Dear Readers,
Soon you will be thinking about gifts for the holidays—if you aren’t already buying birthday gifts for your loved ones and friends.
I have a great idea: Why not give the gift of theater this year? No, I don’t mean pricey tickets to Broadway. Instead, check out the professional theaters in New Jersey and consider buying single tickets or, better yet, a subscription to multiple shows?
This purchase will actually be a double gift: one to the recipient and another to the theater! Best of all, you’ll encourage your family and friends to go to the theater, and that could become a life-long habit.
As a kid, my family attended every show produced by the middle school and high school in my town. I developed a love of Gilbert & Sullivan operettas and all kinds of theater. I especially loved seeing other kids onstage.
When I was 14, my mother took me and my brother to the Paper Mill Playhouse to see Oklahoma, our first real professional show. I’m sure she saved up all year to purchase 3 tickets (we weren’t poor, but she was frugal). After that, she took us to see My Fair Lady in NYC, and made sure I could go with my English class during the school year to see Camelot, Long Day’s Journey into Night, among other shows. It was easier for her to buy one ticket and she made sure I could go.
My love of theater was fostered by my mother, who was not a college graduate but who knew the value of culture. We purchased the original cast albums for every musical we saw, played them ad nauseum, and knew every note and ba-bomp-bomp in the orchestration.
My own daughters will tell you that we would sing show tunes on a long car trip. After they returned from camp one summer, they “performed” Pippin on the front walk while my husband and I sat on the stoop looking on in amazement. Ditto The Sound of Music and other shows performed at summer camp.
Today, they take my grandchildren to the theater. Whenever I can, I go with them. It is a gift that lasts long after the clothing has gone out of style or the toy breaks. Find an age-appropriate show and take your kids/grandkids yourself. If you can’t find one, scroll down to the bottom of this blog and click on Kids in the tag list. And check out the schools in your area to see what shows they are producing. The tickets are under $10 and often there are dress rehearsal performances on Thursday afternoon before opening night. If the little ones get antsy, you can easily leave without having spent a lot of money.
Give your adult friends/relatives a subscription to any one of the NJ theaters also listed in the tags found at the bottom of the page of this blog or the Links I Like list on the right sidebar. Multiple performances are cheaper than single ones. Often, even single performances cost $20-$50. And most of these playhouses are far smaller and more intimate than the big B’way houses. The Paper Mill Playhouse is the largest one I know in the area, but the sight lines are great no matter where you sit.
Give the gift of theater this season—and every season. You’ll be glad you did!
Best,
Ruth Ross
