Many Broadway Shows Will Offer Kids-For-Free Program From January 9th Through 15th

Contributed by Mark Kennedy, AP

Forget paying for a baby sitter. Why not take the kids to Broadway?

Theater-loving parents early next year will get a financial break with the annual program that lets children and teens aged 6-18 see a Broadway shows for free when accompanied by a full-paying adult. This year, the offer is good for shows from Jan. 9-15.

The shows participating are: "Aladdin," ''Beautiful - The Carole King Musical," ''Chicago," ''The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time," ''A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder," ''Honeymoon in Vegas," ''If/Then," ''Jersey Boys," ''Kinky Boots," ''Les Miserables," ''The Lion King," ''Mamma Mia!" ''Matilda the Musical," ''The Phantom of the Opera," ''On the Town," ''Pippin," ''Rock of Ages," ''Side Show" and "Wicked."

Tickets to participating shows will be available beginning Wednesday.

The program was introduced Tuesday by Judith Light and Tony Danza, former co-stars on the sitcom "Who's the Boss?" Light has won two Tony Awards since the show ended and Danza is about to star on Broadway in "Honeymoon in Vegas."

"When you expose young people to the theater early, it can really change their lives. It expands them. It opens their educational world. And it gives them a window into world that they might not otherwise have known," said Light.

Danza credited one of his high school teachers with changing his life when he took him to Broadway shows including "A Day in the Death of Joe Egg" and "West Side Story." Said Danza: "It does have the ability to influence a kid."

Some Broadway shows currently on tour will also participate, including "Newsies" in Pittsburgh on Nov. 25 and "Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella" on Nov. 11 in West Palm Beach, Florida. Kids' night events will be held in 240 venues across the country.

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Online: http://www.kidsnightonbroadway.com

Producers Add Thursday Matinees On Broadway

This theater image released by Sam Rudy Media Relations shows Carley Rae Jepsen as Cinderella, center right, dancing with Joe Carroll as the Prince, during a performance of "Rodgers + Hammerstein's Cinderella on Broadway." Three musicals this week have added Thursday matinees to their eight-show weeks in an attempt to offer more options to audience-goers and stand out from the rest of the pack. The shows making the move are “Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella,” “Mamma Mia!” and “The Phantom of the Opera.” (AP Photo/Sam Rudy Media Relations)

Contributed by Mark Kennedy, AP.

Catching a Wednesday matinee on Broadway is so last year. The hot thing now is Thursday afternoon shows.

Three shows making the move are "Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella," ''Mamma Mia!" and "The Phantom of the Opera." ''Matilda the Musical" may experiment with the idea this summer.

The change means families will be able to get to see another matinee, a lifeline for family-friendly shows. And with the city bracing for summer tourists, offering a Thursday matinee lets theater lovers cram in more shows if they come for a long weekend.

For performers, it means more flexibility and an end to five-show weekends. Elena Ricardo, who plays Sophie in "Mamma Mia!," now has Sundays completely off and can go to church and brunch. "I can't wait," she said. "I hope other shows catch on to this as well."

Pop star Carly Rae Jepsen, who plays Cinderella, now has her Wednesday nights free and she said she will use the time to work on her next studio album.

"A lot of the producers I'm booking time with are happier when I'm saying, 'Let's start at 6' versus 'Let's start at 10 in the morning,'" she said. "I personally always preferred going to a matinee. I don't know what it is - maybe having a lazy dinner afterwards - but for me the perfect New York day is catching up with friends, a matinee and then a dinner somewhere."

The Thursday step is the latest to scramble the traditional eight-show Broadway week that has seen the addition of shows on normally dark Monday, earlier curtains on Tuesday night, the scrapping of two shows on Sunday and even nine-performance weeks during holidays.

Jon Jorgenson, who plays Sky in "Mamma Mia!" said the move makes sense for long-running international hits, which draws tourists unfamiliar with the old Broadway show schedule and want to see shows on Thursday afternoon or Monday night.

Broadway producers are competing with more on-demand forms of entertainment and this is seen as an attempt to show audiences more flexibility. The West End in London has long had Thursday matinees.

Joe Carroll, who plays Cinderella's prince, loves the change and is looking forward to finally be able to see other Broadway shows now that he's free or "have the night off to feel like a real human being."