Revolting Children Unite!! Matilda, JR. Makes its Premiere in Sugar Land with Inspiration Stage’s Pilot Production

Matilda, JR. kicks off trio of exciting Inspiration Stage Fall shows, followed by Chitty Chitty Bang Bang JR. and Once on This Island JR., both traveling competition shows

SUGAR LAND, Texas (Sept. 24, 2018) – Sugar Land’s national award-winning community theatre, Inspiration Stage, is excited to be the first theatre to present Matilda JR., with four shows Oct. 12 – 14 at the historic Sugar Land Auditorium, 226 Lakeview Dr.

In cooperation with and at the special invitation of iTheatrics and Music Theatre International (MTI), Inspiration Stage will cooperatively develop, produce, and present the junior adaptation and worldwide premier of Roald Dahl’s Matilda JR.

iTheatrics adapts main stage Broadway musicals so they can be performed by kids in school and after-school settings. They create these adaptations for a distinguished list of clients, including MTI, one of the world’s leading theatrical licensing agencies. Through the pilot process, Inspiration Stage’s reimagining of this new Matilda JR. adaptation will eventually be available for all theatres to license in the future.

Based on Roald Dahl’s Tony-award winning hit musical, Matilda JR. is the fantastical story of a precocious five-year-old prodigy with telekinesis, who faces an uncaring home and overbearing school headmistress, while befriending her maternal and supportive young teacher. The pilot features talented youth from the Sugar Land, Ft. Bend County and Houston areas.

“You can see it in Sugar Land first!” says Mandy Seymore-Sensat, Inspiration Stage’s artistic director. “We’re thrilled to have been chosen as the first theatre to develop and produce Matilda JR. This is a huge honor and so exciting for our talented youth actors and staff. Inspiration Stage audiences are very lucky to have the opportunity to see this new and original adaptation, cast with the area’s best young talent.”

Eleven-year-old Megan Marlowe, a Thornton Middle School sixth grader in Sienna Plantation, is excited to be playing the title role of Matilda.

“This is one of my all-time favorite shows, because of Matilda’s mischievous personality and odd sense of humor, and the shows amazing set and choreography. Each and every character’s complex personality truly makes this show unlike any other,” Marlowe says. “I am so grateful for this opportunity to play Matilda in the premiere of the junior version of the musical.”

In an exciting month, Inspiration Stage will also present Chitty Chitty Bang Bang JR. the following weekend, Oct. 19 – 21. In February 2019, Inspiration Stage will take Chitty Chitty Bang Bang JR. to the Junior Theatre Festival West in Sacramento, where the young actors will perform a 15-minute cut of the musical for adjudicators, and participate in acting, dance and music workshops at the festival.

Ten-year-old Sophia DeOliveira, a Cornerstone Elementary 5th grader living in Telfair, is in the ensemble for Chitty Chitty Bang Bang JR. She says, “When I attended my first JTF West in 2018, I didn’t know what to expect. But the experience was way more than what I could have dreamed about. I loved all of the opportunities that they had for us from all of the classes, to the shows to having our own show showcase in front of the judges and having the honest feedback.”

“I have loved Chitty Chitty Bang Bang since I was five years old, so to be part of the show and take it to Junior Theater Festival 2019 is amazing!” she continues. “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang JR. is a magical, fun, has great music, dance, a lovely story and we have the best cast ever! I can’t wait to show the judges the growth that we had as a Company.”

The first weekend in November offers a third opportunity to see an exciting iStage show. Once on This Island JR. runs Nov. 2 – 4, also at the Sugar Land Auditorium.

The original Broadway production of Once on This Island ran from 1990 to 1991, and its revival is currently still on Broadway after winning the 2018 Tony Award for Best Musical Revival. Once on This Island is a one-act musical, set in the French Antilles, with a book and lyrics by Lynn Ahrens and music by Stephen Flaherty, the prolific duo who also wrote Seussical The Musical, Ragtime and others. It concerns a peasant girl, TiMoune, on a tropical island, who uses the power of love to bring together people of disparate social classes while negotiating mystical forces that shape their lives.

Inspiration Stage will prepare a 15-minute cut of Once on This Island JR. for performance and adjudication at the Junior Theatre Festival Atlanta in January. The advanced young performers in this company will also participate in acting, dance and music workshops.

Greatwood resident Cameron Krouch, a 15-year-old George Ranch sophomore, plays Daniel in Inspiration Stage’s pilot. “Once On This Island JR. marks my fourth JTF, and I am excited to take on this nurturing and empowering musical that tears at the heart and exemplifies the true power of love.”

For tickets and more information, visit http://inspirationstage.com/shows/.

Inspiration Stage is a national award-winning performance arts studio located in the historic Sugar Land Auditorium at 226 Lakeview Dr. The 2018/2019 season includes youth and adult productions, as well as acting and production classes. Tuition assistance is available to qualifying participants. For tickets and information, visit www.inspirationstage.com.

Photos included as attachments.

 

Matilda image caption — Eleven-year-old Megan Marlowe (pictured), a Thornton Middle School sixth grader in Sienna Plantation, is excited to be playing the title role of Matilda.