The story of Roald Dahl's Matilda is one of a precocious girl who overcomes negligent parents and a tyrannical headmistress to find freedom and fulfillment. In short, it's about surmounting major obstacles with a little ingenuity and camaraderie. And telekinesis.
For Lake City Playhouse, which is about to stage a new production of the children's-novel-turned-West-End-musical, Matilda herself might seem like a kindred spirit. The Coeur d'Alene-based community theater has faced its share of hardships just getting this show off the ground. The current run marks the third time that they've attempted to bring it to the stage.
The first foray was, like so many things, scuppered by the pandemic. Lake City Playhouse held auditions for the show but then closed its doors in early 2020 on account of COVID precautions. When the theater reopened a little over a year later, it was, according to Matilda director and Playhouse Board President Brooke Wood, in a comparatively strong position.
"We had shut down in time, we had saved our money, we had received some donations, and we were really smart with it. So we were coming out of COVID with some money to do some things to the building, like update our heating system, update our AC, update some of our lighting," she says.
Thus began the second attempt to stage Matilda. But then a primary water pipe broke below the main floor.
"It cracked, and the water went into the basement, which is where all of our costumes were," she says. "And it was located underneath our bathroom, which also blew out all of our bathroom pipes."
That left the costumes and bathrooms ruined. When they tore into the walls to assess the damage, they uncovered additional structural defects. Meanwhile, the cost of materials skyrocketed, and their insurance company determined that reconstructing the historic building's bathrooms to meet mandatory ADA compliance wasn't the same as replacing them — and therefore wasn't covered. On top of that, feral cats got into the unoccupied building and caused further damage. The total repair bill was around $125,000.
Despite the setbacks, which rendered the facility itself virtually unusable, Wood and her colleagues chose to soldier on by raising the money to save the theater and finding a way to produce shows. When the nearby Salvation Army Kroc Center gifted Lake City Playhouse time on its stage, they decided to give Matilda a third go.
"At one time, we thought maybe we'd do something different. But we had already paid for the rights to this show. It would have been like losing $9,000. So we recast Matilda, because my original cast was now three years older... but I told the adults that if they were willing to stay with us, that role would be theirs," says Wood.
Three key actors stuck it out.
"My Miss Trunchbull is the original Trunchbull. My librarian is the original librarian. And my Mrs. Wormwood is the same actress. And what's really funny is that some of the kids that were little in the first cast are now playing the teenagers in this show," she says.
As if to highlight the demand for what Lake City Playhouse offers, 80 children auditioned during the most recent casting call. Among them was 9-year-old Eloise Peltekian, who was cast in the title role. Although she's only been on stage for about a year, she's participated in several local Christian Youth Theater productions during that time and has also done professional voiceover work.
"It's like my dream role. Before I even knew they were doing Matilda I learned the song 'Quiet.' I saw both films, and I read the book," Peltekian says.
Since then, along with "Quiet," the song "Revolting Children" and its accompanying dance have become a high point for her.
"It's a really good show, and I really like the character of Matilda. One of my favorite parts of it is that I get to hang out with all my friends. I have a friend named Kylie who's playing Lavender, and she's Matilda's best friend in the show. So I don't have to act too much when I'm meeting her for the first time."
Enabling that space for friendships and socialization, says Wood, "speaks to the fact that we need brick-and-mortar theaters" like Lake City Playhouse.
"The biggest thing about Matilda is that it gives us the opportunity to have a lot of different ages on stage. That's an important piece of what community theater is — allowing people who are in their 50s to work with a child who's 7, and for all of them to experience this together and learn from each other," she says.
"But I've loved Matilda since I was a kid. Anything that talks about being strong and fighting for what you believe is right is the most important message we can give to people." ♦
Matilda • Oct. 20-29; Thu-Sat at 7:30 pm, Sun at 2 pm • $30 • Salvation Army Kroc Center • 1765 W. Golf Course Rd., Coeur d'Alene • lakecityplayhouse.org • 208-676-7529