Have you taken your child to a Broadway show? (Specifically Camelot?)

[bethanyclaire]

My son (6 in early September) and I just finished reading King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. He literally hung on every word and looked forward to it every night before bed. I love reading to him and King Arthur was one of the first long chapter books that we read together. We talked about it a lot and he asked very poignant questions and it opened up a lot of discussions for us.

Anyway, the Broadway show Camelot is coming to the a musical theatre not too far away. I really think he would love it. I haven't seen this show myself, which makes me a little hesitant because I won't know what to expect. I love Broadway shows and I always thought I would take them to a show I had seen before as their first musical.

I know he can sit through the show quietly and won't be disruptive. It it 2.5 hours with an intermission. He is not scared easily and I don't mind him seeing onstage sword fighting. He is socially aware and emotionally mature for his age. The theatre is recommending this show for ages 10+ but that is just a general guideline.

Has anyone seen this show? Did you bring your kids? How old were they? What did they think? What was the level of violence like? How about the sexuality? Anything else you want to share?

Thanks in advance! I really want to expose my kids (DD is still to young for this particular show, she is very sensitive) to the joy of musical theatre as soon as they are ready... it is one of my favorite things!

[MeepyCat]

Wikipedia has a plot synopsis of the musical. If your version of the stories didn't hit the Guinevere/Lancelot adultery plotline, you might pick another musical for your son's first. The ending of Camelot isn't exactly fairy tale happy.

Or you might pick this musical anyway. My mom took me to see "The King and I" when I was five, and I loved it and was not traumatized by the adultery there. Just read the synopsis before you make your decision.

[bethanyclaire]

Thanks for the reply! I did read the Wiki plot synopsis and it was quite detailed. The version we read did include the adultery and the "unhappy" ending, which I was grateful for, actually! When I was little every version of every book we ever read had a happy ending. It was quite a shock when I grew up and re-read those books! I was horrified when I read the "real" version of The Little Mermaid, lol!

That is a good point, though! I'm glad you weren't traumatized by "The King and I!" I wish I had gotten to see that as a child... but my mom wouldn't have been caught dead at a musical! LOL!

[cristeen]

I seem to recall seeing Fiddler and something else that is escaping me at a young age - it really instilled a love of musical theatre for me.

I've seen Camelot, and if you're okay with sword-fighting and you've already discussed the adultery aspect, then I wouldn't have a problem with it. There's nothing all that overt in the musical to begin with.