Children and Teenagers On The Great White Way: NY Times

[Patti LuPone FANatic]

Children and Teenagers On The Great White Way: NY Times#1

Posted: 11/8/09 at 6:08am

I just read this fascinating article in the NY Times about children on the Broadway stage. They have their own trials and tribulations, just as adults do. from RC in Austin, Texas..
P.S. I'm looking forward to seeing "An Conversation With Stephen Sondheim" here in Austin, this coming November 12th. : )
Broadway Children and Teens

"Noel [Coward] and I were in Paris once. Adjoining rooms, of course. One night, I felt mischievous, so I knocked on Noel's door, and he asked, 'Who is it?' I lowered my voice and said 'Hotel detective. Have you got a gentleman in your room?' He answered, 'Just a minute, I'll ask him.'" (Beatrice Lillie)

[AC126748]

re: Children and Teenagers On The Great White Way: NY Times#2

Posted: 11/8/09 at 8:51am

I feel terrible for the siblings of these children, who have to make do with absentee parents thanks to the chosen career of one child. I hope they don't grow up with resentment.

"You travel alone because other people are only there to remind you how much that hook hurts that we all bit down on. Wait for that one day we can bite free and get back out there in space where we belong, sail back over water, over skies, into space, the hook finally out of our mouths and we wander back out there in space spawning to other planets never to return hurrah to earth and we'll look back and can't even see these lives here anymore. Only the taste of blood to remind us we ever existed. The earth is small. We're gone. We're dead. We're safe." -John Guare, Landscape of the Body

[givesmevoice]

re: Children and Teenagers On The Great White Way: NY Times#2

Posted: 11/8/09 at 1:28pm

I thought it was really interesting that the article specifically mentioned Paige Simumovich's older sister feeling the sting of their mother's absence.

I was also surprised at how high the number of actors under 16 was last season. I guess there were a few shows that had several (as opposed to just one or two), so that made a difference when those shows closed.

When I see the phrase "the ____ estate", I imagine a vast mansion in the country full of monocled men and high-collared women receiving letters about productions across the country and doing spit-takes at whatever they contain. -Kad

Updated On: 11/8/09 at 01:28 PM

[ThankstoPhantom]

re: Children and Teenagers On The Great White Way: NY Times#3

Posted: 11/8/09 at 1:40pm

Because Billy Elliot has such a high number of children, the number will likely always be high for years to come.

How to properly use its/it's: Its is the possessive. It's is the contraction for it is...

[SporkGoddess]

re: Children and Teenagers On The Great White Way: NY Times#4

Posted: 11/8/09 at 1:59pm

Good Lord. It kind of makes one wonder: sure, the kids want it, but is it really what's best for them?

Jimmy, what are you doing here in the middle of the night? It's almost 9 PM!

[karen24]

re: Children and Teenagers On The Great White Way: NY Times#5

Posted: 11/8/09 at 2:49pm

I also found this very interesting, and also found myself looking at it from the perspective of a parent (maybe because I am the parent of teenagers.) Would I sacrifice time and attention for my other children to fulfill the dreams of their sibling? And how many of these child actors will go on to successful Broadway careers as adults (which is what I assume they ultimately would like?) My guess is, not many. In a way it's another example of this "child-centered" society we're always reading about. "My child wants this so much, how can I say no, even if it has a negative effect on my other children, my family life, and my marriage?" I'm just not sure it's worth it.

I in no way mean to dismiss the talent and hard work of these kids, but I really wonder, for the ones who have siblings, and who are separated from their other parent for so much of their childhood, how it will affect them in the long run.

Maggie-the-schnoodle

[dramamama611]

re: Children and Teenagers On The Great White Way: NY Times#6

Posted: 11/8/09 at 3:52pm

Child-centered is right. It's been going on with figure skating and gymnastics for YEARS. Definitely sad for the family dynamic in general.

I'm not sure that for the child involved that it is a negative experience -- unless it tis not truly what THEY want to do. I do wonder about wonderkids finding success so early - will the rest of their life be lacking with their "best years" behind them at the age of 15?

If we're not having fun, then why are we doing it? These are DISCUSSION boards, not mutual admiration boards. Discussion only occurs when we are willing to hear what others are thinking, regardless of whether it is alignment to our own thoughts.

[AEA AGMA SM]

re: Children and Teenagers On The Great White Way: NY Times#7

Posted: 11/8/09 at 6:13pm

In my experience, and this has been confirmed by several friends who work in various areas of casting and/or directing, you can tell from the audition when the child's heart is not in it and they are a result of a pushy stage-parent. As one said, the talent is obvious, but that spark is not there in their eyes. After you work long enough you learn to see the signs. The kids who really want to be doing it have that little something extra that shows up in the auditions.

[musicalbluemirror]

re: Children and Teenagers On The Great White Way: NY Times#8

Posted: 11/8/09 at 6:23pm

karen i wonder the same thing!
even though this is something they want NOW, once you get your dream like this you see how much in the end it is just another job.
I wonder if child performers do go on to careers later on in like
it brings me back to the Annie documentary about those girls and their parents
A family friend was in the original cast of annie when she was little and never thought twice of continuing a career in the business

all i know is the good result of working like this at a young age is A)you get passed around alot from show to show during the young years which gives you B) great training!

[emo_geek]

re: Children and Teenagers On The Great White Way: NY Times#9

Posted: 11/8/09 at 7:40pm

I am always very curious about child actors on Broadway. I thought this was a very good article.

"I never had theatre producers run after me. Some people want to make more Broadway shows out of movies. But Elliot and I aren't going to do Batman: The Musical." - Julie Taymor 1999

[siny]

re: Children and Teenagers On The Great White Way: NY Times#10

Posted: 11/8/09 at 11:27pm

I read the article and all I can say is WOW ! My daughter used to be a competitive gymnast and it took a lot of time, but I did not have to quit my job nor did I have to go weeks at a time without seeing my family. How could it possibly be worth it ? Maybe you can justify it for a part like Billy, but for anything else ?

[karen24]

re: Children and Teenagers On The Great White Way: NY Times#11

Posted: 11/9/09 at 8:52am

AEA, I understand what you're saying and I agree that it's inexcusable if parents are pushing their kids to do something like this if they really don't want to, but my point was more that even if the kids *do* want to do it wholeheartedly, should parents allow it if it means so many sacrifices for the family? I can see it if it's perhaps a single parent with one child, but the child actors featured in this story all seemed to come from two-parent families and had siblings, too. I just wonder how so much attention, time and money spent on one child affects their relationships with their siblings, the relationships of the other siblings to the (mostly) absent parent, and the parent's marriage, too. Do any parents in this situation just say "no, I'm sorry, you can try out for local productions or summer shows, but you cannot try out for Broadway?"

I did understand what the one Mom meant when she said that she let her son audition with no thought that he would actually get the part--it's such a long shot. Maybe they all get caught up in it and don't stop to think about the long-term consequences.

Maggie-the-schnoodle

[givesmevoice]

re: Children and Teenagers On The Great White Way: NY Times#12

Posted: 11/9/09 at 9:20am

Do any parents in this situation just say "no, I'm sorry, you can try out for local productions or summer shows, but you cannot try out for Broadway?"

I know Laura Benanti has said in interviews that her parents limited the shows she auditioned for when she was younger. I wish I could remember where I read it though.

I also definitely think some of these parents think it's a long shot, and don't really imagine themselves having to move and really change their lifestyle to accommodate a child in a Broadway show.

When I see the phrase "the ____ estate", I imagine a vast mansion in the country full of monocled men and high-collared women receiving letters about productions across the country and doing spit-takes at whatever they contain. -Kad

Updated On: 11/9/09 at 09:20 AM

[WishingOnlyWounds2]

re: Children and Teenagers On The Great White Way: NY Times#13

Posted: 11/9/09 at 10:01am

I'm shocked that they didn't go into more detail about the Disney shows and Billy Elliot, or even mention Bye Bye Birdie or Ragtime which also has several kids in the cast. Slightly disappointed in the article, as I've been waiting for an article like this for a while.

2008: Feb. 18- Rent, Feb. 19- Curtains, April 18- Xanadu, April 22- Wicked, April 26- Legally Blonde, May 31- Wicked, June 13- The Little Mermaid, June 28- Wicked and Young Frankenstein, July 2- The Little Mermaid, July 6- A Chorus Line and Legally Blonde, August 16- Xanadu, September 13- Legally Blonde and 13, September 28- Xanadu and Spring Awakening, Oct. 12-GYPSY and [title of show], Oct. 19- Hairspray & Legally Blonde, Nov. 9- Wicked and 13, Dec. 14-13, Dec. 26- Billy Elliot, 2009: Jan 1- Shrek, Jan 2- 13 and Wicked, Jan 4- 13, Feb 17- In The Heights, Feb 19- Billy Elliot, Feb 22- Sweeney Todd (tour), March 28- Mary Poppins, April 4- Mamma Mia!, April 15- Jersey Boys (on tour), April 25- next to normal & 9 to 5 May 1- Billy Elliot, May 3- Spelling Bee (tour), May 8- Chicago, May 21- Wicked, June 6- Everyday Rapture, June 23- The Wiz, June 25- Hair July 15- Shrek, August 9- Wicked, September 7- Rock of Ages, October 11- Next To Normal, October 23- The Marvelous Wonderettes, November 7- Ragtime November 29- Dreamgirls, December 25- Billy Elliot, December 30- Finian's Rainbow, 2010: January 9- Bye Bye Birdie, January 16- Memphis February 17- The Phantom of The Opera, February 18- God of Carnage, March 7- Billy Elliot, March 31- American Idiot

[karen24]

re: Children and Teenagers On The Great White Way: NY Times#14

Posted: 11/9/09 at 11:52am

Here's a link to an interview with Benanti in which she talks about not auditioning for professional theater until she was in her late teens. She mentions that at the time, she really wanted to do it earlier, but is glad now that her parents made her wait.
Spotlight on Laura Benanti

Maggie-the-schnoodle