Carvel and Ward originated their roles in the the London cast of Matilda the Musical, which premiered at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in 2010 and later transferred to the West End's Cambridge Theatre. Carvel earned an Olivier Award for his work.
The two repeated their work in the Broadway production, which premiered March 4 and officially opened April 11 to critical praise. Read critics reviews of Matilda here.
Both Carvel and Ward received 2013 Tony Award nominations for their performances.
Craig Bierko (The Music Man, Thou Shalt Not, Guys and Dolls) and Jill Paice (Curtains, The Woman in White) will step into the roles of the Trunchbull and Miss Honey Sept. 3.
Tony Award-winning director Matthew Warchus (God of Carnage, The Norman Conquests, Boeing-Boeing, La Bête, Ghost) staged the inventive, kid-packed musical that has a book by Dennis Kelly and a score by Tim Minchin. Matilda received four Tony Awards, including Best Book of a Musical, Best Featured Actor (Gabriel Ebert), Best Lighting Design and Best Scenic Design.
The Broadway cast also stars young Tony Award-honored actresses Sophia Gennusa, Oona Laurence, Bailey Ryon and Milly Shapiro, who share the title role.
The Broadway principal company also features Olivier Award winner Lesli Margherita (Zorro; Kiss, Me Kate) as Miss Wormwood, Gabriel Ebert (4000 Miles) as Mr. Wormwood and veteran Chicago actress Karen Aldridge ("Boss," "Chicago Fire") as Mrs. Phelps. Young British actor Ted Wilson from the original London cast of Matilda repeats his work as schoolmate Eric in the Broadway production.
The Matilda ensemble includes Frenie Acoba, Erica Barnett, Judah Bellamy, Jack Broderick, Ava DeMary, John Arthur Greene, Emma Howard, Nadine Isenegger, Colin Israel, Thayne Jasperson, Luke Mannikus, Madilyn Morrow, Sawyer Nunes, Jared Parker, Celia Mei Rubin, John Sanders, Tamika Sonja Lawrence, Phillip Spaeth, Ryan Steele, Betsy Struxness, Samantha Sturm, Heather Tepe, Ben Thompson, Clay Thomson, Taylor Trensch and Beatrice Tulchin.
According to producers, Matilda "is the story of an extraordinary little girl who decides that despite a bad beginning filled with rotten parents, a terrifying school and a vicious head mistress, her story is going to be an astonishing one. With the help of her teacher, her friends and a little bit of imagination, Matilda proves that even if you're little, you can do big things."
The production has set and costume design by Rob Howell, with choreography by Peter Darling, orchestrations, additional music and musical supervision by Christopher Nightingale, lighting design by Hugh Vanstone and sound design by Simon Baker.
For tickets go to Telecharge.com. The Shubert Theatre is located at 235 West 44th Street.
Visit MatildaTheMusical.com.
Check out Playbill.com's highlights from Matilda:
