Rexburg Community Theatre is bringing Roald Dahl’s beloved “Matilda” to life on stage. Directed by Sadie Steel with the help of a passionate team, they are determined to capture the magic of the classic story. The production is set to showcase the talents of those in the community.
“Matilda has been one of my favorite books,” Steel said in an interview with BYU-Idaho Radio. “When the movie came out in the ‘90s, it was one of my favorite movies of all time. When I saw the musical, it just added to my love.”
Steel took on the challenge of directing the musical and assembling a team of dedicated individuals, both on and off stage, to help bring the magic to life. Steel was surprised at the impressive turnout for the auditions and was even more impressed by the talent of the young actors and actresses. This year, the theater tried out digital auditions and allowed participants to submit vocal and dance performances online.
“We were amazed that every person who auditioned did an incredible job with the dance. It was so much fun that our main choreographer decided, ‘You know what, we can’t cut anybody,’ so we have an amazing ‘Revolting Children’ ensemble,” Steel said.
Now that Steel had found her on-stage cast, she needed to find the production members to help with set design and other behind-the-scenes work. Lizzy Pingry, the stage manager of the production, along with other volunteers and helpers from the community, had the hard assignment of making Matilda’s powers doable on stage.
“We’re working on right now the chalkboard, and at the very end of the show, I don’t want to give spoilers away, but some magic happens with the chalkboard, and we have to make that happen on stage without anybody seeing us,” Pingry said. “Making on set magic is just special to see come together. I’m excited to see what it looks like on stage.”
Performances of Rexburg Community Theatre’s “Matilda the Musical,” will be June 21, 22 and the 24. To purchase tickets, you can find them online at rctheatre.org.