Your Guide to Family-Friendly Day Trips in New Jersey, New York…and Beyond
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.
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This is Mark Kaplan, Debbie’s husband, guest blogger for this post. When Debbie daytripped to Philadelphia for a sorority reunion, it was left unsaid that there was no way the kids or I would be tagging along….for everyone’s sake. “So guys, what do you want to do this Saturday?” I inquired.
“Paintball!” said the boy.
It was one of those parenting moments – I’m sure you’ve had them too – when your child blows you away with a completely unexpected answer. Fortunately – unlike New Year’s Day 2015 when I was in California with the kids, Debbie was in Asia, I was hung over, and I asked the kids what they wanted for breakfast (bacon!) – this was a pleasant, unexpected answer. Yes, paintball! Why indeed not? None of us had ever done it before, and we were all interested in trying.
Continue reading “Review: Paintball in New Jersey”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Four Broadway actors are getting a little stale and outdated, and decided they need a cause to put themselves back in the limelight.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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The Museum of Illusions opened in September near Chelsea Market. There are others throughout the world. Here’s our Review Museum of Illusions in New York City!
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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?
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I love Korean spas, and have visited and reviewed traditional Korean spas King Spa and Island Spa in Edison. A new upscale and less traditional Korean spa opened up last year, Sojo Spa in Edgewater. I brought a friend and our teen daughters. Given all the nakedness in the hot tub rooms/locker rooms in traditional Korean spas and for scrubs, we were a bit nervous – naked spa-ing with our kids was no one’s idea of fun. But that worry was for naught. Here’s our review Sojo Spa in Edgewater!
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?”
How many of you are seeing Taylor Swift in concert? Based on the Facebook posts I’m seeing, that would be MANY of you! For Swifties fans, consider a trip to the Grammy Museum Experience at the Prudential Center, sadly not the same location as the concerts, or they’d be swamped before the show. They have a temporary Taylor Swift exhibit through the summer, though there’s more to see here than just Taylor. Here’s our review: Grammy Museum Experience at the Prudential Center.
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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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It’s okay. You can be a local and still take the Radio City Music Hall tour. In fact, you should. Your kids would like it too. There are details for those who care greatly about architecture, art and design. And it’s fun to wander around back stage and see Rockettes’ costumes up close (and meet a Rockette in person). And if you’re lucky like us, you’ll show up on one of the 40 or so days a year when there’s not a performance and they aren’t setting up for one. And you’ll be able to on STAGE. Yeah, we got lucky.
