Kids

Once Upon a Stage: Why Fairy Tales Still Matter for Modern Families

by Kevyn Gohu
July 4, 2025

From sparking imagination to strengthening family bonds, timeless fairy tales like Peter and the Wolf and Little Red Riding Hood prove that a love for the arts is a real “happily ever after“

With the world living on quick reels, constant notifications, and endless scrolling, sitting down to experience the magic of fairy tales — live and in real time — can feel unusual. Novel, even. Yet, it’s a magic that all families should be familiar with. This slow magic made many believe in hope and happily ever afters, especially when times got tough. Now, more than ever, the kids of today need this magic. This coming August, Ballet Philippines, Repertory Philippines, and the Manila Symphony Orchestra come together to breathe life into a world-class, family-friendly production: Peter and the Wolf and Little Red Riding Hood.

Fairy Tales On Stage: A Different Kind of Magic

For a long time, fairy tales have been the backbone of bedtime rituals. The stories would whisk us off to the land of dreams and protect us from the monsters in nightmares. Today, they’re competing with a different kind of magic: one born from technology, excitement, and the need for speed and convenience. But stepping into the theater and fairy tale magic offers something that today’s tech-based magic doesn’t: the immersion and becoming part of a story filled with music, movement, and imagination.

Bringing together the works of Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev, French conductor Camille Saint-Saens, and Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg, three of the Philippines’ cultural giants — Repertory Philippines, Ballet Philippines and the Manila Symphony Orchestra — will present it as a “double bill.” As to how they will marry the two childhood classics, watching it is the only way to find out.

Why The Kids Should Watch The Magic In Real Life

Many parents often comment and ask, “Why aren’t the kids as imaginative as before?” It boils down to what the mode of entertainment was back in the day. While the internet existed, it wasn’t as sophisticated as it is now. Families and kids still fell in love with the charm of the arts and the outside, remarking how the computer could never replicate the magic found in it.

Unfortunately, the pandemic was the curse of that fairy tale. Blocked off from any real performances, everything had to be done online.

Thus, going online became a habit. While it is necessary, as Robin Williams’ John Keating says, “to sustain life,” it is the arts that “make life worth living.” When kids attend these shows, they don’t just see the stories. They witness the effort and story of each performer as they pour their souls into the role, and the bigger picture of how everyone’s lives are intertwined on a smaller scale. But most of all, the fairy tales performed on stage allow them an avenue to explore big feelings. Shame, fear, guilt, spite, love, courage — all of these appear on stage and are presented most magical and human way possible.

And for parents, it’s a gentle reminder that life is not just about the numbers crunched to manage a home or work. It’s about making those numbers work for the happily ever afters they want for their families.

Catch the performance this coming August!

But the fairy tales’ magics are not constrained to the stage. It extends; the double bill performance will be inviting selected barangays and underserved communities to watch it for free. As for the general public and families who wish to become patrons for the arts, they can buy premier seats and the money earned will be used to further fund the outreach and cause.

There will be five performances from August 1-3, 2025 at Solaire Theater. Catch them before tickets run out by ordering from TicketWorld.