Unaccompanied minors

[NYC Cheapo]

Posted: 9/11/18 at 8:37pm

I know that many shows have a minimum age requirement, but do any shows or theaters have explicit policies on minimum ages for UNACCOMPANIED minors?

[(Insert Clever Name)]

Posted: 9/11/18 at 8:45pm

Nope you could send a kid of any age in though I wouldn’t recommend toddlers by themselves

[James Kerrigan2]

Posted: 9/11/18 at 9:42pm

I don't mind Teenagers (16 and up)  coming to a show unaccompanied but I saw a 10-year-old at a show alone once which I don't understand her mother probably walked her in and waited for her to come out but still it's too young for a child to be unattended. 

 

[dearalanaaaa]

Posted: 9/11/18 at 9:48pm

Nope. As a matter of fact, I saw newsies alone when I was 13 and nobody really cared. It saved us thousands of dollars to simply send the children who wanted to see the show versus the parents to come with us. At age 13, I could navigate around, and I looked like an 18-year-old so people also didn't notice. Letting a child who is over 12 go to a show alone is fine as long as one parent is within 250 feet of the theatre at all times.

[TheGingerBreadMan]

Posted: 9/11/18 at 10:01pm

I began going to theatre alone around the age of 14. It was never an issue, but I was mature enough at that age to handle myself and know how to behave, and I always had a way to contact my parents while I was alone.

[Anakela]

Posted: 9/11/18 at 10:04pm

NYC Cheapo said: "I know that many shows have a minimum age requirement, but do any shows or theaters have explicit policies on minimum ages for UNACCOMPANIED minors?"

Is this the seven year old you're taking to Dear Evan Hansen? Please don't send your seven year old solo to Dear Evan Hansen. 

[BroadwayRox3588]

Posted: 9/12/18 at 12:28am

I thought this thread was about the 2006 Christmas movie, and I was about to start talking about Lewis Black.

[yesraccoons]

Posted: 9/12/18 at 12:52am

My friends and I started rushing together without adults at 14. To be fair we were a little obnoxious at first but no one tried to stop us from getting in. We even saw the Book of Mormon which is pretty explicit and no one stopped us.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 9/12/18 at 5:51am

Anakela said: "NYC Cheapo said: "I know that many shows have a minimum age requirement, but do any shows or theaters have explicit policies on minimum ages for UNACCOMPANIED minors?"

Is this the seven year old you're taking to Dear Evan Hansen? Please don't send your seven year old solo to Dear Evan Hansen."

Well, he's already said he didn't care if it was appropriate for him so ....

[NYC Cheapo]

Posted: 9/12/18 at 10:58am

I wasn't thinking of DEH in particular, no.  I wouldn't send him to an SRO without an adult.  But I do pretty regularly send the 7 and 12 year old together to shows unaccompanied, and the ushers have sometimes never said a word, and at other times have gotten panicked and insisted that a parent had to be there.  The 12 year old to her credit usually makes something up about how her mom is already in the theater, but this stresses her out, and I was wondering if she could just come out with the truth, which is that they are unaccompanied minors.

[ScottyDoesn'tKnow2]

Posted: 9/12/18 at 11:03am

Yeah, I'd be stressed out too if I was a 12-year-old who had to also take my 7-year-old sibling to a live show by myself without knowing whether or not that was allowed and be put in a situation where I'm encouraged to lie to authority figures.

[NYC Cheapo]

Posted: 9/12/18 at 11:10am

The 12 year old is stressed by the lying, but not the part about watching her brother.  Her brother worships her and will listen to her, and I think both have good theater etiquette.  They both have phones, and know to stick together.  I just send them with a bit of money for snacks or souvenirs, and chill out at a bar within a few blocks of the theater, so they know I'm nearby if something came  up.

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 9/12/18 at 11:14am

BroadwayRox3588 said: "I thought this thread was about the 2006 Christmas movie, and I was about to start talking about Lewis Black."

Lmfao. Underrated movie. 

[Swiss Miss]

Posted: 9/12/18 at 11:23am

Harry Potter will not, under any circumstances, allow children 14 and under in without a parent.

[geoffreyC]

Posted: 9/12/18 at 5:38pm

By all means save a few bucks by putting your children in an awkward position while guzzling booze.  

[YvanEhtNioj]

Posted: 9/12/18 at 5:47pm

BroadwayRox3588 said: "I thought this thread was about the 2006 Christmas movie, and I was about to start talking about Lewis Black."

I literally saw the title and thought the exact same thing. 

When I saw Mean Girls there were kids in the rush line no older than 15, alone. 

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 9/12/18 at 5:55pm

I just send them with a bit of money for snacks or souvenirs, and chill out at a bar within a few blocks of the theater, so they know I'm nearby if something came  up.

That doesn't sound sketchy AT ALL.

[YvanEhtNioj]

Posted: 9/12/18 at 5:56pm

Mister Matt said: "I just send them with a bit of money for snacks or souvenirs, and chill out at a bar within a few blocks of the theater, so they know I'm nearby if something came up.

That doesn't sound sketchy AT ALL."

It doesn't, though..? Parents do this stuff all the time. 

[geoffreyC]

Posted: 9/12/18 at 6:20pm

and btw I smell your troll

[(Insert Clever Name)]

Posted: 9/12/18 at 7:06pm

Swiss Miss said: "Harry Potter will not, under any circumstances, allow children 14 and under in without a parent."

What? I was 13 the first time i saw it alone.

[YvanEhtNioj]

Posted: 9/12/18 at 7:09pm

geoffreyC said: "and btw I smell your troll"

I'm lost. Who's trolling? 

Is that really atypical? I remember being in my early teens (14 - 15) before I had a car, and my parents or friend's parents would drop us off at the mall, Six Flags, a movie, the skating rink, etc.. while they went to get cocktails or dinner. They'd throw us a few dollars, and we always had their number if something went wrong. 

If the kids are mature by the parent's standards and there's no restriction, I think it's totally fine. 

Updated On: 9/12/18 at 07:09 PM

[Swiss Miss]

Posted: 9/12/18 at 7:25pm

(Insert Clever Name) said: "Swiss Miss said: "Harry Potter will not, under any circumstances, allow children 14 and under in without a parent."

What? I was 13 the first time i saw it alone."

I don’t think they card you. If you look like you’re 15 they wouldn’t stop you. 

I think the general idea, though, is that the ticket takers are supposed to  alert management when someone who seems like they are younger than 14 comes in alone so they the manager can make the final decision  

[dearalanaaaa]

Posted: 9/12/18 at 8:22pm

Swiss Miss said: "Harry Potter will not, under any circumstances, allow children 14 and under in without a parent."

This is false, my sister who is 13 went to Harry Potter alone for the first preview... They didn't check an ID or anything. Best of all? She behaved the whole time and has done so numerous times.

[Swiss Miss]

Posted: 9/12/18 at 9:28pm

See above.

[perfectlymarvelous]

Posted: 9/12/18 at 10:19pm

I'd imagine that rule is more to make sure parents aren't treating the theatre staff like babysitters and sending their tiny children into a long show with some scary moments by themselves, not to ID everyone who looks like they may or may not be under 14 years old. 

Anyway, I started seeing shows alone and with other teenaged friends when I was 14 and it was chill. I also started taking the train to the city alone when I was 15 or 16 and moved here by myself at 17. Personally I wouldn't send a kid younger than middle school age into any situation without an adult, but that's just me.