London: Theater pre-teens
 

I would appreciate feedback on the following performances. I'll be with two kids, boy (14), girl (12). The challenge is to find something that both (or all three of us) enjoy:
Stomp (my son wants to see it)
Lion King (daughter?)
Reduced Shakespeare/American history (would they enjoy this or is this too difficult?
Fame
Thoroughly Modern Millie
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
Chicago

Also, has anybody ever used the special dinner/theater deals?

I took my 13-year-old son to London last month. We had tickets to Lion King. He loved it. The musical is wonderful and the sets are simply dazzling. I guarantee all 3 of you will enjoy it. I don't think any of the others you mentioned compare (for the 3 of you).

I took both of my sons )last year (also 14 and 12, at that time to see The Complete Works of William Shakespeare Abridged. They both loved it. I've heard the American History one is not nearly as good. (BTW, we also saw My Fair Lady and neither one liked it very much. I personally LOVED it! What's the matter with boys?)

We're going back to London this summer and I'm also trying to figure out what to see. I'm doubting that they'll enjoy Lion King, especially now that they're 15 and 13, as I'm not sure it's "cool" enough for them.

Susan

I'm not sure how 13 and 15 year old boys judge the "coolness" of a big show (haven't been around any in a long while), but if you're comparing it to the movie, it's really nothing like it.

The story line is basically the same, as is some of the music. But there is nothing cartoonish about the stage musical at all! It's truly a stunning work of art with amazing singing and set design (and costumes). I'd be really surprised if anyone that has some appreciation for musical theater didn't enjoy Lion King!

And Ingrid - There were many children of that age when we saw both "Complete Works of Shakespeare" and "Complete History of America" who were laughing and enjoying themselves. We did enjoy Shakespeare better, but I think the History of America must have improved in recent years, because everyone in the audience seemed to be enjoying themselves there too.

"Stomp" is a much more sophistocated show than "Lion King"...not necessarily any better but of a totally different genre. There is no plot line or dialogue but rather some fascinating methods of making music and rhythm..more of an "adult" theme than a fairy tale but if your son wants to see it I don't know of any reason he shouldn't have the opportunity. He may very well be much more advanced in his tastes than a lot of the people who post here!

I have nothing to add about the shows, particularly, but in regards to the dinner packages, I say forget them. They are usually only available for shows you can get half price tickets for anyway, and the restaurants aren't anything special. In addition many of the restaurants offer pre-theatre specials. You can do much better on your own.

Stomp is very good, but it visits most major cites and could be caught another time.

I am in my late 40s and only went to the Lion King because it was one of the few Sunday shows. It turned out to be my favorite show of the trip!

The dinner/show combos that I could find didn't look like any better deals than I could obtain on my own.

Keith

So, Lion King in June "Front Grand Central" and dinner at Porters for 37.50 isn't a deal? Stomp Front "Upper Circle" + Maxwell for 20.00.
Any comments on Chitty Chitty Bang Bang?

Full price Stomp upper circle tickets are £15 to £25. On Thursdays they are 1/2 price.

But based on what Theatre Monkey says about the theatre, you would probably be happier closer to the stage: the upper circle seats all seem far from the stage, the leg room is poor and many seats (the cheaper ones) have poor views.

It also says that children can buy some tickets for half price at some evening and weekend afternoon performances.

Keith

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang has gotten many rave reviews here. If you search for Chitty in the search box above I'm sure you can find several.

For Lion King, I'm wondering if " Front Grand Central" actually is : the first few rows of the Grand Circle?
You can check the theater's web site for a seating chart, just to give you an idea of the view you would have if you purchased the theater/dinner plan.
As for Porter's, I have eaten there once and I wasn't thrilled with the food. It is pricy pub grub, in my opinion. I don't mind pub grub, but will you and your children be content with that on your dinner and theater evening?

Ingrid,
We saw the Complete Works of WS Abridged. It was a 4:00PM Sunday matinee and the theatre was full of teens.Everyone seemed to really enjoy the show especially the kids. It's a little racy in a sort of silly double entendre way. The three actors are actually Americans and it's more comedy schtick than theatre.
Also we only paid 10 GBP for the tickets which were third row center.
JoeG

Thanks for all the useful info. We've decided on Lion King and then perhaps another show (Stomp or Shakespeare). There are no discount tickest or 1/2 price tickets according to ticket booth website.
I checked the seating chart for the Lyceum theatre and can get Lion King Stalls ZA 10-12 (last row of the stalls) for 37.50 including booking fees and pub grub at Porters. Any idea how good the seats will be? These tickets are 30.00 via ticketmaster plus booking fee (5.75 I think).
The alternative is to spend 40.00 plus booking fee and get row B-D (pretty much in the middle).
The question is: How big is the diference in terms of seat quality?

Just found www.theatremonkey.com which gives advice on how to pick good value seats for respective theaters. Great resource!

lastminute.com seems to have some very good discounts available.