FORT MYERS, Fla.- It’s the story of a little girl who wouldn’t let ‘little’ stop her. Matilda the Musical is on stage now at Barbara B. Mann Performing Arts Hall. During a backstage look at some of the costumes used in the show, wardrobe supervisor Megan McGilvery said there are more than 300 costumes in the show, and a very wide variety of them. David Abeles plays the larger than life role of Miss Trunchbull, the evil headmistress of Matilda’s school. He says it is a role he could have never imagined. He says, “she is a force of nature, she is a hulking, humongous, villainous, horrible headmistress of this primary school and she is there to make, to essentially whip these kids into shape. It’s a gift of a role, it’s so fun, you sort of disappear, into this enormous costume and the hair and the makeup, and it is my female debut.” He calls the show moving and inspiring, and hopes that is what the audience comes away with when they see it. Abeles says, “my character is a sort of foil to Matilda who is the hero of the story who is this extraordinary, brilliant, genius girl who defiantly will not accept her given circumstances. She changes her destiny and she’s incredibly brave, so the more villainous on the other side I can be, as an obstacle to her, the better we can tell that story. So I hope what people take away from the show is the inspiration to be able to change your own story, as we say, and to change your destiny and to take ownership of your life. It’s an empowering story.” While you may remember reading the book or seeing the movie as a child, he says the play is for all ages. “This is not a children’s musical, it’s a musical for all ages that concerns a child.” You can catch Matilda the Musical Friday night, Saturday and Sunday. Both Saturday and Sunday have evening and matinee shows. For ticket information, visit Barbara B. Mann Performing Arts Hall.