Would Wicked be appropriate for my daughter?
 

My dd is 8 1/2 years old. Would the show Wicked be ok for her? How scary is it?

Is she a good witch or a bad witch???

Couldn't resist that one. Unless she is very timid, I think it is fine for an 8 1/2 year old. Cureous what others think though!

The 8-year-older in my family didn't like it! But, to be fair, we've always been in the minority on Fodors on the subject of Wicked.

I would think there are others she'd enjoy, and understand, better. Hairspray comes to mind.
I don't think it's all that "scary," per se.

Hairspray. Really? I'd think a show about the Wizard of Oz and its characters -- familiar to all kids would appeal more to any 8 1/2 year old girl than a story set in the 60's spoofing the dances, dress, and styles of that period and focusing on race relations, etc. But what do I know? I'm not an 8 1/2 year old girl (thank God).

I recently saw a matinee of the first-rate road show production of Wicked in Seattle.

IMHO, the only thing scary about it is the music.

I believe your daughter will be dazzled by the stagecraft, but that she will not be able to follow the story line (not that it matters much).

I am not a fan of this show. However, I went with six family members who all enjoyed it thoroughly. I prefered the time we spent afterwards drinking and eating the great food at Palomino's happy hour.

Neo, our young ones (the same ones who didn't liek Wicked) loved Hairspray!

Hairspray has those great themes of prejudice and equality that kids are learning about. Even third graders have learned about the Civil Rights movement (although they may not realize that's what it was called). Plus a good deal of the story is about girl-relationships - mother/daughter, boyfriends, etc. And to top it off, it's colorful, bouncy, and has "fun" music, rather than the dialogue-y lyrics in Wicked. Just my opinion, but I figured I'd explain/clarify my point of view.

Like I said, "what do I know?"

Wicked is perfect for an 8 1/2 year old girl, unless she frightens very easily. I have a 10 year old who has loved it since she first heard it, and loved it even more after she saw it. IMHO, I think its a fantastic show, with a great score.

My daughter saw it when she was 7 and loved it. But, having said that, she knew the Wizard of Oz story by watching the video, and I believe that seeing the WofO added to her enjoyment and understanding of Wicked.

My Granddaughters LOVED Wicked. The youngest was just the same age as yours. The one who was 11 then, is so wild about it that she has since seen it again and wears two Wicked shirts in rotation.

It's about girls'/womens' friendship and aspirations for one thing.

Honestly, my oldest GD thought Hairspray was about "Grandma's olden days".

I think she would like it, but I think she would like it more in a couple of years.

It's not scary - and I think would be appropriate for her. Which show she would enjoy most is another issue.

Has she seen any? Something more accesible like one of the disney shows might be easier for her to follow/understand.

Can someone give me a quick summary of the content of the show? Is it the Witch's side of the Wizard of Oz story? My family includes my older dd who is 11; I know she will like to see it but didn't want to go if it was not good for the younger dd.

You can find a synopsis, such as this:
http://www.musicalschwartz.com/wicked-songs.htm
on the internet. Just beware - many contain "spoilers."
I think the general consensus here is that it would not be "inappropriate."
Gosh, if you have one daughter who is dying to see it, and can get tickets, why not just go.

You don't want to know that much about the show. It will ruin it for all of you to know the plot beforehand. Go with an open mind.

It is not scary. For instance the scene in the original film with the flying monkeys going after Dorthy and her entourage is FAR, FAR scarier than anything in the play.

It's all about girls' choices.

And I must say that I do agree with the length of words/lyrics being a bit long for a 8 or 9 year old. It's the attention span thing with language.

But I did not find that our smallest found the music itself or the story at all hard to follow. And there is NOTHING that girls understand better than being "popular". Most of the songs will not be lost on her. Mallory understood right away what the "choices" were basically, just not any political satire etc. involved within the word contexts.

Don't overthink it. The "evil" in this is not visible in nasty actions here, more just the duplicities/two-facedness of people in relationships. Nearly anything on prime time tv is far worse in violence, subjective "approval" of the worst behaviors/problems/crimes in society etc. She'll just have a stretch on the language length.