Tag: new york city

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Review: Pippin – appropriate for kids?

pippin poster

With 10 Tony nominations and a positive New York Times review, I was glad I had tickets to see the Pippin revival the day after its official opening. I’ve not seen Pippin before so I can’t compare how this revival is different, though the circus theme is new, and the lead player is a woman instead of a man. And her arms are so buff that Michelle Obama’s look downright flabby in comparison.

pippin leading player

Let’s start with the million dollar question for my family-friendly theater-goers:

Is Pippin appropriate for kids? Continue reading “Review: Pippin – appropriate for kids?”

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Treat of the Day: Sugar and Plumm, Purveyors of Yumm

Just a few days after Easter, I thought I’d tempt you with come Easter candy – and some that’s not specifically for the holiday. This treat of the day comes to you from Sugar and Plumm, with stores in Paramus, NJ and the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Pictures are from the latter location, just around the corner from the American Museum of Natural History, where ironically we were seeing an exhibit on whales.

This chocolate egg crate is all edible! And costs $45. Copyright Deborah Abrams Kaplan
Ahhh the chocolates...Copyright Deborah Abrams Kaplan
Ahhh the chocolates…Copyright Deborah Abrams Kaplan

These chocolates came in flavors like Continue reading “Treat of the Day: Sugar and Plumm, Purveyors of Yumm”

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Review: Whales: Giants of the Deep Exhibit at the American Museum of Natural History

Did you know that dolphins and porpoises are whales? We learned that, plus many other interesting facts about whales during our visit to the American Museum of Natural History’s exhibit Whales: Giants of the Deep. Admittedly I knew very little about whales before going to this exhibit. I didn’t know that the precursors to whales WALKED, losing their legs eventually as they took to the ocean full time. A simulation video of the whale’s evolution is a good visual representation.

Did you know that whales can be broken up into two categories: toothed whales and baleen whales? Toothed whales are smaller, and include dolphins and porpoises (porpoises don’t have beaks, dolphins do). Baleen whales are filter feeders, taking in larger amounts of small food and filtering it out, where as toothed whales go for single prey, swallowing it whole.

In addition to videos and other displays, the exhibit features Continue reading “Review: Whales: Giants of the Deep Exhibit at the American Museum of Natural History”

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Review: Zarkana at Radio City Music Hall

I took my 11 year old daughter to see Cirque du Soleil’s Zarkana at Radio City Music Hall this past weekend. The show closes on September 2, so if you’re looking for a show to see soon, go see it. We loved it. (Zarkana heads to Las Vegas next, so you can catch it there. I saw Ka in Las Vegas and loved it. Completely different show and concept).

Zarkana is self-described as an acrobatic rock opera blending circus arts with the surreal. I think that’s a decent description. There are some spoilers in here, so don’t read the review if you want everything to be new and surprising.

They also describe the story this way: “The story follows Zark, a magician who has lost his powers – and the love of his life – in an abandoned theatre populated by a motley collection of off-the-wall characters and incomparable acrobats. He runs into the Mutants, four sirens as sinister as they are fabulous, who are determined to divert him from his quest.” Continue reading “Review: Zarkana at Radio City Music Hall”

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Review: Bronx Zoo

We’ve been busy zoo hopping during the past year – the Philly Zoo, Prospect Park Zoo (reviewing coming soon) and more. We finally made the trek to the Bronx Zoo, and didn’t even make it through the whole thing. But here’s what we saw.

We started off checking out the winged friends. The flamingos are a favorite. You may not know that what we think is their knee joint is actually their ankle.  The knee part is under the wings. And you probably do know that they get their feather coloring from the food they eat. The flamingos eat by putting their beak in the water and straining out fish, vegetation and tiny invertebrates. Their tongues pump the water in and out.

Continue reading “Review: Bronx Zoo”

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Review: Spiderman on Broadway – Good for Kids?

If you pay attention to Broadway shows, perhaps even if you don’t, you’ve heard about Spiderman – the most expensive show to produce on Broadway, the injuries from flying during previews, criticism of the script and Bono/The Edge music, firing of director Julie Taymor, etc. Reviews of the new production are mediocre, claiming this version of the show is bland, family entertainment (versus Taymor’s artistic version which was darker and didn’t work). And only one person I talked to who had actually seen, it liked it. In fact, she loved it, and said it was the best show she’d ever seen on Broadway. I assumed she didn’t get out much. So this was my mindset going in. I figured my 8 year old son would like it, and my critical 11 year old daughter and I would say, “meh.”

Bottom line: We all loved it.

Continue reading “Review: Spiderman on Broadway – Good for Kids?”

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Review: Spy Exhibition with Kids – Discovery Times Square

We were recently at the International Spy Museum in Washington DC. There are more spies in DC than anywhere else. But apparently there are a fair amount in the NYC area as well (not that that’s a surprise). We weren’t sure how it would compare to the recently opened Spy: the Secret World of Espionage at Discovery Times Square.

What is spying? Basically it’s trying to gain the upper hand and know what your adversary is going to do before they do it. It’s attaining information you’re not supposed to have, to ensure your security. And it’s widespread. It doesn’t have to be obtained illegally – spies get their information from internet sites and blogs (my kids laughed at that one), as well as classified documents. Continue reading “Review: Spy Exhibition with Kids – Discovery Times Square”

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Review: Creatures of Light Exhibit – AMNH

Having recently visited one of Puerto Rico’s Bio Bays, we were excited to see the American Museum of Natural History’s newest exhibit, Creatures of Light.

What we learned:

-Male fireflies use their light to attract females, and answer her flash by pointing his toward her for full effect.

-The male firefly lantern may be 10 times larger than the female’s.

-Fireflies may only have 2 weeks to reproduce, so don’t hold onto it for long!

-Firefly larva live in the ground and live fireflies spend the daytime hours in the grass.

Continue reading “Review: Creatures of Light Exhibit – AMNH”

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Review: Terracotta Warriors at Discovery Times Square

The Egyptians had their pyramids and burial chambers filled with goods they thought they’d need in the afterlife. Chinese emperors were buried with a full size army. Fortunately this army was made of terracotta, but 8,000 soldiers strong.

Terracotta Warriors exhibit. Copyright Deborah Abrams Kaplan

(Tickets and discount ticket information at the bottom)

The army is thought to include 130 chariots and 520 chariot horses and 150 cavalry horses (2 of which are on display at this exhibit), and nonwarriors like acrobats and musicians. The soldiers formed a large army in complete battle formation. They were buried in three pits, which are not fully excavated. You can see details and a lot of pictures of the ongoing Terracotta Warriors archeological excavations here. Continue reading “Review: Terracotta Warriors at Discovery Times Square”

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