As tradition dictates, the imposing villainess is played by a man.

In "Matilda the Musical" the principal of a British children's school, with the poetic name of Agatha Trunchbull, is a child-hating monster who also is very comical.


"I think it's a way of diffusing the scary, especially for children, to have it be a man pretending to be a woman and making her funny," said Stephen Ostertag, the 6-foot-3 actor portraying Ms. Trunchbull in the Carnation City Players production of "Matilda," opening Oct. 11 in Alliance. 

"I'm not going for high drag, really trying to fool people," Ostertag said. "I'm playing a woman but she's rough around the edges. I don't talk in a super high voice. I'm not planning on shaving my legs."

Both an actor and costume designer, Ostertag has appeared over the years in numerous local productions, in such diverse roles as the Cowardly Lion in "The Wizard of Oz," Lennie in "Of Mice and Men," and murder victim Matthew Shepard's father in "The Laramie Project."

Q. Tell me more about Agatha Trunchbull. Is she like Miss Hannigan in "Annie"?

A. "She's very much like Miss Hannigan, being in a position professionally that is not where she should be. (Trunchbull) is extremely militant. She really enjoys messing with the kids. She gets a thrill out of provoking fear. The things that set her off are ridiculous. Even though she is so scary, the kids still kind of mess with her. In my first scene I talk about someone putting a stink bomb under my chair."

Q. Do you relate to her at all?

A. "That thing of going out of your way to be mean to people isn't really me. In this role, I get to do it in such a relishing-every-moment way. This is one of the few times I've been in a musical where I've been responsible for carrying big musical numbers. The physicality of that is something I'm not used to but I'm really enjoying that challenge."

Q. Can you share the storyline of "Matilda"?

A. "A baby girl named Matilda is born to the Wormwood family and there's something different about her from the get-go. The parents are very loud and obnoxious and she's very calm and focused and intelligent. She goes to school where everyone is super-intimidated by this woman, Miss Trunchbull, and Matilda looks at the situation and thinks, 'That's not okay, so we're going to do things to to make it right.' She encourages her classmates to stand up for themselves and not stand for how Trunchbull treats them."

Q. Are you enjoying working with the kids in the show?

A. The children are absolutely incredible! At the first read-through they sounded like they'd been rehearsing for a week. Doing choreography with them is a real pleasure. They're up for anything. Kids drive the show. The adults are just crazy outliers along the way."

Q. Do you think "Matilda" is suitable for all ages?

A. "This is a family show. I think kids of all ages will enjoy getting to see kids take a power role in the child-adult dynamic. Adults will really enjoy seeing the zany, extreme personal differences between the characters. There's pretty much in there for everybody."

Reach Dan at 330-580-8306 or dan.kane@cantonrep.com

On Twitter: @dkaneREP