We have the opportunity to see Cats in February when it comes to San Francisco. I’ve never seen it and would like to. I wonder if it would be Ok for me to take my son to see.
Any thoughts?
We have the opportunity to see Cats in February when it comes to San Francisco. I’ve never seen it and would like to. I wonder if it would be Ok for me to take my son to see.
Any thoughts?
I don’t see why not. There are a couple of parts that might be considered scary for young children, but it seems well balanced. Maybe you should rent the DVD and prescreen it?
I am of the opinion that taking a defenseless child to see Cats should be considered an act of cruelty. Good god, I hate that show.
But it’s fun to pretend that instead of singing ‘Jelicle Cats’, they’re singing ‘Jelly-filled cats’.
Jelly-filled, jelly-filled cats!
Jelly-filled, jelly-filled cats!
Well you’re bound to hear a lot of (well-deserved) jokes about going to see this show (now the second longest-running musical ever), but to honestly answer your question, you really don’t have anything to worry about. Cats is Family-Friendly Wholesome Fun[sub]TM[/sub].
I don’t think it’s a spoiler to mention that the “plot”, such as it were, is that all the cats are vying to get into the Heavyside Layer, the feline equivalent of heaven, and “Memory” is sung when that one cat is chosen (Grizabella). So as long as your kid understands what’s happening with that, it shouldn’t be a problem.
What Otto said.
As a 7 year old tomboy, I adored Cats.
For what it’s worth…
Hmmm. My cat feels a little squishy around the middle. It’s probably a good idea not to squeeze her.
It’s like a jelly donut, you know, when you squeeze it and the jelly blorps out of its donut anus? Ewww. Except you can’t eat what comes out of the cat. At least you shouldn’t.
To actually contribute to the topic, I would have totally loved seeing cats at 7, for the costumes alone.
Please explain this to my dog, because he totally doesn’t get it.
Seven years old is about the right mental age to enjoy Cats. If he’s smarter than average he’ll hate you for it later.
My cousin got a video of Cats and he was obsessed with it for a year or so, like some boys are obsessed with Spider Man or Pokemon. If I am doing my math right, he was 7 at the time.
He’s made a complete recovery
To see the Broadway show, you had to be “4 and up.” I brought several 7 & 8 year olds to see the show, and they enjoyed the CATS, music and dancing.
Right. When I said that a couple of parts may be a ‘little scary’, it’s really on the level of Disney films. Think: The Banshee in Darby O’Gill And The Little People. That sort of thing.
I saw it as a teen and was bored pantsless.
As posted in another thread, here’s a pretty thorough synopsys of Cats, so you can help explain what’s happening to your son. And I’d highly recommend at least getting the CD to listen to before seeing the show, as it’s very hard to follow the lyrics and the songs when heard live. I got this advice from a couple of people who’d seen it before I did, and I was damn glad I took it, because I could barely understand a word.
Funny thing is, I saw it both on tour, and on Broadway, on its original stage, which many people claim was the reason it wasn’t liked as a touring show, because it needed that small, intimate, fixed set to get the right “feel.” And though I had come to love the music from having listened to it repeatedly before even seeing the show, I still hated the show – both times. Go figure.
I am totally appreciating everyone’s replies…yes, everyone’s! I know I will get a bit of flack for taking my 7 yo boy to see Cats. I’m Ok with it.
We’ve seen The Lion King twice on stage: once at the Lyceum in London when he was 4, and once in SF at the Orpheum (he was 5) where we will be seeing Cats. We saw Annie at the local theater last Christmas (my mom was in it!) and he just loved it.
He seems to love live theater, says it’s better than seeing a movie. He dislikes most fairytales which makes traditional “children’s theater” annoying and boring for him. It’s hard to find quality theater productions that are appropriate for kids.
I’m not a big fan of “Cats,” and wouldn’t recommend it to anyone.*
But that’s not the question. The question is, is this a show that’s inapproprpriate for 7 year olds. And the answer is, no. The child may or may not enjoy the show, but there’s nothing in it that I consider inappropriate for children to see or hear.
This is either an unusual figure of speech or an interesting story.
When I went, I thought the dancing was a little…provocative. Lot’s of men and women in skin-tight costumes crawling around and gyrating on top of each other.
But apparently I’m the only one who thinks this?
Perhaps I should also add that I am not a fan. No plot to speak of and neither the songs or the dancing is entertaining enough on its own.
I took my daughter to see it when she was that age, and after a wide-eyed look at the costumes and makeup, she was bored to tears. It really doesn’t have a lot to interest children, and the story has themes more interesting to adults. I have to admit, it bored me too.