Anonymous wrote:I think the whole thing would go over the head of a 5 1/2 year old. It doesn't closely follow the plot of the Wizard of Oz and parts are really intense. I would think it would scare and/or bore a child of that age. I would take her to Mary Poppins or something more geared for kids.

I agree. Heck, I saw it on Broadway and wanted to sleep through it. Teenage girls appeared to love it, though.

Wolf Trap is going to have a screening of the original Wizard of Oz movie in July. It will be shown on huge screens in-house and on the lawn, and the NSO will play the original score as well. And no one would be bothered by a darling 5 year old girl at Wolf Trap.

http://www.wolftrap.org/Home/Find_Performances_and_Events/Performance/12Filene/0714show12.aspx

I work in the arts and have several friends who work in children's theater. In the DC area, I would recommend:

http://www.adventuretheatre-mtc.org/at-mtc-merger.html

http://www.imaginationstage.org/

http://discoverytheater.org/

http://www.blackrockcenter.org/

http://www.pumpkintheatre.com/

Anonymous wrote:I went to wicked and had trouble following storyline...just wasn't that interesting to me. I'd say most 5 year olds would not like it.

Unrelated because the musical is great (although not for 5 y.o.s) but it was hard to follow the storyline b/c it was so darn choppy and didn't follow the book very much. Start with community theater and build up to regular theater.

I didn't love it myself, and I'm a huge musical theater fan. That said, I think there was a 4 year old sitting next to me and they did great. Definitely depens on the kid!

I went to wicked and had trouble following storyline...just wasn't that interesting to me. I'd say most 5 year olds would not like it.

If you are taking a 4 year old to Wicked because you think they will be able to follow the story line, you are nuts!

FYI ISTR the new Mary Poppins was at least as scary as Wicked.

I took my DD to see Wicked just before her 6th birthday. she absolutely loved it. She got restless for about the final 15 minutes, but otherwise, she was mesmerized. She had seen shorter theatre productions prior to Wicked. so she had some sense of what behavior was expected. Also, she was not especially familiar with the the Wizard of Oz. Kids who are very attached to that story might be a bit bugged by the way that Wicked is different from the story they know.

I am taking my 4yo.

We started with community musicals and she has done well with those, so I know she can sit and watch. She has also watched parts of Wicked on YouTube and she liked it. Big Wizard of Oz fan too.

Why don't you take your to see a community theatre musical and see how they do?

I would but my sons be too a dozen or more plays in his life and will sit through them and enjoys them.

I would try a couple less expensive plays first and see how she does some kids LOVE them and some not so much..

most of the plays we have been to have been college ones or community plays.

I have a 5 year old boy.

No, definitely not for a child that young. It would be a waste of time and money.

I think the whole thing would go over the head of a 5 1/2 year old. It doesn't closely follow the plot of the Wizard of Oz and parts are really intense. I would think it would scare and/or bore a child of that age. I would take her to Mary Poppins or something more geared for kids.

Gosh, sorry I posted twice. As to Wicked: we saw it on Broadway a few years ago (with teens). It is visually intense, but the music should be fine. I don't recall it being scary in particular. There is sexual innuendo, but it would go over the head of a 5 year old.

This is just my opinion. Any play is usually at least 2 hours long. They are expensive, unless they are high school or community theatre. There are a lot of people around you who don't want to be distracted by a whining child.
So, if you have a child that can sit still for a few hours, and the money spent is worth it to you, go for it.
We didn't take ours to a play until they were about 8 or 9, unless it was a local production (high school, middle school, etc) geared for kids.

This is just my opinion. Any play is usually at least 2 hours long. They are expensive, unless they are high school or community theatre. There are a lot of people around you who don't want to be distracted by a whining child.
So, if you have a child that can sit still for a few hours, and the money spent is worth it to you, go for it.
We didn't take ours to a play until they were about 8 or 9, unless it was a local production (high school, middle school, etc) geared for kids.

My daughter loves the wizard of oz and the wicked soundtrack. If you have seen Wicked , do you think it's something a 5.5 year old would like? Or is it a waste of $$ at this point?