Roald Dahl’s Matilda comes out as a musical

Above: Alisha Weir stars as the title character in "Matilda the Musical." (Photo/Netflix) 

One of my favorite writers of children’s books is the late Roald Dahl. And although I’ve read several of his works, among them “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” and “James and the Giant Peach,” I never did get around to reading “Matilda.”

Too bad, because the books – which already was adapted into a musical – has now been made into a movie titled, appropriately, “Matlida the Musical.” It opens Friday at the Magic Lantern Theatre.

Directed by Matthew Warchus, and based on the musical by Tm Minchin, the story has a lot of familiar Dahl themes. Matilda Wormwood (played by Alisha Weir) is an extremely bright child being raised by parents who could care less about her or her abilities.

When she attends school, she befriends a teacher (played by Lashana Lynch) but along with the rest of the student body is terrorized by the school headmistress (played by Emma Thompson).

But, of course, she wins out in the end.

Justin Chang of the Los Angeles Times wrote, “An enjoyably bright and chipper adaptation of a moving, melancholy story I’ve loved since childhood.”

James Luxford of the London Daily Standard wrote, “Faithful to both the surreal nature of the Roald Dahl story and the playfulness of the musical. Emma Thompson stands out, as always.”

Olly Richards of Time Out wrote, “Whether for little kids or very big ones, this Matilda is fantastically fun. Great songs, great performances and plenty of baddies to boo.”

Maybe there’s still time to pick up a copy of the book. Auntie’s Bookstore, anyone?