Your Guide to Family-Friendly Day Trips in New Jersey, New York…and Beyond
I’ve been seeing a lot of Broadway shows lately. It’s good to be back! So the big question is, are these Broadway shows good for kids?
Broadway is back! See our post about what that looks like. Even though Broadway is back, those affected by the theater are still trying to survive. We went for a drink at Beer Culture after the Lion King and the bartender told us that they’re at about 30% of volume. They’re hoping that with Broadway coming back, their business will improve as well.
Other industries are hurting as well, including costume designers. The Showstoppers: Spectacular Costumes from Stage and Screen show was created to raise money for those costume makers who were unable to work during the 18 month shutdown. The Costume Industry Coalition formed in May 2020 and started a recovery fund for its members, which includes 55 independent businesses and hundreds of artisans in and around NYC. These are the people who create the costumes for live and recorded shows. The exhibition designer, Thinc Designs, donated their efforts. Designers lost $26.6 million in gross revenue from the pandemic in 2020 (up to $35 million by now in 2021). The show was put together in 3.5 months, where a show like this would normally take two years. Here is our review: Showstoppers NYC.
Continue reading “Review: Shopstoppers NYC”
I have never received so many emails before a Broadway show as I did in the past few weeks. As the first shows reopened around September 17, I had gotten tickets to the Lion King and Chicago. I wanted to share our experience on what to expect on Broadway during COVID.
As of this writing, Broadway shows require proof of vaccination to enter, and mask-wearing at all times. This is per an agreement with the Actors’ Equity union and Broadway League and affects Broadway productions and major sit-down engagements, per Playbill. All Equity members and those interacting with them who are eligible for a vaccine, will have received it, other than potential exemptions at the producer’s discretion. Vaccinated actors will be tested weekly. More on how to show proof of vaccination and additional details at the bottom of this post.
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I’ve wanted to see Harry Potter and the Cursed Child since it opened in London. My brother-in-law and his family got lucky with their timing, not only having already planned a trip when it was opening, but getting a great lottery number. They came back with rave reviews (though wouldn’t tell us anything because… #keepthesecrets). While I was excited for the New York premiere, my family had no interest. Yes, we all read the books – the whole series. We saw a few of the movies. And I even read the Cursed Child play when it came out (I was high on the library list, though it was so long ago I forgot the plot details).
Continue reading “Review: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child with Kids – What you Need to Know”
It seemed appropriate that when going into New York City for a journalism conference that the Broadway show my fellow journalists and I chose to see was Ink on Broadway. This show, brought over from London’s East End, tells the story of how Rupert Murdoch built the Sun from a failing paper, to a well-read staple. Is Ink appropriate for kids? I’ll fill you in later.
Continue reading “Ink Broadway Review: Is Ink Appropriate for Kids?”It seems every weekend, more people I know are posting that they just went to The Prom. This fun musical has some moral messages to share, and it does so with pizzazz. Is the Prom appropriate for kids? Read on.
The plot
Four Broadway actors are getting a little stale and outdated, and decided they need a cause to put themselves back in the limelight. They choose as their cause celebre a prom in Indiana (hello Mike Pence!) that is cancelled instead of allowing a high school girl to bring her girlfriend. The Broadway actors drop everything and conveniently hop on a traveling Broadway show bus to that very town, to convince everyone there that they should have an inclusive prom. Hilarity ensues.
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My husband likens Beautiful on Broadway to School of Rock for adults. Beautiful is the Carole King story, if that story includes her having one husband and two kids, instead of four husbands and four kids. There’s not enough stage time to feature her 118 pop hits or take her story much beyond that first marriage and her time in New York (and a short stint in the Jersey burbs). But is Beautiful on Broadway appropriate for kids?
Continue reading “Review: Is Beautiful on Broadway Appropriate for Kids?”
Last weekend my teen daughter and I went to do a review of Vitaly off Broadway. I hadn’t heard of the illusionist Vitaly Beckman before, and was intrigued seeing some videos online. He’s been lauded by Penn and Teller, who got their start in New York at the same theater as this show is playing.
Vitaly is a Russian-born Israeli who now lives in Canada (easier immigration rules than the US, he told me after the show).
The Vitaly an Evening of Wonders show is interactive, but that doesn’t mean you have to sit in the first row to participate. He bounded up and down stairs during the show, going to the top aisles on both sides to get volunteers, in addition to using volunteers down lower. For the last illusion, which uses drivers’ licenses, everyone can pony up and yours might be chosen when he’s on stage. Continue reading “Review of Vitaly off Broadway – is it Vitaly Appropriate for Kids?”
Is Phantom of the Opera appropriate for kids?
It’s a little crazy that this was the first time seeing Phantom of the Opera after living in New Jersey for nine years, and seeing multiple Broadway shows per year. I figured that since it has been on Broadway for 30 years, it would be here for a while longer (we’d get around to seeing it), and other shows are coming and going. Plus, after 30 years, wouldn’t it be dated? But my kids have been asking me to go for a few years, and the stars finally aligned between our schedule and ticket prices (thank you TDF membership).
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Is Come From Away appropriate for kids?
When my parents come in town, they ask me to find a Broadway show appropriate for the whole family. That includes two teens and my parents, who are in the senior age range. Just with my parents alone it’s hard to find a show they’ll both like. Disney shows aren’t going to cut it. Last year we saw Oh, Hello! That was great for everyone except my youngest child, who was an early teen and didn’t get a lot of the jokes.
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