N.Y. Theater for 10 yr old daughter
 

We are really anxious to take our 10 year old daughter to New York during Easter vacation and treat her to a Broadway show. She is very involved in theater here at home. Is "Lion King" the show we should be striving for or do you have other suggestions?

Lion King should be first choice..it is a wonderful way to introduce a child to the magic of theatre and the spectacular.. I'm not sure what else is on Broadway..perhaps some of the old fashioned musicals like Annie Get Your Gun. I'm sure there will be great suggestions..good luck to her..

Almost forgot Seusiccal..

Beauty and the Beast <BR>Kiss Me Kate <BR>Suessical <BR>Adventures of Tom Sawyer (previews begin 3/27. discount code=tom2) <BR>42nd Street (previews begin 4/2 at Ford Centre on 42nd st). <BR> <BR>Les Mis too <BR> <BR>LK tix may be hard to get. <BR> <BR> <BR>

Since it is school vacation I would assume that tickets for much will be hard to come by..there are other postings that tell you where to look for NY tickets.. BTW Beauty and the Beast is charming whether for adults or children.. as mentioned even if it's the balcony for Lion King it will give her a better view of the whole spectacle.. Depending on how mature..Ragtime is the finest NEW musical..and of course Les Miserables..

I agree with above postings and would add "Annie Get Your Gun" to the list. "Beauty and the Beast" was delightful and probably a much easier ticket than "Lion King". One of the above posts mentioned "Ragtime", which was indeed a wonderful show, but it closed over a year ago.

The following are the ones your 10-year-older would probably enjoy the most(listed alphabetically): <BR>*Annie Get Your Gun (Reba McIntyre takes over the title role on Friday) <BR>*Beauty and the Beast <BR>*Seussical (Except for Rosie O'Donnell's praise, this one received mostly negative reviews from the critics) <BR>*The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (previews don't begin until the end of March, so it's a gamble; however, there's a good chance that tickets would be available at the half-price booths and/or the Playbill website) <BR>*The Lion King (it's probably already sold out for the Easter period) <BR>*The Music Man (an excellent revival) <BR>Some of others mentioned (i.e., Les Miserables and Kiss Me, Kate), though excellent shows, I don't think would be as appealing toa 10-year-older. <BR>It's a tough call to say which, if any, of these shows might be available at the half-priced booth during Easter vacation. So, the best bet might be to get the tickets now!

And I'm not sure that 42nd Street, mentioned above, is appropriate for a 10-year-old.

Are we talking about the 42nd Street that was on Broadway years ago and starred Jerry Orbach? If so, then it would be quite appropriate for a 10 year old, especially one that is involved in theater. The basic premise of the show (at least the one I saw) was small town girl comes to big city to star on Broadway.

If you can not see Lion King, I would choose something with music that your daughter would like. Annie Get Your Gun has old-fashioned music that may bore her. <BR>I took my 8 year old to Les Mis, music was great but the story line is difficult. I read a Les Mis comic book to her before we went so that she would know what was going on. Glad I did, I don't think that I would have known what was going on at some points. <BR>Anyway, it was great, we both loved it. Though she did still ask a few questions about what was going on. <BR> <BR>Once you choose a play, get a child's book on the story to read to her or with her. Any play could be fine for a ten year old as long as she understands it. <BR> <BR>Also, I really think music, sets, costumes, dancing and special effects are more impressive to a child than the storyline.

Don't know much about this 42nd st revival, but I would expect it to be the same. I don't necessarily agree with Jenna that 42nd St isn't appropriate - but it is her opinion. <BR> <BR>IMHO, 42nd Street is the quintessential Broadway play. Fantastic and constant dancing, great singing, easy-to-follow storyline. A really good show to see how a "broadway play" is staged and performed (especially compared to local or High School companies). The last 42nd Street would have been a good one for a school-age kid to see for a first show. I'll probably see it again..

Forget Ragtime and Les Mis. 3hours is too long for a 10 year old. Those shows run until about 11 PM. Too expensive for her to sleep through. Lion King seats are going to be nearly impossible. Stick with Beauty & the Beast (great for all ages) Annie Get Your Gun or Music Man. Kiss Me Kate may not be suitable for 10 year old - lots of inuendo.

a 10 yr old who loves theater will not sleep through Les Mis. My daughter saw it at age 10 and again at 11, never slept through it but instead was mesmerized. I took her to Phantom when she was 7, i got the $15 seats, last row on the end, she didn't miss a beat. I also recommend Kiss me kate and most of the other that were recommended but don't rule out les mis. Get the CD first. it helps when they know the music.

As stated above your child may love plays that some people won't expect a child to like. My daughter's all-time favorite is Phantom. She saw it for the first time at age 3, and watched it with the enthusiasm of a little boy watching Pokemon, ...you know like when your kid goes into that "TVland" trance. <BR>If your child is exposed to theatre at a young age she will grow to love it. You know your daughter, and you know what she likes. The real question is what is the play about, what will the audience see and hear. Don't rely on what other people think your daughter will like. <BR>As a parent reading this board, I find that many posters are a little anti-child and many posters aren't exposing their children to culture.

Ann, my mistake to suggest that your daughter may end up falling asleep during a 3 hour play. I had assumed that you would be running around on your feet all day sightseeing & that a 10 year old may not make it to 11 PM . However, you know your child best. Have never been anti-culture for children - I pay top dollar to live in Manhattan so my children may have the best of culture. I have also seen many kids touring the city that have 'culture overload' trying to cram it all in from morning till night. Personally, I would keep it light & fun for a first time Broadway theater experience. Les Mis is quite somber. Julie - that was not a Broadway version of Phanton, was it? I was not aware they let in children under the age of 4.

Besides the usual Beauty & The Beast <BR>& Lion King stuff, Rocky Horror may be fun, depending on your thoughts of the movie.

no, it was not, but I believe it was the same length. <BR>Also, since this child is very involved in theatre at home Ann should know what types of shows she likes and how long she can last. She may have seen something at home that she liked and you can get tickets to see it in NYC. <BR>It's interesting to see different versions of your favorites.

Ann, we took our kids, ages 11 and 9 to see Music Man in November. They loved it! Of course, they had both acted in a summer production of the same play, so they knew it by heart. That might have helped.

I disagree with Rocky Horror for a 10 year old. I saw it with my husband. There were very few teens there, & no kids under 15 at all. The teens that were there seemed embarassed by the nudity, foul language, & the S & M/ transvestite clothing. In fact, the kids could barely lift there eyes to watch the performance. The parents seemed oblivious to their kids discomfort. Really think this one through.

Ellen <BR>Do they allow kids in shows with nudity and foul language. In LV the ticket person will tell you that the show has nudity and that children are not allowed. <BR>In NYC, don't the theatres warn you about nudity, violence, sudden explosions, loud noises, etc.?