Babes in Broadwayland: How Old is Old Enough?

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 5/28/09 at 10:55pm

An interesting look at the current slate of Broadway musicals, from the eyes of a mother (NY Times arts writer Robin Pogrebin) and her almost-teenage children.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/29/theater/29youn.html

[MrSweetNAwful]

Posted: 5/29/09 at 12:45am

That was a nice article. I like hearing about kids' experience and interpretations of live theatre.
I preferably liked these lines:
As the lights dim for the start of Rock of Ages- "Mom, I can already tell this is not appropriate."
While having a postshow discussion about Hair- The show did not "idealize the characters," Ethan said.
"You pity them," Skylar said.
Pretty intense analysis for preteens. I also found it interesting that they weren't thrilled by Shrek.

[givesmevoice]

Posted: 5/29/09 at 12:49am

I thought this article was great and I was tempted to leave a comment, but the comments had already devolved into a cesspool.

anyway, I love that she took her children to such a mix of shows, because even if they don't like it, they're at least exposed to all different types of music and dance. (I'm really thinking of something like West Side Story which, even with chunks of the ballet missing, is very different from a lot of other Broadway scores.) I was of the Annie crowd myself, but it'd be pretty awesome if my parents had taken me to see something like Hair. =P

[me2]

Posted: 5/30/09 at 5:14pm

Thanks for the link--very interesting! I always scout out shows before taking my friend's son.

I remember going to THE WEDDING SINGER and being surprised by the number of 8 and 9 years old in the audience--I did not think that show was age appropriate for them.


Broadway Mouth: And the Award for Most Amazing Person in New York Goes to . . .

[homeimp]

Posted: 5/30/09 at 9:56pm

I love Billy Elliot but I would not call it exactly kid-friendly. Children under 10 won't get a lot of ideas in the show. Some parents are bringing very young children under the impression it's for the same crowd that adores The Little Mermaid. When I saw the show a little girl (5 yrs?) sitting in the front row of the orchestra went into virtual hysterics when the fog rolled in for the flying scene and billowed towards her. At the same performance a young boy (6 yrs) burst into continuous laughter as Billy was saying his goodbyes before walking away to his destiny. The more his mother tried to keep him quiet, the funnier the boy thought it was. Neither incident wrecked the performance for me, but it sure was something I could have done without. I know parents like to think that their kids are mature and ready for Bdwy shows, but some are definitely not.