Over-the-top hilariously horrible personalities collide with magically wonderful childlike innocence in an impressive musical performance at Ellison High School.
Ellison Theater is staging the full musical Matilda with showtimes at 7 p.m. Thursday, 8 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday.
Tickets are $10 and can be purchased in advance on the web store or cash only at the door.
Link to purchase tickets:
Photos from a dress rehearsal are loaded at www.killeenisd.org/photos
Matilda began as a children’s novel by Roald Dahl published in 1988 and continued to expand its audience as a fantasy comedy released in 1996 and a stage musical in 2022.
Student actors bringing the show to the Ellison stage this week said they have enjoyed acting the part of annoying children who speak truth into very troubling adult challenges all around them.
Taylen Brunson, a sophomore in just her second year of theater experience has the challenging privilege of singing, dancing and acting the part of a neglected, misunderstood child who is deeply brilliant and even a bit magical.
“It’s amazing to play the part of Matilda,” Brunson said, recalling her experience as a child watching the movie repeatedly with her grandmother.
“We have very different personalities,” she said. “It was challenging to be so childish. I am actually pretty laidback. Matilda bounces with her words. She has a high-pitched English accent. What was exciting was the singing and I do love acting like a little kid.”
Mackenzie Simmons, a senior with long experience on the stage plays the role of the librarian Mrs. Phelps who serves as a much-needed friend and listener to Matilda, her most committed library patron.
“She’s really silly, kind of cooky, she’s an adult, but very childish,” Simmons said of her character. “She’s fun and whimsical and just out there.”
As a senior, she said it is satisfying to work alongside underclassmen taking on the legacy of Ellison theater, something that makes her sad to leave the high school stage. “I love seeing them develop. It’s so sweet and it makes me sad because I’m leaving.”
Audiences, she said, will enjoy the fun, colorful show with its bright sets and singing, dancing teenagers acting like children.
Stage manager Jadeyn Monroe, a junior and experienced actress enjoyed her first go at the technical side of theater.
“I like Matilda. She’s a little girl who knows so much. Her parents are so rotten it’s comical,” she said.
Audiences have much to look forward to from Matilda.
“They will enjoy the accents, how kid-like we are. We are being really annoying, but also fun. There are so many colors. It’s so eye catching,” said Simmons
“They will love the humor, and these little kids are standing up for what’s right,” Brunson said. “They are all something different.”