Review: Cotuit's 'Matilda the Musical' nearly sells out ... and delivers on the hype.

COTUIT ― Matilda is a funny little girl. Incredibly witty, bright and intelligent, she spends her time reading books, telling stories to her favorite librarian Mrs. Phelps, and battling the cruel comments from her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Wormwood. And Matilda longs to feel some form of parental love.

When school begins, she finds some solace in her teacher, Miss Honey, amid the cruelty inflicted on the pupils by the evil headmistress Mrs. Trunchbull. Matilda, experienced in standing up to bullies, fights back, potentially becoming the superhero her fellow students need.

In the Cotuit Center for the Art’s production of “Matilda the Musical,” the show will have you wiping away tears from laughing too hard and from sobbing silently as Matilda pulls at your heartstrings.

The show: “Matilda the Musical” stars Coraline Goers and Sylvie Weimer, sharing the role of Matilda — with Weimer starred on opening night. The show is directed and choreographed by Michele Colley with music direction by Katie Koglin. Adapted from Roald Dahl’s “Matilda,” lyrics are by Daniel Kelly and songs by Tim Minchin.

What it’s about: Matilda is an extraordinary little girl, gifted with an incredible wit, wise beyond her years and a few unique abilities. At home, she’s shunned for her intellectual abilities by her shallow, TV-obsessed family who just want a “normal” child. At school, the situation is grimmer as children-hating headmistress Trunchbull (Hadassah Nelson) unleashes her wrath upon those who misbehave. But there, Matilda has Miss Honey (Lily Anderson), her teacher,, who fights tooth and nail for her.

Pitted against bullies, Matilda might just be the saving grace for the school and Miss Honey.

. Highlights of the show: Despite being a longer production — almost three hours with a 15 minute intermission — there’s hardly a lull in performance as each cast member excels in his or her role. Weimer steals the show as Matilda. She brings the spunk and smarty pants attitude of the character to life. I found myself enraptured with the story she tells Mrs. Phelps (Sara Bleything) throughout the production.

Every role in this production seemed to be perfectly cast. I couldn’t find a fault in any of them. And extra applause for Anderson as Miss Honey. Her voice was the best in the show.

Worth noting: Hats off to set designer, Cris Reverdy, the set team — Neil Barkin, Bob Loncich, Bill Farrell, Debbi Kent, Rich Marciante, Sean McCahill, Jackie Reeves, Mary Rice and Karen Telley — and the set construction team, Muchael Ernst and John Fitzpatrick for creating a wonderful set. From the larger-than-life letters to the larger-than life book spines turned benches, it took my breath away.

See it or not: “Matilda” is sold out for its almost month-long run at Cotuit, but you can sign up to join the waitlist for any cancelled tickets at www.artsonthecape.org/explore/matilda-the-musical/.

Fun fact: At each show, the theater will raffle off a cast-signed copy of “Matilda” plus each program includes a QR code to bid on taking home one of the letters lining the stage in the an online auction. All sales from the auction will go to the cast of “Matilda," who are all volunteers.

One more thing: Right after intermission, the winners of the signed “Matilda” book are announced during a hilarious audience-character interaction with Mr. Wormwood (Zack Johnson) and Michael Wormwood (Maureen O’Neil). Any kids in the audience, be sure to raise your hand in participation as Johnson’s zingers had the whole audience in a fit of laughter.

If you go: If you’re lucky enough to have a ticket, get there early to find a place to park, grab a drink at the bar and look at the gallery’s art. Show time is at 7:30 p.m. on Thursdays and Fridays, 5 p.m. on Saturdays and 2 p.m. on Sundays. Cotuit Center for the Arts is located at 4404 Falmouth Road in Cotuit.

This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Review: 'Matilda the Musical' is funny, touching and nearly sold out