Although you can find discounts to Broadway shows every day, none of the usual deals compare to the bargain that is Kids Night on Broadway. On Tuesday, February 2, Wednesday, February 3 and Sunday, February 7, children ages 6 to 18 can catch a slew of Broadway shows for free—provided you buy an accompanying full-priced adult ticket. Participating productions include tried-and-true family faves (The Lion King, Wicked) tween-pleasers ( Bye Bye Birdie, Billy Elliot the Musical, West Side Story) and even a few choices for mature teens (Oleanna, Next to Normal).
Tickets go on sale on Monday, November 9 at noon, and we’re sure they’re going to sell out fast. Details on how to snag seats for Kids Night on Broadway should be available on the event’s website soon. Last year, a discount code was provided that allowed patrons to purchase tickets by phone, online or at participating theater box offices. Here’s hoping it’s just as easy this year!
Prepare to say goodbye to Princess Fiona and your favorite donkey. We hoped it might have the staying power of Disney’s Mary Poppins or The Lion King, but alas, DreamWorks’ first foray into Broadway, Shrek the Musical, announced today that it will close on January 3rd, after playing a little over a year. The decision doesn’t come as a huge surprise; as New York magazine reported today, the show has lost more than 1 million dollars since Labor Day.
We were big fans of the big budget production; though its songs weren’t super memorable, its over-the-top set and hilarious, raucous characters sure were. Our suggestion: Treat your kids to the spectacle before it’s too late! You’ll find a great deal here.
We couldn’t be more excited for the Broadway revival of Ragtime to arrive this Friday. Why? Well, first off, we haven’t been able to get the musical’s gorgeous songs out of our heads since it opened on Broadway 12 years. Secondly, as we mentioned in our blowout feature on tweens, the epic show is perfectly suited for kids ages 9 to 12—especially those with an interest in history. And finally, we learned today, tickets to the show can potentially be quite cheap!
Beginning on Friday, the theater will institute a lottery ticket program for day-of performances. Two hours prior to each performance, patrons will be invited to enter a lottery drawing at the Neil Simon Theatre (250 W 52nd St) for a limited number of $26.50 tickets. Names will be drawn at random 90 minutes prior to curtain, and there will be a limit of two tickets per person. Payment is cash only and winners must be present with valid ID to claim/pay for their prize. We hope you’re feeling lucky!
Even though its summer season is over, Coney Island has certainly been in the news this week. First, the Brooklyn nabe’s 100-year-old Dreamland Bell, which was recently pulled from the depths of the ocean, went on display at Borough Hall. Now composer Andrew Lloyd Webber has announced that the long-awaited sequel to Broadway’s longest-running play, The Phantom of the Opera, will be set during the fun zone’s turn-of-the-century heyday.
According to the Associated Press, the new musical will be titled Love Never Dies and will hit the Great White Way in November 2010. Ten years after losing his love, Christine, the Phantom has migrated from Paris to NYC, and “rises from one of the attractions at a freak show to control the entire complex.”
The story doesn’t sound quite as sweeping and romantic as the intrigue that unfolds at the original’s Paris Opera House, but we’re still curious. We especially can’t wait to see how Webber one-ups the drama and suspense of Phantom’s falling chandelier.
A few staffers here at Time Out Kids are already addicted to the new Fox program Glee (Wednesdays at 9pm). The show follows the misfit students who come together in a high-school glee club, as well as their socially awkward teachers. Though it clearly takes some cues from megahit High School Musical, the series differs in a huge way, in that this musical is actually watchable, with real laugh-out-loud moments. It’s also musically eclectic: Featured songs include Amy Winehouse’s “Rehab” and Rihanna’s “Take a Bow.” Among the talented cast are Lea Michele, from Broadway’s Spring Awakening, and Matthew Morrison, who played Link Larkin in Hairspray’s first national tour. And the emotionally authentic plotlines have so far tackled teen sex and pregnancy, and coming out as gay to friends and parents.
Which got us wondering…are any parents out there allowing their musical-obsessed tweens to watch this show? Tell us!
If your kiddos are definitely too young to tune in, check out our round-up of best bets in children’s television for the fall. Or, learn how your youngster who wants to be onstage like the ballad-belting kids in Glee can try out for a children’s chorus in NYC.
Hold on to your umbrellas! New York City is finally getting an authentic, British version of the ultimate nanny, Mary Poppins. The West End’s original Mary, Laura Michelle Kelly, is coming to Broadway to reprise the role that won her an Olivier award (the equivelent of our Tony). In London, she earned raves for playing the prim and pleasant governess for 400+ performances. Kelly starts chim-chim-cheeree-ing at the New Amsterdam Theatre on October 12 at 7pm, just in time for the show’s third anniversary on November 16th.
Also joining the cast is Christian Borle, who played the lovable, loyal Emmett in Broadway’s Legally Blonde. He’ll be taking over the part of the tap-dancing chimney sweep Bert. We hope they find their stint in the show to be a jolly holiday!
Attention parents with Ariel-obsessed daughters (or sons! No judgments here). The big-budget (and badly reviewed) Broadway musical The Little Mermaid will sail off into the sunset come August 30. I have to admit, while most critics lambasted the show, I saw it twice, and although it was no Lion King, both in terms of theatrical creativity and staying power, I enjoyed myself. Once I even went without my mermaid-obsessed four-year-old, and I still had fun. It’s got a good balance of sweetness and camp, Alan Menken and Howard Ashman’s glorious tunes and costumes that would be the envy of any drag queen.
If you’ve never seen it and want to, or have an apopleptic adolescent begging to go, you can buy discounted tickets on Broadwaybox.com. (Warning: these special offers will likely dry up as the closing date approaches).
