Lansing High School continues spring tradition with ‘Roald Dahl’s Matilda: The Musical’

As they moved on from fourth grade into middle school, current Lansing High School (LHS) seniors Isabella Eabson and Audrey Wansink were part of the class that sang “When I Grow Up,” from “Roald Dahl’s Matilda: The Musical” during their graduation ceremony.

At the time, the two had no idea they would be singing that song in the Lansing High School Musical Theater Club’s production of the show eight years later.

“Moments like that are what make the tradition of musicals at the high school and middle school so special,” said producer and director Cindy Howell. She has been directing the fall middle school production and spring high school production since 1989.

“Roald Dahl’s Matilda: The Musical” will be performed at the Lansing Middle School auditorium from March 8 through 11. Performances are at 6:30 p.m. on March 8 and 9 and at 7 p.m. on March 10 and 11. For more information, visit our calendar page or LHS’s Performing Arts Booster Club.

Initially a children’s book, Dahl’s story of Matilda follows a gifted 5-year-old girl who is rejected by her parents, the Wormwoods. Matilda finds comfort and knowledge in the library and the guidance of mentors such as Miss Honey. The exceptionally intelligent and socially adept Matilda is able to escape the clutches of a cruel and demanding head of school, Miss Trunchbull.

Howell said performances like this are possible because Lansing is a community that celebrates the arts. When children get involved in music and the arts in elementary school, they usually stay involved through middle and high school productions.

That was the case with junior Abby Brown, who is double-cast as Miss Honey with Eabson. Brown said that she remembers hearing about  the musical as a child and setting her sights on participating in middle school.

“Growing up around here, I think the musical program is a big part of everyone’s lives,” she said. “I’ve seen my neighbors, my friends, everyone be in it, so I wanted to be a part of that. When I tried it in sixth grade, I loved it.”

Musical director Katie Howell, who is Cindy’s daughter-in-law and a music teacher at LHS, echoed that sentiment.

“If you get started young, it really helps develop your music brain, musical ear and musical interests,” Katie said. “I also notice that younger students are way less inhibited. They’re more willing to try new things.”

Before teaching at LHS, Katie was the music teacher at R.C. Buckley Elementary School. She taught and directed the group of fourth graders who sang “When I Grow Up” eight years ago.

“I think it has a different meaning now,” she said. “Back then, they actually were kids singing about growing up, and now that they’re part way there, it feels a bit different.”

This year’s cast of 56 features several members of the swim team, including sophomore Connor Liajaza, seniors Connor Larratt and Nicholas Hwang and junior Stephen Geise.

Following swim practice after school, which ends at 5:30 p.m., the swimmers go to rehearsal, which begins at 6:30.

Liajaza, who recently qualified for the New York State Public High School Athletic Association Class C State Championships in the 100-meter butterfly and 100-meter backstroke, said that the dedication is worth it to gain memories with his friends.

“Going straight from practice to here is a big time commitment, but I get to hang out with my friends, goof around and have fun doing the stuff I like to do,” he said.

He said that the swimmers who participate in the musical have been known to introduce their teammates to music from shows they might not know, even if some of the teammates don’t appreciate Broadway performances.

“It’s definitely intense, because you go from one thing to the next and then you get home and you have whatever else you might need to do, but it’s all fun so it makes for a good time,” Geise said.

Cindy said that being able to balance sports and the musical is a constant process between her and the coaches, and the relationship has been good. In a district the size of Lansing’s, understanding is key to both the sports and the music programs.

“I learned a long time ago that if we’re going to do a show here, we have people who are doing sports and everything, [and] we have to work around that,” she said. “I don’t cut anyone. If you audition you’re in the show, and then it’s my job to try to make it work. If we cut that [cooperation] out, they’d have to choose.”

An addition to the show is a student rehearsal pianist, junior Domo Ronsvalle. Katie said it is rare for a school musical in a small district to have a student lead the rehearsal piano because the position is one of leadership.

Ronsvalle works one-on-one with the cast, without the direction of Katie. He’s also had to learn the score for the show and the pit orchestra. 

“Domo won’t brag about himself, but he’s a phenomenal musician and pianist, and I don’t know any other student who could do what he’s done,” Katie said. “He’s learned the entire score and he’s learned it twice, come to all of our rehearsals and helped run things with students.”

When Ronsvalle heard what the musical was, he looked at the piano parts and thought it was an opportunity to improve different skills in his musical toolbox. 

“I didn’t know [much] about the musical, but when I went home and listened to it, I thought about playing the piano because there were a lot of cool piano parts and thought it would be a cool experience,” he said.

The show features three lead parts that are double-cast due to concerns about the spread of COVID-19. Matilda is played by juniors Domenica Reeve and Abigail Filva; Miss Honey, Brown and Eabson; and Miss Wormwood, Aubrey and sophomore Valerie Wansink.

The music, Cindy admitted, is more challenging in this show than in others.

“My daughter-in-law [Katie] loves this show. She said to me, ‘We have the kids, do you think we can do it?’ And I said, ‘Sure,’” Cindy said. “This is a hard show, it’s a really hard show. It goes back to ‘what kids do we have and what [do] we think we can do?’ Last year we did ‘Bye, Bye Birdie’ because we had just come out of the pandemic and needed something easy, light, fun and where no one was going to be sad.”

For Valerie, choosing “Matilda” as the musical was especially important. She loved the book as a kid and was engrossed in other Dahl stories such as “James and the Giant Peach” and “The BFG.”

“I loved everything he wrote,” she said. ”[Dahl’s books] were so cool because they had this element of magic and independence of the little kid main character, which you can definitely see in Matilda. It was really cool to see that in musical form.”

Her older sister, Audrey, who sang “When I Grow Up” at her elementary school graduation ceremony, had never performed in the school musical but has been part of the pit orchestra. This year, she was curious about what performing on stage would be like.

There was one roadblock. Audrey didn’t know if nerves would prevent her from being able to sing and perform on stage and out of the pit.

“At first, I had a fear of going on and singing in front of people, because I don’t have that kind of stage presence,” Audrey said. “In order for me to step out of my comfort zone, the musical is really helpful because you have your friends encouraging and helping uplift you while you sing.”

Lansing at Large appears every week in Tompkins Weekly. Email story ideas to editorial@vizellamedia.com.