbull does this during "The Smell of Rebellion". At the beginning of the song she declares that exercise will somehow make the children fall down and confess to their rebellious nature. While they are exercising, she [[NonSequitur suddenly and completely]] [[BigLippedAlligatorMoment changes her attitude]].[[labelnote:Speech]]Imagine a world with no children/ Close your eyes and just ''dream''./ Imagine... come on, try it, the peace and the quiet/ a bubbling stream/ Now imagine a woods with a cottage,/ and inside that cottage we find/ a dwarf called Zeke, a carnival freak/ who can fold paper hats with his mind, and he says/ Don't let them steal your horses, no!/ Don't let them throw them away, no!/ If you find your way through, they'll be waiting for you/ singing... neigh! Neiiigh![[/labelnote]] Sure enough, this tricks one of the students into saying "She's mad!" and immediately resumes the role of evil headmistress.

* OrphansPlotTrinket: The Acrobat’s white scarf, which she gave to her husband, who then gave it to their child. [[spoiler:Seeing Miss Honey with the same scarf helps Matilda put the pieces together.]]

* PatterSong: This show is full of them -- "Miracle," "School Song," "The Hammer," "Chokey Chant," "Bruce," the 'double-time' portion of "The Smell of Rebellion," and "Revolting Children."

* RaisedLighterTribute: The other kids during ''Bruce''.

* RefugeInAudacity: Miss Trunchbull's standard policy is to punish the kids in ways so outlandish that if they try to tell others about it, no one would believe them.

* ScrewDestiny: ''But nobody else is gonna put it right for me. Nobody but me is going to change my story. Sometimes you have to be a little bit [[NaughtyIsGood naughty]].''

-->''I'm sorry, I'm not quite explaining it right''\\
''but this noise becomes anger and the anger is light''\\
''And its burning inside me would usually fade''\\
''But it isn't today!''

-->'''Full Company:''' ''But nobody else is gonna put it right for me\\

* RefugeInAudacity: Miss Trunchbull's standard policy.

* SadistTeacher: The Trunchbull, naturally.

* SocialServicesDoesNotExist: Unless they're terrified of Miss Trunchbull too!
* TaughtByTelevision: The Wormwoods.

----

No one likes a smart-mouthed girl like me...

* SiblingMurder: When the acrobat tries to cancel a highly dangerous performance due to her pregnancy, her sister([[spoiler: Miss Trunchbull]]), forces her to do the death defying stunt or go to jail. An accident on set causes injuries leading to the acrobats death, with her sister's suspicious smile and lack of remorse suggesting she intended her sibling to die in the performance.

* TheShowMustGoOn: The Acrobat and Escapologist choose to cancel their performance of the greatest feat known to man when they find out she's pregnant. The audience is ''thrilled'' with the news...but the Escapologist's sister (who booked the performance down to the toilet facilities) produces a contract that dictates that this trope must apply or else they will be sent to prison. As the track listing for this stretch of the story on the Broadway cast album puts it, "The Trick Started Well..."
* SinisterSurveillance - Miss Trunchbull's office has a plethora of television screens surveying each room of Crunchem Hall. [[BigBrotherIsWatching She is always watching]]...

* AnAesop: In "Naughty," the main character comments that while toughing out the hard times is occasionally necessary, ''always'' doing that leads to nothing ever getting better: "If you always take on the chin and wear it / nothing will change." The point of the song, and one of the points of the play as the whole, is to encourages people to make things happen, rather than waiting for their situations to improve.

** Matilda has a conversation in Russian with Sergei, the leader of the Russian businessmen, [[spoiler:to keep Sergei's henchmen from hurting her father.]]

* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler:Before the climax, the librarian narrates that there isn't a happy ending, referring to the fact Matilda is still raised by her abusive parents. Though this takes place right before Matilda does get her happy ending.]] It's possible said "unhappy ending" is [[spoiler:alludes to the fact that the Wormwoods would never really change for the better, though there's some hope for Mr. Wormwood.]]
* BooksVsScreens: The play not only has everyone either watch TV or read books with no one doing both, like in the book, but it turns out that the reason why Mr. Wormwood is so BookDumb is because he learnt everything he knows from the television-- this play seems to ignore educational shows.

* ComicallyMissingThePoint: After a doctor berates Mr. Wormwood for smoking a cigarette in a maternity ward, he apologizes profusely- before lighting a cigar instead, "realizing" that situations like these call for "a proper smoke".

-->'''Trunchbull:''' [[ThereAreTwoKindsOfPeopleInTheWorld In this world, children, there are two types of human being]]. The winners and the losers. I am a winner. [[MotiveRant I play by the rules, and I win]]. If I play by the rules and . . . I do not win, then something is wrong. Something is not working. If something is wrong, [[IronicEcho you have to put it right]]. Even if it screams.

* DiesDifferentlyInAdaptation: [[spoiler: In the book, Miss Honey's mother died when she was two years old, of unmentioned causes. In the musical, the pregnant Acrobat accidentally fell during a dangerous stunt that her sister forced her to perform, and broke every bone in her body, leading to her DeathByChildbirth soon afterward.]]
* DontTryThisAtHome: Parodied. At the beginning of the second act there's an announcement warning that the show includes depictions of dangerous activities that the children in the audience should not imitate. But the announcement is being made by Mr. Wormwood, who's referring to ''reading books''.

* DumbIsGood: Mrs Wormwood is a firm believer. ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0sRdrNo3lw You seem to think that people like people what are clever. It's very quaint. It's very sweet. But wrong.]]''

* EvilUncle: Not only does Trunchbull later murder her brother in law and enslave her niece, in this adaptation, Trunchbull [[spoiler: caused her own sister's death.]]

** During the Acrobat and Escapologist story, when Matilda introduces the Acrobat's sister [[spoiler:she imitates Miss Trunchbull]]. It sounds like she's simply drawing inspiration from life, when really [[spoiler:the sister in the story ''was'' Trunchbull]].

* InnerMonologue: "Quiet," as Matilda discovers her powers. The world around her continues moving... and then time stops.
* KindheartedSimpleton: Poor Michael. In the book he used to be just an ordinary kid - stupid compared to Matilda, but so was everybody. Here, he seems to be downright mentally disabled, not doing much other than lying around and repeating the last word he hears someone say. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IAZozLxHvSE TELLY!]]

* PeriodPiece: Downplayed. The Wormwood's "big" telly is a modestly-sized retro model, which displays ''Test Card F'' on its screen[[note]]used until the late '90s[[/note]]. At one point, a woman crosses the stage carrying a C&A shopping bag[[note]]The last UK retail stores closed in 2001[[/note]].* PintSizedKid: The child who portrays Eric is traditionally the smallest, making the character the easiest target for Miss Trunchbull's abuse.

%% * GettingCrapPastThe Radar: Due to overwhelming and persistent misuse, GCPTR is on-page examples only until 01 June 2021. If you are reading this in the future, please check the trope page to make sure your example fits the current definition.

* PeriodPiece: Underplayed. The Wormwood's "big" telly is a modestly-sized retro model, which displays ''Test Card F'' on its screen[[note]]used until the late '90s[[/note]]. At one point, a woman crosses the stage carrying a C&A shopping bag[[note]]The last UK retail stores closed in 2001[[/note]].
* PintSizedKid: The child who portrays Eric is traditionally the smallest, making the character the easiest target for Miss Trunchbull's abuse.

A [[Film/RoaldDahlsMatildaTheMusical film adaptation]] will be released in late 2022.

* PlayingGertrude: Gabriel Ebert was only in his mid-twenties when he originated the role of middle-aged Mr. Wormwood on Broadway. He is only a year older than Taylor Trensch, who played his son Michael.

* EvilTeacher: UpToEleven from the book with spectacular stunts and a memorable VillainSong or two.

* CanisLatinicus: "What is the school motto, Miss Honey? ''Bambinatum est magitum - children are maggots!''"

* RaceLift: Mrs. Phelps is now Jamaican.
** Bruce Bogtrotter is sometimes black.

One, two, three, four - Discip

--->No-one likes a smart-mouthed girl like me.\\
--->Mum says I'm a good case for population control...\\
--->Dad says I should watch more TV.

* AsLongAsItSoundsForeign: Upon ending a phone-call with the Russians, Mr. Wormwood says "Do svi-'doo-da'," a bastardized pronunciation of the Russian phrase "do svidaniya," meaning "good-bye."

** Sergei has a small argument in Russian with his [[TheMafiya henchmen]] after finishing his poignant musical interlude. When he sings Matilda's name, his thugs think that he says "dah", the Russian word for "yes".

One, two, three, four - Discipline, discipline,\\
For children who aren't listening,\\
For midgets who are fidgeting,\\
And whispering in history,\\
Their chattering and chittering,\\
Their nattering and twittering\\
Is tempered with a smattering of discipline.''
** In "Telly," Mr. Wormwood lists a variety of authors and books including Charles Dickens, Mary Shelley, ''Harry Potter'', (Charlotte Brontë in the Broadway production), Jane Austen, James Joyce, Ian [=McEwan=], William Shakespeare, and ''Moby Dick''.
* LongList: Matilda's list of the books she's read in the past few days.
* LongTitle: "The Burning Woman Hurling Through the Air With Dynamite in Her Hair Over Sharks And Spiky Objects Caught By the Man Locked in the Cage" ...and it is the greatest feat ever known to man.
* MeaningfulName: The musical gives this to Magnus Honey. [[spoiler:Magnus means "great", which is a common title for circus performers.]]
* MindOverMatter: Plus some limited clairvoyance this time around? Matilda knows things about [[spoiler:Miss Honey's past]] without realising it.
* MusicalisInterruptus: Appears at the beginning of "The Smell of Rebellion" when Miss Trunchbull interrupts herself to yell at the children:
-->''This school, of late, has started reeking...\\
Quiet, maggots, when I'm SPEAKING!\\
''[Silence]''\\
...Reeking with a most disturbing scent...''
* MyFriendsAndZoidberg: The Wormwoods... and Rudolpho!
* NoFourthWall: Lavender, on occasion, and Bruce when Miss Trunchbull blames Matilda for stealing her chocolate cake. Also Mr Wormwood in "Telly". In the final scene, Mrs Phelps and Miss Honey address the audience directly to describe what happened to each of the characters afterward.
* TheNotSoHarmlessPunishment: Bruce and the cake.
* NotTheFallThatKillsYou: Amanda Thripp falls from the ceiling of the theatre after being thrown by Miss Trunchbull.
* ObfuscatingInsanity: Miss Trunchbull does this during "The Smell of Rebellion". At the beginning of the song she declares that exercise will somehow make the children fall down and confess to their rebellious nature. While they are exercising, she [[NonSequitur suddenly and completely]] [[BigLippedAlligatorMoment changes her attitude]].[[labelnote:Speech]]Imagine a world with no children/ Close your eyes and just ''dream''./ Imagine... come on, try it, the peace and the quiet/ a bubbling stream/ Now imagine a woods with a cottage,/ and inside that cottage we find/ a dwarf called Zeke, a carnival freak/ who can fold paper hats with his mind, and he says/ Don't let them steal your horses, no!/ Don't let them throw them away, no!/ If you find your way through, they'll be waiting for you/ singing... neigh! Neiiigh![[/labelnote]] Sure enough, this tricks one of the students into saying "She's mad!" and immediately resumes the role of evil headmistress.
* OminousMultipleScreens: Miss Trunchbull is looking at them the first time Miss Honey enters her office.
* OrphansPlotTrinket: The Acrobat’s white scarf, which she gave to her husband, who then gave it to their child. [[spoiler:Seeing Miss Honey with the same scarf helps Matilda put the pieces together.]]
* ParentalLoveSong: "I'm Here", sung by the Escapologist to his daughter.
* PatterSong: This show is full of them -- "Miracle," "School Song," "The Hammer," "Chokey Chant," "Bruce," the 'double-time' portion of "The Smell of Rebellion," and "Revolting Children."
* PeriodPiece: Underplayed. The Wormwood's "big" telly is a modestly-sized retro model, which displays ''Test Card F'' on its screen[[note]]used until the late '90s[[/note]]. At one point, a woman crosses the stage carrying a C&A shopping bag[[note]]The last UK retail stores closed in 2001[[/note]].
* PintSizedKid: The child who portrays Eric is traditionally the smallest, making the character the easiest target for Miss Trunchbull's abuse.
* PlayingATree: The opening number features a montage of proud parents boasting about the underwhelming accomplishments of their children; in some productions, this includes a child who was cast as a tree in the school play, whose parents proclaim that they've never seen a tree more convincingly portrayed.
* PlayingGertrude: Gabriel Ebert was only in his mid-twenties when he originated the role of middle-aged Mr. Wormwood on Broadway. He is only a year older than Taylor Trensch, who played his son Michael.
* POWCamp: The gateway to Crunchem Hall looks chillingly familiar. Tall and intimidating, it looks more like a prison than a school.
* PunishmentBox: The Chokey. But at least Miss Trunchbull only has one, right?...
* RaceLift: Mrs. Phelps is now Jamaican.
** Bruce Bogtrotter is sometimes black.
* RaisedLighterTribute: The other kids during ''Bruce''.
* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech:
** "Loud", in particular, is a ''musical'' one delivered by Mrs. Wormwood to Miss Honey.
** As Matilda sings "Quiet", Miss Trunchbull launches into a lengthy, vicious tirade after the former defends Eric against her physical bullying. Mr. and Mrs. Wormwood also have their moments.
* RefugeInAudacity: Miss Trunchbull's standard policy.
* RunningGag: In the first scene, Mr. Wormwood assumes that his new child is a son, and continues to address Matilda as "boy" in every subsequent scene [[spoiler:until the final scene, where he gets it right when showing that he's genuinely going to miss her at least a bit]].
* SadistTeacher: The Trunchbull, naturally.
* ScrewDestiny: ''But nobody else is gonna put it right for me. Nobody but me is going to change my story. Sometimes you have to be a little bit [[NaughtyIsGood naughty]].''
* SiblingMurder: When the acrobat tries to cancel a highly dangerous performance due to her pregnancy, her sister([[spoiler: Miss Trunchbull]]), forces her to do the death defying stunt or go to jail. An accident on set causes injuries leading to the acrobats death, with her sister's suspicious smile and lack of remorse suggesting she intended her sibling to die in the performance.
* ShoutOut:
** To another Roald Dahl work, in the climactic song "Revolting Children": "We are revolting children, living in revolting times/We sing revolting songs, using [[Literature/RevoltingRhymes revolting rhymes]]...
** Or maybe because your largeness/is a bit like the [[Series/DoctorWho TARDIS]]
* TheShowMustGoOn: The Acrobat and Escapologist choose to cancel their performance of the greatest feat known to man when they find out she's pregnant. The audience is ''thrilled'' with the news...but the Escapologist's sister (who booked the performance down to the toilet facilities) produces a contract that dictates that this trope must apply or else they will be sent to prison. As the track listing for this stretch of the story on the Broadway cast album puts it, "The Trick Started Well..."
* SinisterSurveillance - Miss Trunchbull's office has a plethora of television screens surveying each room of Crunchem Hall. [[BigBrotherIsWatching She is always watching]]...
* SocialServicesDoesNotExist: Unless they're terrified of Miss Trunchbull too!
* TaughtByTelevision: The Wormwoods.
-->'''Mr. Wormwood:''' ''All I know, I learnt from...''\\
'''Michael:''' ''...TELLY!''\\
'''Mr. Wormwood:''' ''The bigger the...''\\
'''Michael:''' ''...TELLY!''\\
'''Mr. Wormwood:''' ''....the smarter the man!''
* TooHappyToLive: The story of the Acrobat and the Escapologist boils down to this.
* TranquilFury: The build-up in "Quiet" that leads to Matilda discovering her powers.
-->''I'm sorry, I'm not quite explaining it right''\\
''but this noise becomes anger and the anger is light''\\
''And its burning inside me would usually fade''\\
''But it isn't today!''
* TrophyRoom: ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9o6an0Wf1KM Look at these trophies, see how my trophies gleam in the sunlight, see how they shine...]]''
* TwoLinesNoWaiting: The story Matilda is telling to Ms. Phelps throughout the show? [[spoiler:It's actually Miss Honey's backstory!]]
* TheUnfavorite: Poor Matilda. "My mummy says I'm a lousy little worm/My daddy says I'm a bore/My mummy says I'm a jumped-up little germ/That girls like me should be against the law..."
* WrongfullyAccused: Whenever Trunchbull is pranked, she seems to pick a culprit at random (and almost always gets it wrong).
* VillainousBreakdown: As in the book, the terrifying Miss Trunchbull ''freaks out'' when Matilda uses her powers to [[spoiler:[[ScarecrowSolution impersonate Miss Honey's dead father]], heavily implied to have been murdered by Trunchbull]]. This is the only version of the story in which she does not faint at any point, however. Instead, she is bullied off the stage by the children (and Miss Honey) in complete hysterics.
* VillainSong: The Trunchbull gets two great ones in the form of "The Hammer" in Act 1 and "The Smell of Rebellion" in Act 2.
----

--> And E-ven [even]
* AnAesop: In "Naughty," the main character comments that while toughing out the hard times is occasionally necessary, ''always'' doing that leads to nothing ever getting better: "If I always take on the chin and wear it/nothing will change." The point of the song, and one of the points of the play as the whole, is to encourages people to make things happen, rather than waiting for their situations to improve.

--->My mummy says I'm a lousy little worm.\\
My daddy says I'm a bore.\\
My mummy says I'm a jumped-up little germ,\\
That girls like me should be against the law.\\
My daddy says I should learn to shut my pie-hole,\\
No-one likes a smart-mouthed girl like me.\\
Mum says I'm a good case for population control...\\
Dad says I should watch more TV.

* VillainousBreakdown: As in the book, the terrifying Miss Trunchbull ''freaks out'' when Matilda uses her powers to [[spoiler:[[ScarecrowSolution impersonate Miss Honeys dead father]], heavily implied to have been murdered by Trunchbull]]. This is the only version of the story in which she does not faint at any point, however. Instead, she is bullied off the stage by the children (and Miss Honey) in complete hysterics.

* AlliterativeName: Bruce Bogtrotter.

* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: During "Telly":
-->'''Mr. Wormwood:''' ''Moby Dick''. [''Michael snickers''] Easy grandma...

* AdaptationalAttractiveness: Bruce Bogtrotter may or may not be overweight depending on the child actor who plays him, but is rarely as heavy as he is in the book and 1996 film.