Show Synopsis:
Matilda Wormwood grows up with parents who did not want her and regularly insult her, as opposed to other parents who compliment and coddle their children. She reads far beyond a normal child's reading level and is extremely clever for her age, making up stories that she tells her local librarian. When she's old enough, Matilda goes to school, where she astounds the teacher Jenny Honey, but the domineering headmistress Miss Trunchbull does not believe anyone should be moved out of the grade level their age dictates them to be in. Jenny encourages Matilda to read and learn more on her own and tries to convince her parents that they should help Matilda expand her knowledge. The Wormwoods tell Jenny she thinks about books and knowledge too much, which are not as important as looks and popularity and will never help anyone succeed in life. Matilda tells the librarian a story about an escapologist whose beloved wife died after giving birth to their daughter. The daughter grows up largely chaperoned by her abusive aunt, but when the father realizes how cruel the woman has been, he goes to deal with her and disappears forever. Matilda tries to lecture her father on his deceitful financial dealings with wealthy Russians buying his used cars, but he locks her in her bedroom in anger. Matilda gets angry at Miss Trunchbull when she is cruel to her classmates and knocks a water jug on her without touching it, causing Matilda to realize she has telepathic powers. Matilda tells Jenny about her powers and the abuse that she endures at home, and when Jenny shares her own story of childhood abuse, Matilda realizes that she did not make up the story of the escapologist and his daughter - it's the real story of Jenny's childhood. Miss Trunchbull has taken all of Jenny's money and her father's house, so Matilda uses her mind to write a message from Jenny's father on the classroom blackboard to Miss Trunchbull to scare her into giving it back. Miss Honey becomes the school headmistress when Miss Trunchbull disappears. The Russian mob comes to deal with Mr. Trunchbull's broken-down cars and Matilda's parents try to take her to Spain, but instead she speaks Russian with the mobsters and manages to appease them. In gratitude, Mr. Wormwood tells Matilda she can live with Miss Honey.

Character:
Matilda Wormwood, a precocious five-year-old who wants to stand up for what's right; loves books and fantasizes quite a bit.

Song Context:
Mr. and Mrs. Wormwood have been mistreating Matilda - again - but she knows that adults do not always know best, and she can get back at them in her own subtle ways. She adds some of her mother's perioxide to her father's hair oil and it turns his hair green in retaliation.	

Fun Facts:
1. This musical was based on the famous children's novel of the same name by Roald Dahl. 
2. The role of Matilda is alternated between four young actresses, and on the West End, the role was originated by Eleanor Worthington Cox, Sophia Kiely, Cleo Demetriou and Kerry Ingram. In an interview with The Guardian, Demetriou sai that "we all like Naughty and the reason is because we get to do stuff we don't usually do." 
3. In the same interview, Kiely described Matilda as "intelligent and powerful...confident to say what's right, when something is wrong."