Last night we had one of those ONLY IN NEW YORK MOMENTS, taking in a high quality, really fun show for kids on a Saturday night with a stellar cast and top notch music at the Vital Theatre Company.
The show was Peace, Love, and Cupcakes The Musical, carefully chosen with my soon to be 11 year-old in mind. She’s a bookworm, and this play happens to be based on a popular book with the same name. She also loves peace signs, the word ‘love’ and cupcakes, so seeing it made perfect sense. Based on a book written by Sheryl Berk and her 11 year-old daughter, Carrie, the show is a sugar filled production, both literally and figuratively, and it managed to capture not only my daughter’s heart, but also my 9 year-old son’s! He was embarrassed to admit his affection for the show, but his reaction was undeniable, even to himself.
I’ve always been impressed with the Vital Theatre Company. Every show we’ve seen there has top quality actors and I love that every play has a moral and social purpose for audience members to walk away with. This show was no exception. When I asked my daughter the moral of the play whilst munching on cupcakes found around the corner at Crumbs afterwards, she jokingly replied, “Everyone needs to eat cupcakes!” Then laughing, she changed her reply to “It’s okay to be different.” What better message can you send to a child about to go through puberty as she’s heading to middle school where kids will be more clichy and judgmental than ever?!
Directed by Jennifer Curfman, young adult actors (early 20s) play tween aged students trying to fit in. As an adult watching it, it reminded me of my own school days when I felt different and wondered what clubs to join, who to befriend, etc. This show wants kids to know that differences are okay – and even more that, that they’re important. When a young girl trying to fit in named Kylie Carson starts a cupcake club called Peace, Love and Cupcakes, it attracts other kids feeling left out. They become fast friends but their club soon turns into not only a thriving business but also a source of revenge for the popular girl in school, who also heads up the BLAH girls (Blakely Ladies for the Advancement of Hip-Hop). Lessons are quickly learned about friendship and being a team player by not only Kylie, but everyone involved.
Peace, Love and Cupcakes is playing at the Vital Theatre Company on 76th Street on Fridays and Saturdays at 7:00 pm through April 27th, 2014. All tickets are $30.00. For tickets and information, please visit vitaltheatre.org,peaceloveandcupcakesthemusical.com or call (212) 579-0528. Vital Theatre is located at 2162 Broadway, 4th Floor, New York, NY (at West 76th Street and Broadway) on Manhattan’s Upper West Side.
I’m thrilled to be giving away FOUR tickets to Peace, Love and Cupcakes The Musical!
To win, just comment below and let me know the last play you took a child to.
Winner will be selected randomly. This giveaway will end on Friday, April 11th at 12pm EST.
Winner swill be posted on the Culture Mom Facebook page and contacted via email and will have 24 hours to accept their prize.
Disclosure: I was not compensated to write this post but I did receive tickets to review the play. All opinions are my own.
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I supervised about a dozen kids (aged 6-10) from the Boys & Girls Club of Stamford and we saw “The Berenstain Bears LIVE” in Ridgefield, Conn. Liked reading your review of PLC – I enjoyed it as well. Charity Farrell is brilliant as Kylie and the whole cast and crew brings joy to kids and adults alike. Cheers, CultureMom.
You won the tickets! Please check your email and congrats!
The last show we took our children was Blue Man group.
Took them to see a local performance of Grease musical about a month ago.
Into the Woods