Les Miserables in London w/Kids?

I would think it too heavy in subject matter as well as theatrical style.

I would have ro agree that the subject matter and production are really not appropriate for 8 & 10. Unless of course your children are Frasier & Niles Crane reincarnated.

What about Matilda? Or The Lion King? Or Aladdin?

So it's okay for 8 & 10 year olds to perform in the musical buy not okay for the same age group to see the musical:)

It's fine for kids to attend. They won't like as much as Lion King or Matilda but its a great production for everyone.
Back in 1980 I saw the original production Sweeney Todd with Angela Lansbury when I was 11, I suffered no long term damage.

It's not so much that it will permanently damage the children - I just think the subject matter will not hold a child's attention nor will they really enjoy it. Find something the whole family can enjoy. Would you have enjoyed it at 8 & 10?

Why not watch the movie with them and see how they react before deciding?

Even though it's my personal favorite, I don't think children would enjoy it. A better choice would be The Lion King or Aladdin. I'm still waiting to get money back on Matilda.

Christi, Thanks for my first smile of the day..Frasier and Niles...I love those guys

Whatever you think of the material, Les Miserables (once known in London, on its debut, as The Glums) is long long long. I've seen it twice and both times thought it was over at intermission. And I am a lot older than your kids (a lot.) www.theatremonkey.com offers lots of useful information, including seat selection.

Suzanne have you seen a stage production of Les Mis so you could help prep your boys if you choose to see this play? We took our 8 year old granddaughter, then she and her sister 4 years later to London when they were 12 and 9. In the two times we've gone with them we've seen a total of 6 plays/musicals. Some of the plays were recommended for 10 and above like War Horse and Billy Elliott. With the more mature themed or politically charged plays we prepped them before the play. We also had them watch snippets of various plays on YouTube to see what they were interested in. We'd give them some suggestions and then let them help pick the play.

Les Mis is a musical they had seriously considered and they love the music from it but ultimally there were so many choices and so little time... Some other plays/musicals we saw with them were Wicked, Mama Mia, The Family under the Bridge and Oliver. We did watch the poor substitute for the play recent movie version and a box of tissues was passed around at various parts.

Geez, have they been bad children?

I absolutely hate that show. I've turned down free tickets to it at least a dozen times.

Ask them what show they would like to see. I'm betting there are other shows playing that would catch their interest way more than LM.

We saw Lion King in NY. We all loved it and our 21 yr old daughter(who's a big fan of Phantom of the Opera) says we're seeing it again when it comes to our city. I haven't seen Les Mis but am sure your whole family would love LK.

I saw Les Miz for the 1st time around that age, and I ADORED it (and it sparked a life long love of musical theater). There are certainly some heavier topics in the show, but they completely flew over my head at that age. It certainly depends on the individual personalities of your own children, but I don't think it's inappropriate (as long as you are willing to have conversations about any of the "heavy" topics if necessary). If they have NEVER seen a musical though, I'm not sure if that's the best 1st experience.

Took my 12-year-old to see Les Miserables in London and she loved it -- but her after-school drama group had performed an abbreviated version, so some of the songs were familiar. (She's 36 now and I don't think it traumatized her.) We saw it from top-of-the-house cheap seats, so we got to watch the scene changes from a different angle.

We saw Les Mis last night again. There are definitely some very small parts that could have the 10 year old giggling and the 8 year old asking questions.

The musical itself was absolutely amazing! The singing was exceptional as was the acting. The audience was in tears several times, even those knowing the story.

The other negative to taking smaller children is the length. It's almost 3 hours with the intermission. Even at that, we didn't want it to end.

We will be there in July and are looking at more typical kid-friendly productions like School of Rock, Aladdin etc. We have already seen Matilda
There is no way that my 8 year old would be captivated by les mis for 3 hours. It is a great play but I would wait until they are at least teenagers.