NEWS
DCP’s Connie Company Delivers a Charming Production of “Matilda Jr. The Musical”
The combined ensemble of Big Kids, Adults, and Little Kids infused delightful life into “Matilda Jr. The Musical,” the last production of the 2024 season of Davidson Community Players’ Connie Company.
Staged at the Cain Center for the Arts in Cornelius, the well-paced show was directed by Sylvia Schnople, creatively choregraphed by Jenna Tyrell, with live music under the direction of Vicki Clayton Harvell. Bravo, ladies! A lively musical, with an energetic cast of thirty-five youthful thespians, is a skillful undertaking.
(Sydney Schertz photo)
The artful use of large painted blocks that seem to be shared among Lake Norman stages was impressive. The young actors handled the props skillfully – timely and quietly placing the colorful blocks across the stage for seats, for dances, for platforms, and for the clever concurrence of messages and words.
“Matilda Jr. The Musical,” is Roald Dahl’s version of “Matilda,” the story of the unloved daughter of the Wormwood family. In her unfulfilled quest for love at home, Matilda is shunned by her family. She finds solace in books. In her eventual search while away at school, Matilda encounters the revolting headmistress, Agatha Trunchbull, with whom she matches wits.
Emerson Bishop plays Matilda in the Connie Company’s production of “Matilda Jr,” and Kohen Hamlin performs the dreadful headmistress who claims children are maggots.
Undaunted, Matilda says “nobody but me is gonna’ change my story,” singing “Naughty (Superglue),” adding, “sometimes you have to be a little naughty.”
Matilda finds solace in her sweet teacher, Miss Honey, played by Amelia Rizzardi-Leazer.
Luke Tyrell and Morgan Roof play Matilda’s parents, Mr. and Mrs. Wormwood. Her brother, Michael, is played by Grayson Bohannon.
(Sydney Schertz photo)
The supporting cast includes Hayden Wills as Eric, Valentina Gallicano as Amanda, Jack McRee as Bruce, Brielle Kiser as Hortensia, Mallory Hixon as Alice, and Tucker Shipbaugh as Tommy.
Hadley Lee plays Lavender, Nicholas Underwood is Nigel, Lily Foster plays Mrs. Phelps, Jordan White is the Escapologist, with Hadley Ashcraft as the Acrobat, Nathan Zabinski as Rudolpho, Leo Green as Sergei, and Corbin Chanter, playing the Cook and Mechanic.
The ensemble of Big Kids, Adult singers, and dancers includes Libby Slosson, Jayla Dixon, Kenzy Webber, Brianna Goodman, Ky Barrentine, Natalie Ring, Pyper Grindstaff, Leo Green, Nathan Zabinski, Corbin Chanter, and Kate Mayfield.
Little Kids include Connor Welch, Emmie Jane White, Kinley Anovick, Brooke Mottesheard, Emilia Gregori, Colin Ring, and Lacey Barnes.
The Connie Company will open Davidson Community Players’ 2025 Season with the kids’ popular fishy tale about “Finding Nemo Jr.” on January 30.
Connie Fisher
Connie Fisher, neé Consuelo Carmona, is a Davidson resident who grew up in Mexico City where she became a journalist and acquired a taste for the theatre. Her preference for work behind the scenes led to an interest in writing reviews—Yale Rep among her favorite troupes. Connie is the author of Doing it the Right Way, the biography of an Italian hatmaker. Her prose appears with 87 other international writers in The Widows’ Handbook. An active, founding member of Lake Norman Writers, Connie just released her latest book, "The Mongrel, Bi-cultural Adventures of a Latina-Scandinavian Youth," a memoir about her years growing up in Mexico.