The fine arts department will perform the school-wide musical, “Matilda,” Jan. 25–28 in the auditorium. Showtimes are at 7 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, and guests can order tickets online or in the cafeteria for $10–25.
“If you’ve seen a Hebron musical, this year is going to be different,” head director Chelsey Thornburg said. “It’s going to be big — energetic. It’s going to be what theater is meant to be.”
Based on the 1996 movie of the same name, “Matilda” is a musical about an intelligent little girl with the gift of telekinesis, who quickly realizes the school she attends is not normal. The professional show traveled to 91 cities and won over 100 awards. Junior Lucy Ward, who plays Matilda, said at first, she felt pressure to live up to the original.
“I have to keep telling myself that I can’t control other people’s opinions on the show,” Ward said. “I’m going to do my best work, and if [the audience] likes it, they like it. If they don’t, they don’t.”
The musical on Saturday at 2 p.m. will feature the understudies, similar to a “swing” in professional theater. This is the second time Hebron has had an understudy show, with the first being “Clue.” “Matilda” will also feature set pieces that move and fly, 12 large moving lights and projections.
“I hope this show redefines Hebron Theatre,” junior student director Grant Koch said. “I want it to leave a positive impact on those who come see [the show]: that they walk away knowing no matter what anyone does or says to them, they can overcome it. They can get back up.”
This is the first musical the department has done as a new director team, with all three theater teachers in new roles after two departures in the department last year.
“It’s been a little challenging going year-to-year without really knowing what to expect,” Koch said. “This year has been really great because [Thornburg] came in with a plan. She told us on day one what she expected and how to meet those expectations.”
After hosting a “Drama Day” for elementary and middle school students, where attendees were taught dances to certain songs in “Matilda,” Thornburg invited six middle schoolers to be a part of the Saturday 2 p.m. showing. It was a similar process to last year’s musical, but it did not take away any acting opportunities for current Hebron students.
“If you do children’s theater right, kids start to realize that theater can be magic,” Thornburg said. “When you have special effects on stage, adults want to reason through ‘How did they do that?’ But to kids, it’s real. We want to bring them that magic, but also invite our older crowds back into the same wonder and weirdness that is childhood.”
