The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
‘Matilda’ from the heart
Podium Players take on musical about girl with ‘psychokinetic powers’
EAST HAMPTON — Nearly 50 local actors will hit the stage beginning this weekend for Podium Players’ rendition of the hit Broadway show “Matilda the Musical,” for eight performances over the next two weeks at the high school.
Based on Roald Dahl’s children’s book classic, the Tony Awardwinning musical is about a little girl with “astonishing wit, intelligence, and psychokinetic powers,” who manages to overcome several hurdles thrown at her, including rejection from her parents and a headmistress, the mean Mrs. Trunchbull, who hates children and enjoys thinking of new ways to punish them, according to the Players’ website.
The show is directed by Valarie Bozzi of Wallingford, produced by Jordan Werme of East Hampton, choreographed by Amanda Nelson of Colchester and musically directed by Jackie HarrisStone of Farmington.
Actors from several neighboring towns, including Columbia, East Haddam, Glastonbury and Marlborough, also have contributed their talents to the production.
Matilda will be played by 13yearold Allison Pietruszka, of East Hampton, who’s been acting and dancing since she was 5. Some of her favorite roles include Clara from the “The Nutcracker” and Molly in “Annie.”
Pietruszka said she was “very surprised” and “tonguetied” when she received the news in June that she had been
Valarie Bozzi, director, on Allison Pietruszka, who plays Matilda
cast as the star of the show.
Bozzi said she discovered Pietruszka had something special in her personality that she couldn’t quite explain, which led her to cast the youth.
“There were a lot of girls who could sing it, but I think we all felt like there was something extra in her,” Bozzi said. “When she read, she had this real razor focus about what she could do. I now know that we made the right decision.”
Pietruszka wasted no time learning all the songs in the show, many of which are challenging, she said. Pietruszka shared her top two favorites.
“I don’t even sing ‘School Song,’ but I just love it,” she said. “And I really love the choreography that goes with ‘Naughty.’”
A challenge taken on by all the actors was to learn to speak in a British accent. When asked how her efforts were coming along, Pietruszka replied, in her best impersonation: “It’s going very well, thank you.”
Pietruszka also shared who she thinks is the funniest character in the play.
“Definitely Mr. Wormwood,” she said.
“When she read,shehad this real razor focus about what she could do.”
“He just has that goofy personality and he’s not intelligent.”
Played by Keith Cummings of East Hampton, Mr. Wormwood is Matilda’s father, who rejects her quest for knowledge and favors his son, who follows in his footsteps. The character is a used car salesman who’s learned about life from watching television.
Pietruszka said the show will make children and adults laugh, and teach them many lessons, especially that, “Even if you’re little, you can do a lot.”
Matilda’s teacher, the motherly Miss Honey, will be played by Kristina Pugatch of Colchester.
An Oklahoma native and registered nurse, Pugatch said she relates to Miss Honey’s “sweet” and “mild” character. “Matilda” was one of her alltime favorite books growing up, she said.
While Pugatch is relatively new to theater, having acted in her first performance in 2017, she has been singing on stage since she was 9. Her mother, who overheard her daughter singing in her bedroom as a child, recognized her talent and enrolled her in vocal lessons.
Pugatch went on to sing in commercial jingles, at local fairs and various other venues, including a halftime show at Oklahoma State University when she was 11. Pugatch said guests should expect dynamic musical numbers, some funny moments, and “a really sweet story with a really touching message.”
Bozzi, a member of Podium Players since the mid1980s, has directed dozens of shows for both children and adults, but has a keenness for working with children, she said.
Bozzi spent several months researching and exploring the show’s materials prior to the first rehearsal in August. Auditions for the show were held in June. “The show sparked my imagination, and it was something I couldn’t get out of my head,” she said. “I liked that it wasn’t realistic.”
“I thought about what’s the motivation of each small part of the play, and then I try my best to impart that to the cast,” Bozzi said. “I’m very much about the emotion of the play. I really want that empathy to come out. It has to come from their center. It has to come from their heart.
“Everybody goes through transformation in this play, and that’s where that feeling comes in,” she said. “This show has many layers. I hope people get drawn into the tender moments really deeply, and I hope they have fun with the humorous moments. That’s what I’m hoping for.”
Bozzi said the audience should expect “Lots of surprises and lots of technical wizardry.”
“There’s so many technical things that are very different than anything I’ve ever done before,” she said. “There’s things that happen in this show that are highly complicated and we’re going to do our best to pull them off.”
The show will run for two full weekends: Fridays at 7:30 p.m., Saturdays at 2 and 7 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m.
For tickets, visit podiumplayers.org.