The New York Times LOVED Matilda, but...

So the New York Times loved Matilda.  I loathed Matilda.
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However, I do wonder about Mr. Ben Brantley, the reviewer of the show in the Times.  He is the same man who hated Newsies (too much dancing).  And he fawns over a number in the show (quoting)

This show dares to take us briefly inside the darkest interiors of the Trunchbull’s mind, in a number in which she imagines a world without children, and it’s scarier than any spook house.

The problem is that this number is NOT in the American version of the show.  Mr. Brantley may not have been phoning in his American review, but his recent trip to London may have tainted his recollection.
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Matilda's Family.  subtle

See it for yourself.  Watch the audience squirm and the actors overact (apparently they believe they are playing Met Stadium).