Plays For The Pint-Sized

New
York City is
the theater capital of the world—and that goes for children’s theater, too—with
more than ten well-established companies producing Broadway-like entertainment
for kids of all ages. Offering on-stage specialties ranging from modern adaptations
of fairytales to cutting-edge fun, no two companies are quite alike—and they
are all worth getting to know.

13th Street
Repertory: This veteran company
typically has a few beloved children’s shows in rotation. 13thstreetrep.org
Now Showing: Wiseacre Farm and Rumple
Who?

Galli Theater: 25 years old and still standing strong, the Galli’s special way of
connecting with kids is through fresh adaptations of classic fairytales,
presenting up to ten productions a year. gallitheaterny.com
Coming Soon: Frog Prince (Jan. 7–29); Aladdin
(Jan. 8-Feb. 26)

Literally Alive: Now in their 12th season, Literally Alive produces musicals based on
classic children’s literature. Plus, there’s always a pre-show arts workshop
for added fun. literallyalive.com
Coming Soon: Alice in
Wonderland (Feb. 12-May 20)

Manhattan Children’s
Theatre: Celebrating their 10th
anniversary this year, the Tribeca-based company offers a mix of classic and
new productions, while still trying to keep it as affordable for families as
possible. mctny.com
Now Showing: Giggle, Giggle, Quack

Making
Books Sing: This critically acclaimed non-profit serves up a unique mix of literacy
and musical theater with its lively reproductions of contemporary children’s
books. makingbookssing.org
Coming Soon: The Butterfly (Apr. 14-29)

The New Victory Theater: While not strictly a producer of plays, the famed
New Victory—one of the long-time anchors of the revitalized Times Square—features theatrical productions in its mix of
cutting-edge live entertainment for families. newvictory.org
Coming Soon: Rumplestiltskin (Jan. 6-8); Miss
Ophelia (Jan. 13-15); Hands Up!
(Jan. 18- 22); Wuthering Heights, Restless
Souls (Jan. 27-29)

The Paper Bag Players: This forward-thinking troupe is noted for its
creative repurposing of common household objects into cheerful sets, costumes
and props to bring its hilarious song-and-dance routines to life. thepaperbagplayers.org
Coming Soon: The
Paper Bag Players Laugh! Laugh! Laugh! (Jan. 28-Feb. 12)

Puppetworks, Inc.: The legendary Nicolas Coppola has been entertaining families with his
marionette theater in Brooklyn for over 30 years. Simply amazing. puppetworks.org
Coming Soon: The Steadfast Tin Soldier &
Nutcracker Sweets (Jan. 7-8); Puss in Boots (Jan. 14-Apr. 5)

Swedish Cottage
Marionette Theatre: The long-time Central Park staple can always be
counted on for top-notch puppet plays. cityparksfoundation.org
Coming Soon: Little
Miss Muffet’s Monster-Sitting Service (Begins Jan. 17)

TADA! Youth Theater: Noted for their acting classes, TADA! also sponsors
professional-quality musical theater throughout the year with casts of totally talented
kids. tadatheater.com
Coming Soon: The History Mystery (Jan. 20-Feb. 19)

Tribeca Performing Arts Center &
TheatreworksUSA: We’ve put these
veteran institutions together because many of the family shows at BMCC Tribeca
Performing Arts are Theatreworks productions. tribecapac.org, theatreworksusa.org
Coming Soon: Henry & Mudge (Feb.
26)

Vital Theatre Company: A high-profile theater group whose family
division specializes in musical theater for young children. The present productions
are at several Upper West
Side locations. vitaltheatre.org
Coming Soon: The Bully (Jan. 14-Feb. 16)

For more shows to see
with your kids, visit our FAMILY
CALENDAR.

The Wild Center

The Wild Center, nestled within the breathtaking landscape of New York's Adirondack Park, offers an unforgettable journey into the heart of nature. As visitors approach the Center, they are greeted by the Adirondack Mountains towering in the distance, setting the stage for an immersive adventure. Upon entering the 34,000-square-foot exhibit hall, guests are enveloped in a world of wonder and discovery. Interactive exhibits like Planet Adirondack and Climate Solutions invite exploration, allowing visitors to delve into the rich biodiversity of the Adirondack region. The indoor experience also includes an opportunity to soar on Birdly--a one-of-a-kind VR experience. Also, get up close with an animal ambassador during one of many live animal encounters throughout the day. In addition to its indoor exhibits and programs, the Wild Center also boasts 115-acres of extensive outdoor amenities. One of the highlights in the award-winning Wild Walk. Visitors walk up a trail of bridges to the treetops of the Adirondack forest, 40 feet off the ground. Along the way, interactive exhibits provide insights into the flora and fauna that call the Adirondacks home, from songbirds to black bears. The rest of the campus features more ways to explore. Check out Patrick Dougherty&rsquo;s Stickwork sculpture, an all natural installation of woven sticks that will spark your imagination and nostalgia. Immerse yourself in Forest Music, take a naturalist-lead canoe trip, or get your roll on with Raquette River Roll, a brand-new, oversized, all-natural ball run experience opening in June 2024.

Treehouse Shakers

<div>Treehouse Shakers&rsquo; Branching OUT After-School program is for ages 12-14. This awarded program is for young people who identify as LGBTQIA+, or are seeking to become better allies. Branching OUT centers on discovering and exploring one&rsquo;s story and identity through an intentionally artist-led format. During our community-based program, young people will explore and reflect on their own story to create a larger, more meaningful experience, while gaining self-empowerment and gathering with like-minded peers. Through the guidance of our awarded teaching artists, young people will create narratives that will be turned into podcasts, dances, songs or poetry.&nbsp;</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Young people have the opportunity to learn new art forms, work with professional artists, while building a meaningful community.</div>

The Language Workshop For Children

After offering both group and private lessons for many years and analyzing the results over&nbsp;time, The&nbsp;Language Workshop for&nbsp;Children, founded&nbsp;in1973, has decided&nbsp;to emphasize private remote lessons at shorter intervals.&nbsp;Our skilled educators&nbsp;will&nbsp;focus their attention exclusively on the&nbsp;unique needs, learning style, and interests of your child.&nbsp;This allows a&nbsp;bond&nbsp;to develop&nbsp;between teacher and student, which&nbsp;has been&nbsp;shown to&nbsp;drastically improve retention.&nbsp; OUR METHOD&nbsp; Developed by the pioneers of language education for children, our programs bring decades of&nbsp;experience to your living room with individualized, active language classes. Each lesson is based on proven methods and materials perfected to capture your&nbsp;child&rsquo;s attention during the ages when he/she absorbs information the fastest. &nbsp;&nbsp; While other online language classes rely on videos for passive learning, we deliver interactive, and engaging lessons with native-fluent teachers. In addition, all our teachers are certified in the Thibaut&nbsp;Technique which has been featured&nbsp;in the New York&nbsp;Times, the&nbsp;Wall Street Journal, and many other well-respected&nbsp;publications.&nbsp;&nbsp; Our short one-on-one lessons give kids the chance to focus, hear pronunciation clearly, and practice speaking in their target language.  THE PROCESS&nbsp; First, students have a short meeting with our Director&nbsp;Francois&nbsp;Thibaut, in&nbsp;English, with&nbsp;their parent(s)&nbsp;present.&nbsp;Mr. Thibaut&nbsp;will determine&nbsp;the best course of study, including&nbsp;class length and&nbsp;frequency, the&nbsp;right&nbsp;teacher, lesson&nbsp;format and materials (or action games for younger students.) Then the learning&nbsp;begins!&nbsp;Mr. Thibaut will continually check in on your child&rsquo;s learning to assure they are getting the most&nbsp;of&nbsp;their&nbsp;classes.&nbsp; OTHER OFFERINGS&nbsp; We can also help your child prepare for: the French subject tests for SAT, AP &amp; CLEP, the European DELF/DALF, the Canadian TEF and other standardized testing, college entry exams, studying or traveling abroad,&nbsp;cultural changes when moving abroad,&nbsp;and much more!&nbsp; &nbsp;