"The holiday season is to Broadway and Off-Broadway what Black Friday is to retail: the moment when audiences flood in, families plan outings en masse, and producers hope that box-office receipts can single-handedly balance the year's budget. Shows built around nostalgia, spectacle, or the holidays themselves (i.e. A Christmas Carol, The Radio City Christmas Spectacular, The Nutcracker) tend to dominate."
"This year, we checked out the superb Off-Broadway revival of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, the latest edition of The Big Apple Circus at Lincoln Center, the encore Broadway engagement of Beetlejuice, and a regional production of Disney's Frozen at New Jersey's Paper Mill Playhouse. The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee A quirky, small-scale musical comedy that premiered on Broadway in 2005, Spelling Bee centers on six eccentric middle-schoolers competing in a spelling competition, with a handful of audience volunteers joining them onstage. The show blends improvisation, heartfelt character moments, and unexpectedly adult humormost of which, thankfully, flew straight over my child's head."
"But this new Off-Broadway staging is tight, polished, and full of fresh comic energy. Reid was fully engaged throughout. He had also hoped to be chosen as one of the audience participants, but we arrived too late to spot the staffers who gather volunteers before curtain. (Parental note: if your child dreams of theatrical stardom, aim for early arrival.)"
The holiday season brings surges of family audiences to Broadway and Off-Broadway, with nostalgia and spectacle driving box-office success. The author and nine-year-old son attended multiple productions: an Off-Broadway revival of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, The Big Apple Circus at Lincoln Center, Beetlejuice on Broadway, and Disney's Frozen at Paper Mill Playhouse. Spelling Bee is a small-scale musical comedy featuring six eccentric middle-school contestants and audience volunteers, mixing improvisation, character moments, and adult humor that often went over the child's head. The Off-Broadway staging proved tight and energetic, and arriving early matters for volunteer participation.
Read at www.amny.com
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