Original article was published on ConroeToday.com by Conroe Today Staff on 3/27/25. Adaptations to the article made on 4/7/25.
A children’s classic took place on stage at the Gerald D. Irons, Sr. Junior High School during the week of March 23rd - March 28th.
Matilda the Musical Jr is a musical adaptation of the Roald Dahl classic ‘Matilda,’ the story of a young student who gains telekinetic powers and leads her downtrodden fellow students into a rebellion against a dictatorial headmistress. A ‘straight’ (non-musical) version of the story was turned into a film in the 1990s, and more recently Netflix produced a movie version of the musical. The stage version has won multiple international awards, including a record-breaking seven Olivier Awards and four Tony Awards. The ‘Jr’ appellation to this title denotes the under-18-only age restriction for actors.
Under the direction of Mr. William Shafer, nearly two dozen students sang, danced, acted, entertained, and inspired audiences. Surprisingly, most of the students had never been in a musical or performed at all, yet reviews of the performances overwhelmingly stated the quality of this play was absolutely phenomenal.