Two Hunter-Tannersville students will share the title role in “Matilda the Musical,” which opens Thursday, July 2, at the Orpheum Performing Arts Center in Tannersville.
The musical, based on the 1988 Roald Dahl novel, will be staged at 6 p.m. Thursday, followed by performances at 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. Friday, July 3, and a 2 p.m. matinee Sunday, July 5.
Presented by the Maude Adams Theater Hub, which is operated by the Catskill Mountain Foundation, the musical stars Avery Kashman, 14, a rising ninth-grader, and Astrid Conybeare, 12, who is entering eighth grade. The two young performers were double-cast in the title role after a series of auditions.
“It follows the story of Matilda, a young girl who is exceptionally smart and gifted with magical powers as she navigates a school that is not particularly fond of education or children, and two parents who are much more focused on their own lives than they are on her,” said Jake Shipley, assistant director and associate creative director of the theater hub. Shipley also plays Harry Wormwood in the musical.
Shipley said Kashman and Conybeare, who will alternate as Matilda over the weekend, were double-cast after bringing distinct interpretations to the role during auditions.
“We saw them both audition and were just struck by their individual takes on the role and how much they’ve grown as singers in the last few years,” he said. “We wanted to give them both an opportunity to really shine and they have leapt at it. They’ve really blown us away.”
Kashman will perform Thursday and during the Friday matinee, while Conybeare will take the stage Friday night and Sunday. They are joined in the cast by Jessica Gibbons as Madame Agatha Trunchbull and Colleen Weiman as Miss Honey. Trunchbull is the tyrannical headmistress of Matilda’s school and the story’s main antagonist. Miss Honey, by contrast, is a kind, nurturing teacher who recognizes Matilda’s talents.
The show runs about two hours with an intermission.
At a rehearsal Tuesday, Kashman spoke about her experience auditioning.
“Like any audition process, it’s always a little bit nerve-wracking,” she said. “I think it was a good audition process and there were a lot of positive people there.”
Kashman said she was excited to see the way the community responds to the production.
“I think I’m just excited for people to see it,” she said. “It’s a lot of laughs.”
For Conybeare, the chance to perform as Matilda has been a lesson in confidence.
“I doubted myself about it. I was saying, like, ‘Oh, that’s a huge responsibility,’” she said. “I got to the point where I decided what I was going to do, and I thought I’ll go for Matilda and see how it goes.”
Conybeare said she heard she got the role while she was at tennis practice.
“I was stunned,” she said.
Shipley said the production was a chance to get to know the area through the lens of the performing arts.
“There’s no better way of getting to know a community or an area than seeing its locals exist in their natural habitat,” he said. “The Catskills specifically and the mountaintop are remarkably artistic.”
“We’ve got people from every nook and cranny of these mountains,” he said.
Connor Greco is a staff reporter for The Overlook covering Windham, Hunter, and surrounding Greene County communities. Send correspondence to connor@theoverlooknews.com.
