Matilda Wormwood is coming to Broadway. Roald Dahl's classic book, Matilda, is slated for New York theaters as Matilda: The Musical, coming to the U.S. after a critically and commercially successful UK run with Britain's Royal Shakespeare Company.

Matilda: The Musical premiered in Stratford-Upon-Avon in 2012 as Matilda, A Musical, before heading to London's West End in October 2011. Directed by Matthew Warchus (The Norman Conquests), written by Dennis Kelly (Pulling) and featuring songs by comedian Tim Minchin, the show has been a smash hit in England and for viewers across the pond.

Ben Brantley of The New York Times called the Dahl-inspired musical “a sweet and sharp-witted work of translation, which--like its story-spinning title character--turns dark and sodden anxieties into bright and buoyant fantasies.”

Matilda: The Musical addresses and pokes fun at many of the anxieties that plague parents and young adults today, from an ineffective education system and the mind-numbing autonomy of television. But it also dares to delve into the dark underbelly of themes like the consequences of power and the struggle between intelligence and brute force, all of which made Dahl's hilarious and at times unnerving 1988 book so much more than a children's novel.

With unforgettable characters like the terrifying Miss Trunchbull (played in the UK by male actor Bertie Carvel), the desperately sweet Miss Honey and the brilliant, supernaturally charming title character, Matilda: The Musical turns the idea of revolting children, one of the starting parts of the kids-versus-adults narrative, and turns it into a battling cry.

Let's hope the U.S. version does the London production, and Dahl's novel, justice.

Below, check out the trailer for the original UK production of Matilda at Startford-Upon-Avon as well as several clips from the show and photos taken from the London production.

Are you excited for Matilda: The Musical?

Matilda Trailer, 2010

Clips From Matilda Show, 2011

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