Matilda the Musical

Today we celebrate Broadway divas that we love with Olivier Award winner popping up literally everywhere in whatever town you're in, she'll be there.

From Matilda, Dames at Sea, Gypsy on Broadway, Sweeney Todd in La Mirada, Noises Off in Massachusetts, now heading to Beverly Hills with Joey McIntyre, the woman so talented she doesn't even need to spell her name right.

Leslie Margarita is here, making her third On the Rocks appearance, but the first time in studio with drinks.

I'm with my co-host model musician Steven Dehler and meet your sassy hoes with the sassy most buttons and bows and pantyhose.

Leslie Margarita, Olivier Award winner for her West End debut in Zorro the Musical.

She also recently played the ballet dancing burlesque performer Tessie Tura, Drama Desk nomination, hello, in the Broadway revival of Gypsy starring Audra McDonald.

She originated the roles of Mrs. Wormwood on the original Broadway production of Matilda and Mona Kent for the Broadway production of Dames at Sea.

Off-Broadway, Emojiland, and Who's Holiday, hello Drama Desk nomination, recently starred as Mrs. Lovett in Sweeney Todd, directed by Jason Alexander at La Mirada Theater.

Unbelievable.

And I went to Royal Albert Hall and watched Matilda.

Yes, yes.

You saw old Tilly at Albert's Gaff.

We love it.

What a start to the show already, man.

Talking about Matilda, the Newman family, some Surrey action.

Last year was a good laugh.

Um, just lots of, lots of things, a couple of concussions, a couple of bits and bobs, things like that.

And seeing that, cause then I had to leave, um, to go crew for Matilda.

So I didn't sort of see it right near before they were sort of about to get on stage.

I didn't see the sort of the polishing, the polishing.

get to talk and we get to discuss.

And I can still be a part of it without having to do a show or without doing stuff.

I really felt it with doing Footloose and Matilda and stuff.

I was really knackered.

OK? I can imagine that.

Speaking of musical theatre, I went to see Matilda as well last weekend.

Oh, that's still going, is it? I've been piling them in.

15th anniversary.

Wow.

How was it? She must be a bit old now, Matilda.

I don't think it's the

same one.

And...

This week, the week of recording, Matilda celebrates its 15th year of being in the West End.

I was stunned by that because it just seems like yesterday, and it is a super musical, and you know your writer the creator Tim Minchin an enormously talented man and it's brought great joy what it has done which I think is really important because I was looking at what is the value of things running for as many years as they do and why what is the importance and I think the importance of Matilda is because it has a young cast and it's a wonderful Roald Dahl story fantastic music by Tim Minchin and What is the value of that? And I think the value of that is it has brought a

young audience

to the West End and to theatre, as long as all the other things are...

You know, it's a fantastic show.

And the kids in it are amazing.

And the Matildas...

Yeah.

And that continued for a long time until Dennis Kelly, who's an amazing writer, I don't know if you know his stuff, he's kind of, he wrote Matilda the Musical with Tim Minchin, and he wrote Pulling With Me, my first sitcom, and Utopia, and loads of amazing stuff.

We started writing together, we were in a youth theater, and then we decided, we made each other laugh a lot, and so we started writing sketches, and that's when we went out and started filming things, applying for kind of writing competitions.

And then we won this BBC New Comedy Award.

He was in London doing all manner of showbiz activities.

Well, actually, he was partly here because it's been 15 years that Matilda has been on the West End.

Can you imagine? And he

bought the drinks, I'd hope.

No.

Is it the Cambridge Theatre that it's in? That's going to be there.

Mind you, you know one thing that he said that I did actually find, which I don't think he'll mind me sharing, which I found? really, really interesting is that Matilda, to break even, the break even number for tickets each night is 83%.

So it's like, it's not actually crazy margins for

Mm

... playing Matilda.

Yeah.

Originating the role of Matilda in the, uh, musical.

Yeah.

Um, but, uh, uh-

Yeah.

You know?

to

Matilda.

He will be.

It's a bloody good musical.

Well, no, but he won't be going.

Should

we not go to the FVH live show and go to Matilda? I would love

to see Matilda.