BY MICHAEL SOMMERS

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

An extravagant new Broadway musical created from Roald Dahl’s yarn about an eerily brilliant tyke, “Matilda” opened on Thursday at the Shubert Theater.

Matilda’s legions of fans will find most of the story’s incidents and characters neatly incorporated into Dennis Kelly’s script for the seriocomic musical that already has proved to be a big hit overseas for the Royal Shakespeare Company. 

It will be interesting to see whether this curiously dark entertainment will appeal to American newbies, since the musical – for all of its excellence and terrific performances – offers not so much a fantasia as a British youngster’s nightmare.

Plaintive little Matilda Wormwood, who is an exceptionally brainy five-year-old storyteller, is ceaselessly scorned by her cold, crass parents and continually threatened by ogre-like Miss Trunchbull, the kid-hating headmistress of her school. Matilda’s empathetic teacher, Miss Honey, and a friendly librarian, Mrs. Phelps, appreciate the extraordinary child’s gifts but can do little to help her. 

Ultimately the plucky and eventually telekinetic Matilda triumphs over her ugly circumstances thanks, in part, to the unexpected arrival of Russian gangsters in pursuit of her double-dealing dad.

A smart, supple score by Tim Minchin swiftly propels the rather sinister tale with a variety of tunes and spirited rhythms.  Incidents such as one kid’s cake-gorging punishment and a ghastly calisthenics class are wittily crafted as macabre musical theater sequences. A jubilant “When I Grow Up” playground number during which the kids swing out over the footlights, and Matilda’s lovely, reflective “Quiet” solo sweeten a score that more often than not sounds spooky.

Speaking of sound, it often is difficult to grasp Minchin’s lyrics. A thick combination of Brit accents, the naturally piping voices of the kids and questionable sound reinforcement muddy the choral numbers.

Even more troubling, and faithful as the musical’s makers may be to the contents and tone of Dahl’s original, the fanciful show possesses an oddly nasty flavor that other people might savor in recollection of their miserable childhoods but which left me feeling a bit queasy.

Regardless of my taste for the material, director Matthew Warchus’ production of the musical certainly is impressive. Designer Rob Howell contributes a looming setting of Scrabble-like tiles that smoothly reconfigures to provide different locations that are often lit in supernatural shades by Hugh Vanstone.  Warchus stages the busy show clearly and quickly in conjunction with Peter Darling’s nicely mischievous, if strenuous, choreography.

Four youngsters alternate in the demanding role of the heroine. The Matilda I caught is Milly Shapiro, a grave, moonfaced child with a dignified quality that commands one’s complete attention and sympathy. A confident pack of hard-working young professionals expertly portray Matilda’s school chums, their junior ranks augmented by adult performers dressed as kids.

True to British pantomime tradition, the role of monstrous Miss Trunchbull is amusingly depicted by a man. Looking like a neurotic cross between the Hunchback of Notre Dame and Caligula, a hulking Bertie Carvel gives the sadistic headmistress some twitchy mannerisms and an unrelentingly baleful presence.

Garbed as vulgar cartoons, Lesli Margherita and Gabriel Ebert portray the clueless elder Wormwoods with a tireless vigor that becomes somewhat wearying (blame their obnoxious characters and not the actors) while a glassy-eyed Taylor Trensch is droll as their dullard son. Lauren Ward appropriately lends a sweet voice to timid Miss Honey and Karen Aldridge gives her kindly Mrs. Phelps a Caribbean accent and much warmth. Phillip Spaeth as Mrs. Wormwood’s Latin tango partner and John Sanders as Mr. Wormwood’s Russian mobster nemesis have fun with their stereotypical figures.

In spite of the occasional warts that blemish “Matilda,” there is no denying the inventive artistry that has successfully forged Roald Dahl’s saga into a frequently entertaining musical.

“Matilda” continues at the Shubert Theater, 225 W. 44th St., New York. Call (212) 239-6200 or visit www.matildathemusical.com.