Broadway shows for kids (10 and 12 y.o.)
 

Hello,

please, could you recommend me good shows / musicals in NYC for my two boys, who are 10 and 12 years old?
We will be there in october (5th to 10th).
It would be great if you could also show me where to get discounted tickets.

NYC Visitor Guide - recommends the following:
Blue Man Group
The Lion King
Wicked
Mary Poppins

I also saw some other posts that talk about Matilda and the musical on Spiderman.

THanks in advance for your help.
B

Have you looked at the sites for these shows? DO your boys like musicals?

We saw Matilda - it's VERY long and I think while it has a lot of great staging and songs, many of the kids in the audience when we saw it were bored by the end.

I would think 2 pre teen boys would be bored by Mary Poppins.

Lion King is one of the best musicals I've ever seen, stagingwise and it seems equally good for adults and older children./

I never saw Wicked as I wasn't interested so others may have more helpful comments.

Mary Poppins is the only one I'd imagine you could get discounted tix for. Check
www.playbill.com and
www.broadwaybox.com
for online discount info.

Lion King is a great show! My kids loved it young and then saw it again in their later teen years and loved it even more. We all enjoyed it. It will be a show they are familiar with and the costumes are fantastic.

We all liked wicked, but I feel the show will be unfamiliar and maybe more boring for 10 and 12 year old boys. I think go with a familiar show so they know what is going on.

Have a great time in NY!

they would most likely like Blue Man Group; it's a fun show, not really a broadway show though. I would think they would not like Wicked. Lion King or Mary Poppins would be broadway shows that they might enjoy.

What about Newsies?

Stomp
Peter and the Star Catcher
Annie

I'd put Stomp and Blue Man Group at the top of the list. They're off-Broadway, but I'd still list them the best choices for your sons.

Of the Broadway shows mentioned, The Lion King is probably the best choice.

PS: Mary Poppins has long since closed.

Peter and the Star Catcher if it is still playing.

I'm just not sure of the appeal of Peter and the Star Catcher to tweens. I think Newsies would be a much better choice, and of course Spiderman.

Peter and the Star Catcher and Newsies are great recommendations for for boys of that age!!!

I agree that Peter and the Starcatcher may not be the right show for the preteens.

Forgot about Spiderman. That should be a natural for them. And, I still put Stomp and Blue Man Group atop the list with Spiderman.

In order of preference for them

Newsies
Spiderman
Pippin

Many good choices here, but if they are pretty typical, I'd say the top three choices are Spidermn, Spider-Man, and Spiderman

Damn, I've got to stop posting on my Ipad! I did not mean to spell Spiderman three ways if anyone is confused. The choices are Spiderman, Spiderman, and Spiderman.

Lion King...hands down, is the best.

Having a 10 year old grandson that I take to the theater, I can say without doubt that Wicked, Pippin, Blue Man and Stomp would bore them silly. The humor will go over their heads or there's no story to hold their interest. Either way, you'll get a lot of squirming before the end. I loved Peter and the Starcatchers. Is it still open? Mary Poppins is cute, but nowhere near as entertaining as Lion King. Barely worth the price of tickets. I even think that Newsies is too wordy for the 10 year old. I loved Matilda, thought the humor was a good level for this age group. Can't speak to Spider-Man. Haven't seen it.

I would prioritize thus:
Lion King
Spider-Man
Matilda
Peter...etc

Blue Man Group would work, especially if the boys can catch some semi-subtle humor. Lion King should be good. But nothing too long or really emotional (e.g., pseudo-operatic Les Mis type productions).

Thank you so much for your suggestions. I will do some research on your preferred shows for them and come back for more advice on the short list :-)

B

I finally bought The Lion King and Newsies. Thanks again for your advice.

We loved Newsies, for the music, the choreography and the performances, it's a full of energy show.
The lion King, my kids loved it. My husband and I saw it in London several years ago, and we thought that the voices were better at the London show, however the special effects were impressive at Broadway. We were in the second row in mezzanine, and since the theater is so big, I felt away from the show. When I go to a good musical or theater performance, I usually feel as if I were one of the actors, I feel part of the story, but I couldn't have that feeling with the lion king. Maybe it's a matter of getting better seats.
The most important part is that my kids were amazed by Broadway.

Thanks for your ideas and comments!

We loved The Lion King; friends of ours just took their boys to see Newsies, and they really enjoyed it. I love Wicked, but I don't think young boys would enjoy it that much.

volcanogirl, you do realize perhaps that the OP (with a slightly changed screen name) has posted back with the results of their recent stay, so more comments about what her boys might like seem a little superfluous?

Yes, I realize that others may happen to be in the same "market" but it seems this thread has run its course.