On Broadway: A children's theatre birthday party

My friend's daughter, Isabel, is about to turn seven.  Up to this point, she has had just about every cool party theme one can imagine so I am on a quest to create something totally fresh and new. Since Isabel loves acting, we thought it would be fun to do a children's theatre of sorts.

Invitations: Play bills with title for the production and "starring Isabel on her 7th birthday" with a picture of her below.

Primary Activity: Kids practice acting out a narrated script that prompts their blocking and lines.  Each character gets a costume and some silly props. When kids are confident and ready, they will perform for the other teams and the judge (a parent).  Their mini plays will be video-taped and while the kids are eating food and/or decorating cupcakes, the videos will be recorded onto a DVD to hand out as party favors to the kids...complete with a DVD cover that has the play title and the birthday girl's photo.

The stage: the entry way of the child's home could be transformed into a "stage" by stringing a clothes line from one wall to the other and using a few red sheets to make a curtain. Move the living room furniture to face the "stage" and have little popcorn boxes for kids to munch homemade kettle corn while watching the other teams perform.

Activity/dessert: Have kids decorate cupcakes. (You could have each child decorate four different cupcakes to coincide with the four main characters of the play.  They would then get a cute little box to transport them home to their family. The box would have the name of the play and the "starring Isabel on her 7th birthday" on a label or tag attached with a cute ribbon.)


The foods:  Use the setting of the play to inspire the foods served.


The play: As for the play, it may be cool to make twisted fairy tales based off of familiar stories with wacky characters. For example, you could do Snow White, Sleeping Beauty and Beauty and the Beast as a trilogy all set in modern day Italy. The food could all be Italian and the dessert could even be gelato. OR, you could look online for simple kids plays and find something, I am sure.
I love themes though...with the "trilogy of twisted tales" you could have a forest hunt where kids had to do a scavenger hunt to find the props or costumes to use for the play?  Then, instead of a kiss from Prince Charming, Sleeping Beauty could be awakened by the magic cupcake with would lead to the cupcake decorating activity. Each of the mini plays could incorporate a cupcake solution to help Princess Isabel.