Monday, April 29, 2013

Matilda - the broadway musical soundtrack

I read an article about how the Matilda broadway musical was getting a lot of critical acclaim in London, so I've been listening to this soundtrack.  It is a very mixed bag.  In Les Miserables, there's that kid song "Castle on a Cloud" and a few of the Matilda songs are like that.  A kid sings about her troubles.  These songs are, eh, okay.  Les Mis also has that song "Master of the House" which annoys me.  It's all off-beat honking horns and comical lyrics.  Two of the songs are like that, and I skip them.  (Them being "Loud" and "Telly.")  But there are a few songs that I really, really enjoy.  "School song" "Bruce" and "Revolting Children" feature a whole bunch of kids singing the melody.  It sounds bad, the way I've described it, but it's done so well. It's almost like hearing a boys' choir singing a capella.  "Bruce" and "Revolting Children" also manage to maintain a very quick pace, so it's like a choir but with instrumental accompaniment and songs that tell a story.  Good stuff.

I recently found out that the Trunchbull might be played by a male actor.  This is what comes from only listening to a soundtrack and not actually seeing the play.  But in retrospect, the character does sound mannish, though he does a pretty good job.  His singing does sound a bit like the guy who plays Dolores Umbridge in the second Harry Potter Musical.  The Trunchbull songs are okay.  More comical and less melodic, but still decent.

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