What it was like
The kid in the back seat has been playing four songs on repeat for a year and you have stopped pretending you do not know the words. That is the honest situation most families are in with this material, and the reason an arena full of it works: nobody is there ironically, the nine-year-olds are feral about it, and the adults have quietly picked favorites. Three franchises that have never shared a stage get mashed into one production here for the first time, with Camp Rock folded in alongside Descendants and ZOMBIES, new arrangements built specifically for the tour, and a cast drawn from the actual casts rather than a soundalike touring company. One detail worth knowing: the performers listed are the on-screen faces from the recent films, which is what separates this from the licensed road shows that use the same songs. It is a Monday, which for once is a gift, because the building will not be fighting a weekend crowd. Doors at six, show at seven.