Going to the Theatre... sort of...

When I was a little girl, my parents took me to see Andrew Lloyd Webber's Cats, and I fell in love.

Now, I am by no means a theatre buff; I had been to Stratford and Shaw Festivals only once in my life - basically if you can compare to my theatre going experience to books: I am more of a Jane Austen girl as compared to War and Peace, more Dan Brown than Umberto Eco. I like theatre lite.

However, I still feel there is something quite magical about a live production; for one thing, you are watching something in actual 3D! And, it is always fun to dress up and go out on a special occasion.

So, I would really like to share the experience of going to musicals, concerts, theatres and other extravagant live shows with my little one. I think it is good for her to experience different sorts of art and culture and entertainment, and to learn to sit still.

Now, just because I want to bring my daughter to a show, does not mean I can just pick any show, buy tickets and just go. There are very important considerations.

• We have to consider subject matter – I have a five year old, so the show has to be family friendly, and for us, MUST have a happy ending. Hopefully it will be entertaining for adults as well.

• There should be a easy to follow plot – i.e. no time paradoxes, weird soap opera like subplots, or anything else that will require me to spend the entire time of the show trying to explain what is happening to my daughter.

• Colourful costumes, and cheerful characters – once again, my kid is five, and she likes colours and cute things. She is also terrified of the dark, so I doubt we will be seeing a show like Phantom of the Opera anytime soon.

• Stuff should happen (besides plot) – people or things should move, and talk/sing, and do stuff, to hold her attention. There is no way my child can sit through anything slow and cerebral, nor do I expect her to.

• Length of show - the show should not be too long, unless the show is spectacular with lots of special effects, my child cannot sit still for more than an hour at a time.

• Price – I am hoping that it would not be too expensive. I just do not want to feel bad if I have to leave in the beginning or middle of the show, or feel that I have to force my kid to stay for the entire thing even if she is not happy (“mommy and daddy paid a lot of money for this so you are staying and you are going to like it”). I understand this is not always possible, but one can hope.

So, when I saw the Disney on Ice presents Worlds of Fantasy, I thought maybe this will be a good continue introduction to live shows. Last year she saw Disney Live! presents Three Classic Fairytales and loved it.

Let us see if it can meet my pre-show checklist:

• Subject matter – it is a Disney show, and since I see nothing that would imply Old Yeller or Bambi's mom will be involved in this show, I think we are good.

• Plot – there are cars, toys, mermaids, fairies and of course two very famous mice. I think she might be happy even if there is no story.

• Colourful costumes – we are talking about cartoons coming to life, so the costumes are probably going to be pretty spectacular.

• Stuff should happen – it is an ice skating show, pretty sure there will be lots of action, spins, jumps and tricks. And, I believe there will be cars on ice (granted, I can always watch cars driving on ice by looking out my window in January...)

• Length of show and price – I am not sure how long the show is, and the tickets are not cheap, but not unreasonable either (okay, I think the top tiered seats are a little bit much, but they are supposed to be the best seat in the house).

I think my kid might really enjoy this show. Hopefully, if she has a great experience, she will be more open to other kinds of shows (the only show she likes so far is the ballet the Nutcracker, and I can only watch the Nutcracker so many times before I go nuts, and my wallet empties)

And maybe, when she is older, we can do a family trip to Stratford or Shaw.

For more information about the show, please visit Disney On Ice .

Fine Print:
Feld Entertainment may be providing me with complimentary tickets to this show, in exchange for my time and efforts in attending the show, and reporting my opinion within this blog. However, the opinions about the show, and everything else are 100 per cent mine.
pictures courtesy of Disney characters and artwork, © Disney. Disney/Pixar characters and artwork © Disney/Pixar.    

Discount Code for tickets to Disney Live! presents Three Classic Fairy Tales

If your little ones are as obsessed with princesses as mine is, this may be a great little present for a post-holiday princess fix (especially since the threat of Santa not bringing presents is now gone) – tickets to Disney Live! presents Three Classic Fairy Tales. Consider this as my way of helping with Boxing Day shopping.

Using the code: MAMA

• You can get 4 tickets for $44 for the Monday through Thursday performances

• For Friday through Sunday performances, you can save $4 per ticket

• However, like many other offers, there are some restrictions: EXCLUDES Front Row, VIP, TP and Gold Circle tickets and may not be combined with other discount offers.

• And, this code is valid between now and end of performance schedule

And yes, Santa did bring my little one a princess doll – Belle. Well, at least it was not pink.

My little princess

I never imagined that I would be raising a princess; and not just any princess, a little fairy princess…

So, here I am trying to convince my little one to wear something other than a dress every morning. And then it occurred to me, who cares? She will only be this little once. So what if she wants to wear a princess dress to the park, or a tutu, or a gorilla suit (as long as it is weather appropriate… i.e. no summer dresses without six layers underneath when there is snow on the ground… and yes. I know it is April, but it snowed here last week…)

Well, this is the theory I Try to live by… most mornings I am pretty good about not fighting her fashion choices, though I still try to get her to wear something else, mainly because she has LOTS of other clothes. I keep telling myself it is just clothes, and who knows, maybe next week she wants to be a pirate… ‘

The main thing that bothers me about her princess obsession is the importance that she places on her clothes and looking pretty. It is partly my fault: I admit that I think she is adorable, and I often let her know it; and other people has told her that she is cute as well (granted, who really walks up to a kid and goes yuck, you are ugly…). So now, I am worry that I am raising a very vain child who puts a premium on physical appearance.

On the other hand, this may just be a phase… I use to like pink and pretty dresses, and now I live in jeans and t-shirts (I probably go a little too far the other way and not put enough care into my appearance…). I wish I know how to get through to her that her actions are much more important than her outfits and hair accessories. But then, she is three, and is generally well behaved, polite and sometimes even thoughtful.

Maybe I AM the one that is making too big a deal out of this whole princess thing… after all she did tell me once that she is going to be a “princess who rescues other princesses” What else can I ask for…