The Broadway producers of Matilda the Musical apparently decided that if they were going to release an original cast

album, it better be damn good. They not only achieved their goal, they did what no London-to-Broadway transfer has been able to do since Patti and Mandy headlined Evita back in !"#$ Matilda%s &B'( surpasses its )tratford predecessor to become the definitive version of Tim Minchin%s Tony-robbed score. *hat does it have that gives it that distinction+ 1. It Has The Full Score (Well, 99% Of It) *hereas the )tratford album only had the main songs, this one includes the entire score, starting with a fairly ominous, ,othic-sounding overture that fi--les into the instrument warm-up that opens .Miracle.. /lso included are .'hokey 'hant., the older students% 0successful1 attempt at scaring everybody but Matilda2 all four parts of the /crobat 3 4scapologist saga, which is placed at strategic intervals throughout the show2 and the .'halk *riting. that gets rid of Miss Trunchbull, and immediately precedes .(evolting 'hildren.. /s an added bonus, it also has the arrangement of .5aughty. that featured prominently in the London company%s promotional appearances, with all four Matildas singing together2 and .Perhaps a 'hild., a cut song that - best as 6 can figure out - is sung by the (ussian mob leader, first to the *ormwoods and then to Matilda. 6t%s not that great of a song, but 'hris 7och%s rich, deep bass-baritone voice is definitely a welcome sound. The only thing missing is the wonderfully imaginative 4ntr%acte. 2. It Shows Off New Orchestrations 8anny Troob%s orchestrations for Cinderella are actually really good, but they%re 9ust icing on (odgers 3 7ammerstein%s cake. 'hristopher 5ightingale has e:panded his first-rate )tratford orchestrations for an orchestra of fourteen 0more than likely ballooned to several do-en for the recording1. ;rom a trumpet solo behind ,abriel 4bert%s vocals towards the end of .Telly. to an accordion playing staccato notes as Trunchbull grills Bruce during the spoken introduction to .Bruce. 0and the string part added during the chorus of that song1, 5ightingale never makes a misstep with his orchestrations. Many of the songs pack an e:tra punch of humor because of his strategic placement of horns and woodwinds. More than almost every other orchestrator represented this season, 5ightingale adds an e:tra dimension to the composer%s 0Tim Minchin%s, in this case1 score and catapults it into the stratosphere. . !ertie "ar#el an$ %auren War$ (&lus So'e Other (an$o' &eo)le) Bertie 'arvel won the &livier /ward for his performance as Miss Trunchbull, and almost won the Tony 0he and Billy Porter were neck-in-neck2 6 didn%t come across a single commentator who was willing to call the race. 6t was that close.1. 7e only sings twice in the show - .The 7ammer. is a semi-duet with Lauren *ard in the first act, and he is given a bona fide second-act showstopper in .The )mell of (ebellion. - but twice is more than enough to convince you that he really should have been invited onto the (adio 'ity Music 7all stage with Billy Porter. But the best argument for his brilliant

portrayal is that he played Leo ;rank in 8onmar *arehouse%s Parade in <# # -- and got rave reviews. 7e then turned around, put on a miniskirt, and won an &livier. Lauren *ard%s Miss 7oney has more of a presence in the show 0and album1$ three solos 0one of which turns into a duet1 and a part in two group numbers. 7er performance takes a featured role and makes it the heart and soul of the show 0and score1. 7er rendition of the yearning eleven o%clock ballad .My 7ouse. is the most emotionally fulfilling moment of the entire show. *. The +eliciousl, "le#er %,rics Tim Minchin is an /ustralian comedian known for his wordsmithery. 7is songs rarely have one-note humor2 there%s always some unstated thought or feeling lurking 9ust beneath the surface. 7is entire canon is also rather dark, two =ualities that are very wellsuited to 8ahl, whose books, Matilda especially, were infused with a cynic%s dark humor deftly balanced with understated human emotion. Minchin%s score captures that perfectly, but it%s his deliciously clever, .hey-look-at-me>. lyrics that are most effective at establishing that tone. 5owhere is this more apparent than in .Telly., where Mr. *ormwood gleefully demolishes nearly every ma9or 4nglish author$ .*hy would we?*aste our energy?Trying to work out @lysses?*hen we *ho the dickens is 'harles 8ickens+?Mary )helley+ ,osh, she sounds smelly.?7arry Potter+ *hat a rotter>?Aane /usten in the compost bin?Aames Aoyce doesn%t sound noice?6an Mc4wan+ @gh> ;eel like spewin%..
Bertie 'arvel, Lauren *ard, and the four Matildas

/nother song, .)chool )ong., is ingeniously structured around the twenty-si: letters of the alphabet, and .Bruce. contains the delightful .Bruce?5ever again be sub9ect to abuse?;or your immense caboose?)he%ll call a truce, Bruce?*ith every swallow you are tightening the noose.. Minchin%s rhyming is not only clever, but it serves the story and characters. ;or instance, .soldier., .told ya., and .older. don%t rhyme... unless you sing it with a middle-class London accent tinged with a little bit of 'ockney. 'oincidentally, that happens to be the accent that the characters in Matilda have. Howe#er... This recording is far from perfect. /lthough it%s the most complete recording of Minchin%s score available, the Broadway producers neglect to include the hugely en9oyable 4ntr%acte, and many of the background ensemble parts get lost in the e:panded orchestra. The latter complaint is particularly noticeable in many of the later tracks, including .*hen 6 ,row @p., .The )mell of (ebellion., and .(evolting 'hildren.. /lso missing is Miss Trunchbull%s delicious scenery-chewing monologue that provokes Matilda to sing .Buiet. 0included as a secret track on the original )tratford recording1. /nd while 6%m grateful that

.Perhaps a 'hild., the cut song that%s included in the delu:e edition, is written for and sung by a deep baritone, it%s really not that great of a song. )urely there was a better song that was cut during workshops or early in the original )tratford run that producers could have included+

Lesli Margherita 0Mrs. *ormwood1 blasts her way through .Loud.

/ny minor =uibbles 6 may have are more than outweighed by the infectious 9oy coming out of my iPod almost nonstop. )eriously, 6 haven%t been able to stop listening to it. 6t%s 9ust that good. 6f you haven%t yet bought your digital copy, what are you waiting for+ 6t%s only C".!! at /ma-on, and the delu:e edition 0which includes a cut song and .5aughty. sung by all four Matildas1, released only on iTunes, is available for C D.!!. ;urther reading$ Eevin 8aly%s masterful review of the original )tratford recording