The Young King

See it if you have children and want them to see a play with good messages. Nicely staged, children watch a young person mature.

Don't see it if you want a more developed drama. This is for children's shorter attention span. Children will also get to make paper crowns b4 show begins.

See it if Want a little peek bkstge of a big theatre, have kids 7-8, think all kids' theatre worth seeing.

Don't see it if You're ok w a lot of death, strange lighting, tiny hard-to-see puppets, a too-long morality tale, poor direction.

Also I was expecting soooo much more from the descriptions. There were attempts at charm and mystery, but none of it hung together, and the much-touted "transformation of the theater" was to me, a big nothing. After making the paper crowns, a strange, uninspired exercise, all the four groups ended up piled up in the same corrider, standing for a very long dragged out time. I wish one of the "guides" we had met along the way had entertained us with tales or clever banter, but no. I wished there had been more decorative detail backstage. I wished there had been paper cutouts of crowds in the balcony boxes, or more magic and enchantment on the stage. The set was dull and dully lit, and the few attempts at magical props and miniature set pieces were too small, insignificant, and just plain peculiar. The row of very young kids next to me, fidgeted, cried, and finally fell asleep draped over their mom. That kind of summed it up.... Read more Read less

See it if you have children who enjoy clever theater crafts and beautiful images

Don't see it if your child is younger than 8 years old.

See it if You like a simple morality tale. Wilde's short story is enjoyable for children and adults. The activities before the show were sweet.

Don't see it if aN

See it if you enjoy the magic and the language of Oscar Wilde stories; have kids and would like an immersive theater experience

Don't see it if you do not appreciate traditional story-telling or get bored with slow paced stories

See it if you love Oscar Wilde.

Don't see it if you want superficial entertainment.

See it if you have kids who like enchanting theatre.

Don't see it if if you don't like children's theatre.

See it if Your kids are 6-10 or thereabouts and have the patience to be told a rambling story with engaging lead-in activities and good narration.

Don't see it if You actually want your kids to come away with a sense of the human cost of luxury goods and a yearning to be better people.

Also The changes they've made to the Wilde story were a little shocking to me. The mother is rewritten as a spunky princess who wants to be an artist - and is murdered for it (?!). At the end of the tale, rather than being recognized as morally elevated for his rejection of slave labor and cruelty, the prince is mocked and simply runs away from his responsibilities to romp in the forest instead, which to me was very frustrating. (Also the young king's coronation is scheduled while his father the king yet lives, which will give a very wrong impression of how that job works.) I was expecting an inspiring socialist fable and instead -- it was charming, but I'm not sure what it was.... Read more Read less