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Friday, March 20, 2026
Solo theatergoers are on the rise — and theaters want more of them
NPR: Nearly 20% of Broadway theater tickets are now being purchased by solo attendees — double the rate from just a couple of years ago, according to audience data for the 2024-25 season from the Broadway League.
One major theater company is taking action.
As I began to reach the end of my undergrad, I was hit with the hard realization that I will not always have a built-in community and access to friends in the way I had my entire life before. When I was at school, I was with another group of friends that I studied with, and worked with, then I would go home to my best friend who happened to be my roommate. I think this article really speaks to the isolation of adulthood, and how we often don’t learn as children and young adults how to be by ourselves. I can feel comfortable acknowledging that this encouragement of going to the theatre by yourself and engaging in this mixer is purely a business strategy on the part of the producers, yet, the goal of making people comfortable going somewhere alone and interacting with strangers is beneficial for the consumer as well. Is $75 a lot of money for one person’s casual night out? Perhaps, but that’s still a pretty good deal for theatre tickets, which is a whole other discussion.
I really think this is an interesting thing to track and keep records of because I feel like most of the time that I don't go to the theater is that I don't have anyone to go with and I feel like one of my goals should be to go see more theater by myself and that it is ok to take yourself out on a date and go to the theater just yourself and that be totally normal I feel like one of my goals is always to see more live entertainment and more theater and this would be an excellent way to get more shows in my schedule. I think this little solo theatergoer mixer that ATC had in San Francisco was so brilliant, and as it is my hometown, I love ACT, and I would have loved to go to this mixer. I hope other theaters follow this and start doing this more. I think it's a brilliant idea.
The title of this article somewhat surprised me, and in retrospect I am not sure why that is the case. I guess in my head like this article also suggested I must have been one of those people who viewed going to live theater as a group or couples activity. I am not sure why that is the case, but I must have subconsciously thought of theater going in this way. Which was why I was then surprised to learn through this article that there has been a twenty percent increase in solo theater goers on broadway alone. It would be cool to know the global or even USA increase, but from what I saw this article does not have that statistic. Regardless I for one do not think watching live theater needs to be a solid activity just as it is with watching a movie in a movie theater. Both activities can be enjoyed in both a group and while solo. I think the most important thing for me is that I see more theater to absorb new and exciting designs, and I can do this more solid vs organizing a group.
3 comments:
As I began to reach the end of my undergrad, I was hit with the hard realization that I will not always have a built-in community and access to friends in the way I had my entire life before. When I was at school, I was with another group of friends that I studied with, and worked with, then I would go home to my best friend who happened to be my roommate. I think this article really speaks to the isolation of adulthood, and how we often don’t learn as children and young adults how to be by ourselves.
I can feel comfortable acknowledging that this encouragement of going to the theatre by yourself and engaging in this mixer is purely a business strategy on the part of the producers, yet, the goal of making people comfortable going somewhere alone and interacting with strangers is beneficial for the consumer as well. Is $75 a lot of money for one person’s casual night out? Perhaps, but that’s still a pretty good deal for theatre tickets, which is a whole other discussion.
I really think this is an interesting thing to track and keep records of because I feel like most of the time that I don't go to the theater is that I don't have anyone to go with and I feel like one of my goals should be to go see more theater by myself and that it is ok to take yourself out on a date and go to the theater just yourself and that be totally normal I feel like one of my goals is always to see more live entertainment and more theater and this would be an excellent way to get more shows in my schedule. I think this little solo theatergoer mixer that ATC had in San Francisco was so brilliant, and as it is my hometown, I love ACT, and I would have loved to go to this mixer. I hope other theaters follow this and start doing this more. I think it's a brilliant idea.
The title of this article somewhat surprised me, and in retrospect I am not sure why that is the case. I guess in my head like this article also suggested I must have been one of those people who viewed going to live theater as a group or couples activity. I am not sure why that is the case, but I must have subconsciously thought of theater going in this way. Which was why I was then surprised to learn through this article that there has been a twenty percent increase in solo theater goers on broadway alone. It would be cool to know the global or even USA increase, but from what I saw this article does not have that statistic. Regardless I for one do not think watching live theater needs to be a solid activity just as it is with watching a movie in a movie theater. Both activities can be enjoyed in both a group and while solo. I think the most important thing for me is that I see more theater to absorb new and exciting designs, and I can do this more solid vs organizing a group.
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