Laurita Fernández before Matilda: in love, little media exposure and in tune with the children

The rage for

has been going around for quite some time among her historical fans and those who are adding up.

The version of the musical that will arrive at the Gran Rex, on June 1, generates great expectations and the members of the cast have already shown themselves characterized as the characters in the play.

Laurita Fernández is Señorita Miel and the actress and presenter is ready to go into action.

"

I had auditioned and rehearsed a pre-pandemic musical, with the same producer of

, but the project was cut short. However, the link remained and when the idea for

appeared ,

," says Laurita, who , with this musical he returns to his artistic origins.

Directed by Ariel del Mastro, the local production follows the same standards as the Broadway one, for which Carlos and Tomás Rottemberg, Valentina Berger from GO Broadway, Mariano Pagani from MP and Pablo Kohlhuber and Fernando Moya from Ozono Producciones partnered.

Tickets for the June and July performances (they will only be eight weeks) are already available for sale.

Laurita Fernández will share the cast with Agustín Soy Rada Aristarán (the feared director Tronchatoro) and José Maria Listorti and

(Mr. and Mrs. Wormwood, Matilda's eccentric parents).

Laura Fernandez,.

With the musical "Matilda" he returns to his artistic origins.

Photo: Fernando de la Orden

In addition,

:

, chosen from thousands of applicants.

In total, there will be more than 25 actors on stage, with three casts of children between the ages of 9 and 12.

the high stick

What was the most exciting thing about the project?

-First, it is a production that raises the bar, due to the level it has.

There are scenes from the '90s movie that are quite difficult to reproduce in the theater, like the one with the chocolate cake and the one with Tronchatoro throwing around the girls with the braids or when Matilda moves objects with her eyes that, I don't know how they managed, but they will be.

-For the cinema it is easier to solve it.

but in theater it gets complicated.

-As is, but nothing will be missing.

Also because everyone goes with the expectation of seeing each scene.

So nothing can be left out.

Laurita Fernández, in a production with Broadway standards.

Photo: Fernando de la Orden

Matilda, the musical , based on

's novel of the same name

, tells the story of an intelligent girl, passionate about reading who loves to make up stories to escape her reality with indifferent parents.

Also, the school she is sent to is run by a ruthless principal, the terrifying Tronchatoro.

But there, with the help of Miss Honey, Matilda will start a new stage in her life, full of experiences and discoveries.

The story arouses so much passion that producer

, after the character.

First the movie

-How was your relationship with this story before joining the project?

-I saw the '90s movie about eight times, they are one of those movies that every once in a while are shown on TV or on cable and, at least, I get hooked every time I find it.

I loved that it is a story that we all know, for adults and for children, it is for the whole family.

-If we take out the fantasy and the musical, it is a very strong story, of authoritarianism, of abuse by adults towards boys and girls.

-Yes,

.

It's good that the musical allows you to show it from a point of view that you can talk about and it's important that that happens.

-Your character, the teacher Miss Honey, is the most angelic of adults, perhaps the only one.

-She is a balm for Matilda and for the other boys.

And the story talks about that, looking for love, staying in the place where one feels good.

The story has something, in its essence, that touches all the themes, beyond the humor and the musical.

But there are moments when one says:

.

And nowadays, it happens a lot that the bad guys are "tenderized".

Laurita Fernández and the three girls that will be inserted in the role of "Matilda".

Photo: Juano Tesone.

-Are those evil figures romanticized?

-Something like that, then a witch appears that is not so bad or a very funny villain.

But

.

I had my doubts: will they make her better?

Not her, not at all, she's bad, abusive, she hates children and, in contrast, is Miss Honey, to whom she experiences the opposite.

-She is a bit the heroine of the story.

-At first, she is not very encouraged to intercede to save the boys from that evil, but once Matilda comes into her life, everything changes, she modifies and she decides to intervene.

-That link modifies her so much that it makes her change her attitude.

-Matilda helps her to take the step.

Until that moment, Miel was always subjected to Tronchatoro and when Matilda came into her life, she found the necessary courage to act.

And so are the good and the bad.

Although, the bad guys have a humor that is spectacular.

-Humor always helps to sustain the story.

-Yes, otherwise it would be a drama, a downturn.

And here, on the contrary, with all the turns that history takes, they are very funny.

The story has all the seasonings to hook.

For boys and adults

Matilda: Laurita Fernández, Agustín "Soy Rada" Aristarán, Fer Metilli, José María Listorti and Catalina Picone (one of the three Matildas).

-And that generational crossing is good, because beyond the fact that the protagonist is a girl, the story is equally enjoyed by adults.

No way, everyone has a good time.

It is not childish, it is for the whole family.

And without those bad characters, my character who is on the kinder side of history would not gain so much strength.

-It's good that the heroines, both Matilda and Miss Honey, who dare to face the villains, are women.

Although the story that Roald Dahl wrote is from 1988, today that female empowerment acquires another force, how do you see it?

-

, in the musical version, is a super warrior right from the look, with her hair tousled and she goes forward.

She wants to get out of the situation of abuse that she lives, and she searches to get rid of her stepfathers, she studies and confronts Tronchatoro.

Although nothing in history was changed, today that is revalued.

And if we see the girls who play Matilda, off stage they are like that too.

-How is the bond with the girls who play Matilda?

(

)

- It's great, they are not afraid, they talk to you as equals, one cannot believe that there is so much in such a small package.

It is wonderful.

In addition to the impressive staging, with great effects and all the production, I think that

and in the entire cast of boys, with an energy and professionalism that generate tenderness, admiration, everything.

-Working with children, does it create other types of challenges for you?

-Without a doubt, to be able to accompany them on stage, because they do not stop being boys and girls beyond the energy they have.

Also, for most it is the first time they will be on a stage and one like the Great Rex.

So, I am aware that one is part of that first experience, with all that that implies.

Laurita Fernández ponders the relationship with the children's cast of "Matilda".

Photo: Fernando de la Orden

It's a lot, really.

-Yes, but at the same time it seems that they are not very aware of such magnitude.

It's good that they don't feel as much pressure or nerves as we adults have.

You see them stripped of all that,

, they experience everything as something new, and it's so beautiful that you end up catching that energy.

- There is a good run for the theater right now, do you feel that way?

With performances sold out, despite the price of tickets, much enthusiasm from the public.

I think it's good for everyone.

Personally,

and that is why, if they choose you to go see it, it gives me great peace of mind to know that we are backed by a super production that spares nothing and what is offered is a show of great level.

You want people to take away an experience, something beautiful to keep as a memory.

return to musical

- This is your return to the musical, closer to your origins, how are you living it?

- It is what I like to do the most and with an opportunity like this, it is something dreamed of.

Especially since the first time I saw a musical, as a girl, I said:

A fan of the musical, Laurita Fernández says she would do one a year.

Photo: Fernando de la Orden

-What was that first work?

-

.

Luckily, these super productions appear from time to time, and I feel like a privilege to be part of them.

So going back to the genre makes me super happy, I would do a musical a year.

-Is it where you feel like a fish in water?

-As is, and also, Miss Honey has something that is very close to what happens to me when I see the girls, for example, she

and she is not a character that is so far from me, she is super sweet and empathic with the boys.

Do you identify with the character?

-In that sense, yes, but at the same time, she has a tone that is very different from mine, she is very relaxed, calm, soft and I, nothing to see, I am very effusive, with a lot of tonicity in the extremities when speaking and to express myself

So that job is good.

-You have a good relationship with children and young people, right?

-In the program (

, by Eltrece) we had sections with children and there I found a round trip with the boys that I had fun, even with very deep talks that I love.

-That.

if it does not come naturally, it is impossible to manufacture.

- Yes, I discovered it doing the program.

and now there is a section for talented people and I love it.

They come to show what they know how to do, with a lot of nerves.

I was on the other side a lot, so I try to make them feel as comfortable as possible.

Containing parental anxiety too, which reminds me of my parents when they took me to castings and auditions.

Laurita Fernández has a good harmony with children.

Central to "Matilda".

Photo: Fernando de la Orden

Television as a medium

-Since you talk about TV, do you feel established as a host? Did you find a place there?

-I love it and I add it to the rest.

My desire was to live from what I like to do the most, which has always been related to musical theater.

I have that memory as a girl.

-The TV was not in your plans?

-No, not at all, neither on TV nor to be known, it was not what I longed for, everything began to happen: I accompanied a friend to the casting of

and stayed.

And so one thing led to another, but driving was not there then.

She came from doing entertainment at parties on the weekends, it was an extra income when I started as a dancer number forty.

-One more way to make ends meet...

- I decided to try that, because musical theater is great, but you don't always have so many opportunities.

I always compare it with the career of a soccer player, it has a certain limit;

As a dancer you can give classes and do other things afterwards, but there aren't that many options.

On the other hand, with driving I felt that I could stretch it out in time.

-The rest is to work on a day-to-day basis to gain experience and, furthermore, to find your own style.

Do you feel like you found it?

- It's like flying hours, especially doing it live.

In

, there is also the possibility of doing a program for a month, and the following month doing another, because we are not locked into a format, we vary and change.

I find myself with that challenge of getting out of comfort and that gives me tools that I am adding.

Laurita Fernández, as Miss Honey in "Matilda".

-The format found its place, but without the pressure of prime time?

-The pressure on air TV is the same daily, that's why we are looking for new laps all the time.

And for this reason,

.

We never imagined it.

-In addition, you have the responsibility of occupying a place that Guido Kaczka previously had.

- No way, that's why I'm super grateful that they trusted me for that role.

And there I was finding my identity in the day to day.

Little media exposure

-For quite some time, you also found your place with less media exposure.

Did you look for that or did it happen like that?

They are stages of life.

I looked for it when choosing which projects to tackle.

Dancing makes you super popular and well known, but

also had the other part where your personal life was exposed.

Later I went looking for projects where that personal life was not so exposed and that was a choice.

-Do you regret that stage of so much exposure?

-No, not at all, I don't deny it at all, because all that led me to this present and it really was a massive program that gave dancers a space that no other program did.

, that's why I continued to be there.

-In your case, beyond your personal life, your talent as a dancer stood out.

-That was the dynamics of the program and I accepted it that way.

It was also a time when I found myself in situations that I didn't know very well how to handle, later with experience one learns to set certain limits, to decide what one wants and what one doesn't.

Laurita Fernández, presented as one of the protagonists of "Matilda", the musical.

- A parallel learning between the professional and the personal.

-It's a combo, above all I feel that I'm learning what I don't want.

I remember that, for example, at 18 I went to a casting and didn't make it and I felt that it was the worst thing in life and that I had lost a unique opportunity.

But over time I understood that I wasn't ready for that project or it wasn't the time.

That has to do with age, inevitably.

-This job usually exposes you a lot and just as the good things are great, the bad things can affect you very strongly, too.

There are people for whom some situations can ruin their career, even their lives, if they find them vulnerable.

-That's why I think it's important to arm yourself with tools that give you support, that allow you to evolve.

Today a lot happens with social networks, for example.

Anyone can write you any nonsense and you have to be clear about who it comes from, you don't know who is on the other side.

Does it affect you a lot?

- Now I give it less importance, sometimes it can affect you, obviously, but I don't get carried away because disrespect can be very harmful.

In general, I am interested in the opinion of people with criteria in which I trust or in people who love me.

Likewise, everything must be taken with a grain of salt, the good and the beautiful and also the bad.

- That of not believing too much neither success nor failure.

- Yes, everything has to do with maturity, in any field.

-As for your personal life, you are also less exposed, in your courtship with Claudio Brusca, the producer of

Does it have to do with the same stage of maturity?

-Yes, I was already very calm before, being alone, enjoying that moment.

But with him I found a person, not to mention how friendly he is, but also someone simple, not fancy at all, who connects me with something super cute.

That's why I'm fully enjoying it, understanding what I want and what I don't want from a bond.

- Surely one comes across certain people at certain times, because they are also in a similar situation or tune.

- As is, all the experiences you have lead you to learn things, what you want and what you don't.

I hope there are more Matildas in my professional life and projects like this one, which is so wonderful.

WD

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