I suppose in a country where going to a play on Broadway can cost a couple hundred dollars a ticket, it shouldn’t be a surprise that the neighborhood children’s theatres are following in their footsteps with tickets ranging from about $20-$35.  Even here, in what feels like the middle of nowhere New Hampshire, if I take Do-Bug to the local kid’s theatre (this is performed by children, not adults) her ticket is $17. Mine is another $25. And there’s no guarantee she’ll make it through the first act. The best luck I had this year was when her babysitter performed in The Pajama Game at her high school and it only cost me $10 a ticket. That’s a steal! And she had the added bonus of getting to greet her babysitter after the show and get introduced to the rest of the cast. So, how, exactly do you expose your child to quality theatre on a budget?
Wait until summer! Which just happens to be right about now.
Summer: when every other park in the country has free Shakespeare and puppet shows. Children love watching Shakespeare outside. Of course a lot of it swims right over their heads, but it’s a fantastic introduction to actors performing on stage in front of an audience. And they will enjoy themselves even if they (and you) don’t follow the whole story. Plus, the lights won’t go out which cuts down on the fear factor and if you get hungry for ice cream or too tired to finish the show, you can get up and leave and no one will blink twice. It’s a win-win situation.
So if the cost of theatre tickets would normally send you to the library, now’s the time to scour the local newspaper for free outdoor performances.