The 5,000 people at London’s Royal Albert Hall on Friday night came to hear an orchestra play Matilda. They got Harry Wormwood himself narrating the film live, and then, before the night was over, the surprise nobody had bought a ticket expecting: Matilda walked out on stage.
The evening was Matilda in Concert, part of the hall’s Films in Concert series, celebrating 30 years since the 1996 film. Danny DeVito, who directed the movie and played Matilda’s father Harry, narrated it live on stage while the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra performed the score, with composer David Newman conducting his own music. Newman had hinted at what was coming in a pre-film talk: “We do have a very special surprise tonight.” DeVito then told the crowd the cast would be joining him.
Out came Mara Wilson, who played Matilda, alongside Pam Ferris, who terrified a generation as Miss Trunchbull, Kiami Davael, who played Lavender, Jacqueline Steiger, who played Amanda Thripp, and Kira Spencer Hesser, who played Hortensia. Wilson shared a group photo from the night on Instagram afterward. “Five thousand Matilda fans! I still cannot believe it!” she wrote, signing off to “Jaki, Kiami, Pam, Kira, David Newman, and of course, Uncle Danny.”
That “Uncle Danny” carries 30 years of history. As PEOPLE recounts, Wilson has been candid over the years about how DeVito and his wife Rhea Perlman, who played Matilda’s mother Zinnia, supported her during filming, when her own mother was being treated for breast cancer. Her mother died three months before the film was released. Speaking at an event earlier this year, Wilson said DeVito “really helped me and my family when we were going through something terrible,” and that she is still friends with the people she made the film with today.
One beloved face was missing on Friday. Embeth Davidtz, who played Miss Honey, could not be there, and she answered Wilson’s post, “So so sad I couldn’t be there! You all look wonderful!” Wilson told her she was missed, and that she was there in spirit.
The night had also been a long time coming. A Matilda in Concert reunion was first announced back in 2023, when Trevor Decker News covered the original plans, before the actors’ strike put them on hold. Three years later, in front of 5,000 fans, it finally happened.
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