Someone maintains the house hold budget. Being a banker, he does this very well. The 2007 budget is finished; the findings are always intriguing. For example; we eat out too much and don’t buy enough groceries. The biggest ‘over budget’ item of 2007 was ‘Entertainment’ viz. tickets to theatre and opera and shows etc. I don’t think we see a lot of staged entertainment – I suspect it is because theatre is so expensive.  

Someone told me Mel Brooks’ new show “Young Frankenstein” costs 450$ a ticket. Holy Gus! As my grandmother would say. Apparently they get enough people to charge that? I can not throw stones as we shell out 100-150$ a seat to hear the Lyric Opera of Chicago (there are less expensive seats but we are tired of sitting in the rafters).

I am not a sports fan, but I hear the price of a game is not cheap.

The Super Bowl is in town; I can only imagine the cost of a ticket.

Rock concerts and Las Vegas shows cost an arm and a leg too.

And Babs doesn’t sing cheaply either.  

I find it sad ‘theatre’ is so expensive. I can’t imagine a young family going out to a show. My parents used to take my brother and me to the Detroit Symphony and to the Fisher Theatre – can you imagine what it would now? This may explain why the audience median age at ‘the classics’ seems to be about 60.  Younger folks can’t afford it; and how would they know if they are interested if they can’t go check it out? 

I am glad some places like the Shaw and the Stratford festivals offer discounted family rates to entice younger folks to come in. 

Meanwhile, Someone and I are cutting back on theatre tickets in order to fill the gas tanks.