What ever happened to a kid’s show being for the kids?

I thought that it would be fun to do an article on how parents and kids can go do something fun together. It just seems like a lot of kids and their parents don't do enough activities together. So for this article I decided to go see the "Go Diego Go Live! The Great Jaguar rescue!" show at the Radio City Music Hall.

 

Before I get started with the review of the show, I just want to make reference to an incident that happened at the show. The show had already started and I was located in the Orchestra section only about ten rows from the stage. All of a sudden the audience in the whole place hears yelling, screaming, and a lot of cursing coming from what I like to refer to as the nose bleed section. Apparently someone was in someone else's seats thinking they weren't coming because the show was about 1/2hr in. This caused the people who came late; a big group of people, to start yelling at the people in their seats.

This dispute went on for about ½ hr and the whole place, filled with kids by the way, could hear and see the adults fighting and swearing at each other. Tell me, why do you feel it necessary to use that kind of language in front of small children? That was completely inappropriate and not to mention this was a KIDS SHOW for crying out loud!! I can tell you one thing, if I were a parent and my kids were with me and saw this or even worse, started using that language I would be upset. I also thought that this fight went on for way to long without someone breaking it up. This was very distracting and took away from the show. This show cost way too much money for you not to enjoy the whole thing. I was expecting some kind of apology at the end of the show from the theater or some kind of reimbursement like a free toy for the kids as a sorry or something, but nothing was mentioned about it, almost like it didn't happen. I know the people behind me with kids were very upset along with the people in front of me. The kids kept looking up at the fight instead of paying attention to the show. It was hard not to because they were so loud. Next time you have a problem, try to remember there are kids with you and around you. Try taking a different approach to handling a situation like that. Thanks.

 

This show took place on March 28^th at 11am. The tickets for this show ranged in price from about $29.00-$79.00 depending on what day of the week and where the seats were located. The show lasted for about 1 ½ hrs. Inside the theater, they sold a bunch of souvenirs for the kids like hats, shirts, vest, this globe looking toy that lit up and had Diego spinning on the inside of it, rescue pack and straws. There was also a bunch of snack food like you were in a movie theater, but watching the movie live instead on screen.

The prices of souvenirs were definitely over priced, but once your kids see the items good luck trying to say no. I also felt like the tickets were overpriced as well. I had to pay the same price for a kid's show that lasted a 1 ½hrs tops, as I did for a Justin Timberlake concert that was front row and lasted all of 3 hours or more. No wonder why parents don't take their kinds to shows anymore. This kind of stuff could put a pretty big dent in your wallet just for and hour or so of fun. Tell me why a kids show, that has very low budget props and then some of the same actors playing more then one character need to charge you the same price if not more for tickets to a Broadway show or a concert with a lot of special effects, such as the FutureSex/LoveShow. The idea here is to get parents and their kids to do things together, but with what all this cost, most kids are going to stay home because their parents can't afford the tickets and souvenirs.

The show it's self was amusing and the kids seemed to like it. The age range for the kids were anywhere form 1year old up to 12. Both boys and girls liked this show and there was also an appearance from Dora. There were not a whole lot of high budget props, but this show did make do with what it had and almost every seat was sold out. There was a good amount of audience interaction, which made the kids feel like they were part of the show as well. The attendants handed all the kids coming in a baby jaguar mask for the kids to use during the show. I thought this was a very nice idea, and then the kids would be able to bring it home and scrap book it or play with it. During the show there was also a 15 min intermission for bathroom breaks or what ever the parents had to do. This was a nice idea for the younger kids, but the older kids got a little restless.

 

I thought that the cast selection for Diego was very good. Diego had a. outstanding amount of energy and put on a very entertaining performance. As far as Dora goes, I think they could have picked a different person for that role. The girl who played Dora wasn't very believable to me. I thought that Dora was overacting just a little bit, almost as if she forgot that she was playing a kid's character. The Dora that played in last years live show I felt was a great fit to the character and wish that they had brought her back to the show. The Dora character wasn't really in the show as much as I thought she would be, but I don't think that it hurt the production at all. I also thought the guy who played Rescue Pack was very good. He had such a good energy and made the show very fun for me to be at. I also really enjoyed the Bobo Brothers. They were very fun and natural to watch. The two characters that played the Bobo Brothers had very good chemistry with each other, which made the characters very believable and fun to watch.  I know your thinking, "boy this girl is tough, it's just a kids show", but with the prices they charge for these tickets, I feel like the adults should be getting a good show as well.

This show had just the right amount of singing and dancing in it and I feel like the kids had a really fun time participating in the show. The characters would ask the kids to answer some question and ask them to sing and dance which was very cute to watch. Also the show followed the T.V version with the English and Spanish words for kids to learn. During one of the dance segments there were two cast members that were out in the audience dancing trying to get the kids to dance as well. This was pretty cool and the kids liked it. Later the cast members were on stage for the kids to see them again. At the end of the show they dropped soap suds, that made it look like it was snowing and last but not least, a big blast of confetti for all the kids to try and catch!

This show was an entertaining show for the kids, but priced at a Broadway level, so bring the prices down and I think this would be a very nice show for parents to take their kids to. Remember the idea is to get parents and their kids to spend some time together. We should take into consideration that not everyone has all that money, but should still be allowed to have fun.  Don't take my word for it, go and see for your self.