What show should I take an age group 13-18 to see for first broadway show? — Page 3

Oh, trust me, it's not lost on me. I just find it extremely preachy.

If you get Pippin Tickets go for the Mez, Anywhere in the Mez. You can see everything from up there. I saw opening night from the last row all the way against the wall and still could see everything.

PIPPIN
PIPPIN
PIPPIN
or
PIPPIN

Yeah, Pippin.

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I have seen most of the shows everyone is discussing and I have to agree with Pippin being my first choice for kids this age. It won't insult their intelligence, it's funny and poignant and for their age group it's totally something they can relate to. The circus stunts are impressive, the staging is clever but simple. Cast is quite good. This show will provide food for lots of thought and discussion as well as demonstrating many of the things that can be done on the stage. Tickets for a large group shouldn't be too hard to come by either at this point. The Music Box is a small theater so either middle to rear orchestra (avoid the first 5 rows of the orchestra section, the stage is high and the seats too low) or just about anywhere in the mezzanine are great. This is one the kids will talk about for a long time afterward!

The boys will like Pippin if the current player is 1/10 the seductress Patina Miller was.

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'You don't say where the kids are from, but if many have deployed parents, I'd assume that there will be social conservatives among them. That means "Kinky Boots" is out. If the mix is about half and half boys and girls or more boys than girls, I'd stay away from "Les Miz" which is, in my opinion, too slow in the middle. Also, despite the shoot-em-up aspects at the barricade, the boys may get squirmy because of some of the expressions of love between Marius and Cosette. If there are a lot of girls, "Wicked" and "Matilda" might be good, but, once again, the boys ... mmm ... having raised three (all with ADHD), I don't think those would work for most boys. Having seen overwhelmingly female audiences (of all ages) fall apart at "Phantom," I KNOW that would work for the girls. I also think it would work for gay boys. The straight ones ... even they, on balance, I think would enjoy it. I'd certainly stay away from "A Raisin in the Sun" and "Of Mice and Men" unless these are gifted kids -- many that age won't like a non-musical, especially serious plays like these. (In fact, I saw a group of teens cut up so badly at "Raisin," the musical version of ARITS, that the lead, Virginia Capers, stopped the production and shamed them into behaving). "Rocky" might work if you can get tickets. I can't speak about "Pippin" because, believe it or not, I haven't seen it. I think "Aladdin" would work because it's Disney.'

Screw you and your stereotypes. Not every boy is an over-sexualized insensitive love-hating person. Are you kidding? You're acting if these are 7 year olds. Also, kids with ADHD are going to behave a lot worse than those with, so I think you have no right to assume what these kids can handle based on your own experiences.

Updated On: 6/8/14 at 02:19 PM

Yeah, can we not with the gender stereotypes and the stereotypes of teenagers in general? We're talking about a group of mostly high schoolers here, not little kids.

That said, I think kids in this age bracket would probably get the most out of Pippin.

Your first choice should definitely be Pippin. It has fun, upbeat music, an age appropriate plot, and the acrobatics will keep the less theatrical members of the group interested. Wicked or Phantom would be good second choices but I've found that those shows mainly appeal to my friends that are already into musicals, and that those that were less interested in theatre find particularly Phantom to be long and unexciting.

The thing about shows like Aladdin and Lion King is while it can be good to start teens off with something they can identify and relate to, as a both a kid and teen I always wanted to go to the theatre to see something different from what I could get in a Disney movie. While those shows, along with many others are certainly well done pieces of theatre, I always try to encourage someone's first show to be a completely new experience that includes a plot and music they don't already know most of the words to :)

I'm really torn. It's hard to pick the best show to introduce broadway theater to.

As the OP may know, there is an ironic 'pro'-war number (Glory) in Pippin which might read as a bit confronting/bad taste to military kids. I haven't seen this production so maybe others can weigh in about whether they think it would be appropriate. I guess you can't shelter them from everything, but...
Of the others shortlisted, again I haven't seen them all, but The Lion King provides a good example of how a familiar story can be transformed using theatre techniques.

Updated On: 6/9/14 at 05:08 PM