Upper School Presents Roald Dahl’s ‘Matilda the Musical JR.’
Students in Grades 6–9 presented Roald Dahl’s Matilda the Musical JR. in front of a live audience in the Trustey Family Theatre on February 26, 2022. The show marked the first time the Shore community had been able to gather together in person for a performance such as this one since early 2020, when the Upper School staged Once Upon a Mattress just days before the coronavirus pandemic closed schools across the country.
“I am sure I can speak for many in our school when I say that I have missed live performances,” said Head of Upper School Gustavo Carrera. “Live performances bring us together; live performances are an experience we share with each other and with those on the stage. I am so glad that the live performance of Matilda JR. bookended the pandemic at Shore. Matilda brought us all together over the course of Saturday, and we were able to celebrate the exceptional rendering of the play put together by student and adult performers alike.”
According to director and theater arts teacher Sarah Carlin, “The cast and crew worked so hard to bring the magic of Matilda alive, despite living with a pandemic. Managing absences due to quarantine, wearing masks, dealing with rehearsals canceled due to snowstorms—you name it, this group has been through it. I dare say, though, that it made them stronger and tighter as a community, and I am immensely proud of them.”
In this musical retelling of the Roald Dahl classic, Matilda has astonishing wit, intelligence, and special powers. She’s unloved by her cruel parents but impresses her schoolteacher, the loveable Miss Honey. Matilda’s school life isn’t completely smooth sailing, however—the school’s mean headmistress, Miss Trunchbull, hates children and just loves thinking up new punishments for those who don’t abide by her rules. But Matilda has courage and cleverness in equal amounts, and could be the school pupils’ saving grace.
“The production team was excited to produce this Tony Award-winning hit ever since it made its debut on Broadway several years ago,” said Sarah Carlin, who worked with Upper School music teacher and music director Jennifer Boyum, retired third grade teacher and set designer Sam Hamlin, theater manager and technical director Vinny Laino, Upper School history teacher and assistant director/choreographer Sarah Sklarsky, and reading specialist and costume assistant Rondi Kilham to bring the show to life.
Explained Carlin, “It’s a challenging show, with many technical elements, music that is fast-tempo, and lyrics that you really have to spit out and enunciate. It is also dark and somewhat Dickensian, depicting a cruel and unjust environment for children. Yet Dahl believed in the power of a child’s imagination and the compassion at the heart of it. That is what is so inspiring about this show: the way a young child can overcome adversity, believe in their voice, and fight for a better life for all.”
Shore Country Day School’s mission is to provide an education that inspires a love of learning and encourages children to embrace academic challenge. We seek to build character, cultivate creativity, and value diversity as we help our children become healthy, compassionate citizens of the world.
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