My husband, 11 yr. old daughter, and I will be in NY for about a week this August. I wonder if anyone has any theater recommendations that would be appropriate for a child this age. We've already seen The Lion King and the Music Man? Would anybody recommend Hairspray? Thanks for your suggestions!

hairspray, wicked, beauty & the beast or mama mia as far as musicals go

off broadway-wise: stomp, blue man group, de la guarda, cookin or toxic audio might be good choices as well

I took my 11 yr old daughter to see both Wicked and Hairspray over Memorial Day Weekend. Wicked was the big favorite for both of us; Hairspray didn't come near it for us. The Wicked story was better for her too.

42nd Street is, IMO, a quintessential Broadway musical. Big cast, lots of singing and dancing, big production numbers and a fun NY story. It's available with discounts online from Playbill.com (a good website for you to read reviews, find out what's playing etc.)

Wicked would be great if you can geat tickets. I'm one of the folks like emd who was not that crazy about Hairspray. She may feel a bit old for Beauty & the Beast depending on how sophisticated she is.

Unfortunately Millie is closing June 20. What about Fiddler on the Roof? Another classic.

what about Fiddler? She will probably know some of the songs already. lots of kids in it and in the audience. would be fun for her.

re bradk's mention of Cookin': I am interested in Cookin' also (my daughter and I had so much fun we are thinking fo going back for another weekend this summer for more NYC). I got a promotion from Theatermania by email that offered Cookin' tickets for $40 for the summer. The Cookin' website says it is a non-verbal show, it looks like they use food utensils and food and do a sort of physical food acrobatics show. Hard to describe, check the website- sort of like Iron Chef crossed with an acrobat show. It looks very fun. I did a post asking if anyone had seen it and one person answered and said they enjoyed it. It looks very high energy and amusing. I think we will try it when we go back, maybe for a matinee.

p.s. mclaurie: thanks for the comment on Hairspray. I thought we were the only ones.

Beauty and the Beast! Lots of fun, even for adults. I've seen it twice.

I took my twelve year old nephew to see Cookin' last month. We both really enjoyed it. It is very fast moving and quite funny in parts. We've also seen Stomp and thought it was excellent.

I saw Beauty and the Beast with other adults but children of all ages were in the audience and really seemed to enjoy the show.

Enjoy your time in New York.

I agree about "42nd Street." The dancing is great and it is a fun show. Too bad that "Millie",is closing, as it's a musical filled with a lot of comedy and it is a grand spoof. Have not seen "Hairspray" , so I can't comment on that. I also love "Fiddler".

My friend's 11 year old daughter loved Thoroughly Modern Millie.

Wicked was wonderful, better than hairspray. Beauty and the beast and Aida were also good. Mama Mia not great. 42nd street is good but very dated and some kids would find it boring. Wicked is fun for everyone and the sets and performances were amazing.

We took our 13 year old daughter to Hairspray over Spring break. It is EVERYTHING the 3 of us hoped for in a "Broadway musical." We bought the CD and listen to it all the time. My daughter has performed in over 10 musical productions and can't wait until she can do "Hairspray!"

Nobody mentioned Little Shop of Horrors, which I think is back and on Broadway this time? (Originally it was off-Broadway).

If you have a list of potential shows and would be happy with any of them, then get same day half-price tickets at the TKTS booth in Times Square. (Bring cash or travelers check. no credit cards)

If your heart is set on a particular show, then get your tix in advance so you won't be disappointed.

My 12 year old girl just saw Phantom with a school trip. It's a bit dark and although she said she didn't love it she did spend a half hour or more telling me every detail...

i could recommend little shop, but it would be at the bottom of the list, altho joey fatone of nsync will be in it by august. i just have a lot of problems with the production (i love both movies and a huge ashman/menkin fan) and i've seen it twice, so i just wasn't having a bad night.

aida i can't recommmend because altho it has its highlights, a lot of the time, it just seemed to lag for me. the only real gimmick was the rotating leading lady, but i guess that's run its course since it's closing in the beginning of september, so i guess if you've had an urge to see it, august would be the time.

Movin out is one that comes to my mind .

I haven't seen Hairspray since the original cast left, but all of us loved it. My daughter saw it twice and my son once. They'd go back at the drop of a hat. I found it very upbeat and vibrant.

My kids liked, but didn't love Little Shop. If you see that, go for center orch. seats, it's just not the same form the mezz. My son did not like Fiddler at all, but we saw it during a very off preview night. My daughter's all time favortie is Rent, but that's more for teens. My son's all time favorite is Hairspray.

I thought Wonderful TOwn was very good and very appropriate for a child (it takes palce in NYC).

Thanks everyone for your input. I think Fiddler is a good possibility (it was my 2nd Broadway show way back when).

I just saw Wicked and loved it! There were tons of kids there and they really seemed to enjoy it too. Plus, it was one of those shows that is appropriate for all ages. I saw Hairspray last year and loved it too. I've only seen a hometown production of Fiddler but found it incredibly boring, as did my 11 year old niece. I am sure the Broadway version is much better done, but I think the story itself is dated and not easy for younger kids to relate to. Just my 2 cents.

We saw Fiddler and my 13 year old really liked it (more than I thought he would). But, he didn't love it. Even though the music is great, the set and costumes don't change and may be a bit boring. Its also in a very large venue. I think its important that you chose something where you can sit fairly close. I find that has a definite effect on whether my kids get drawn into the show.

I hope you watched the Tony awards, that would have given you some idea of Wicked.
Stomp is a lot of fun. If you want to see 2 things, I would consider that, too.

try playbill.com for discounts