For the first time in five years, the curtain will rise on an Ursuline College Chatham musical production.
The school is presenting the popular “Matilda” – the story of a brilliant five-year-old girl who overcomes obstacles to become her best self.
The bookish youngster faces down neglectful and abusive parents, and a tyrannical not-so-nice school headmistress, in a quest for justice and self-realization.
Producer Jordan Matteis, said everyone involved in Matilda has basically “started from scratch,” as the Covid-19 pandemic spelled an end to live performance at the school.
“It’s been a learning curve,” said Matteis, who leads UCC’s guidance department. “This is our first production since the pandemic and we are thrilled to be back. It’s going to be a great show. “Everything else has slowly come back from Covid. This is the last piece we were hoping to get back.”
Some 75 students are taking part in the show, with Olivia Gregory playing the lead as Matilda Wormwood. The cast is comprised of 25 students, there are 25 students behind the scenes, along with a 12-piece student orchestra.
Construction and visual arts students have assisted with set building and painting. The school has been working on the production since September.
Matilda is the heroine of a novel by British novelist Roald Dahl written in 1988. The book has been adapted to the stage and has also been made into several films including a 2022 musical version on Netflix.
Four performances of the show will be held in the UCC Theatre at 7 p.m. May 1 to 4. For ticket information, visit the UCC box office at https://ucctheatre.sccdsb.net/ticket-info.
