Solo theatergoers are on the rise — and theaters want more of them : NPR

[MezzA101]

Posted: 3/4/26 at 12:29pm

https://www.npr.org/2026/03/04/nx-s1-5727694/notebook-solo-seats-atg-mj-musical-broadway 

thoughts?

Updated On: 3/4/26 at 12:29 PM

[TheatreFan4]

Posted: 3/4/26 at 12:48pm

I can count the number of times I've gone with someone on both hands. 

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 3/4/26 at 12:55pm

Is this a real thing? Solo theatergoers have always been part of every audience. What a wild thing to just notice and write an article on. 

[iluvtheatertrash]

Posted: 3/4/26 at 10:51pm

Sutton Ross said: "Is this a real thing? Solo theatergoers have always been part of every audience. What a wild thing to just notice and write an article on."

Yep. And if they want more of them, they'd knock it off with making some seats unavailable to singles.

[sppunk]

Posted: 3/5/26 at 12:33am

My wife and I often go to different shows - it isn’t unusual. 

[uncageg]

Posted: 3/5/26 at 12:45am

I prefer going solo and have never had a problem getting a single seat. 

There are times I do like going with one or a few other people, depending on the show. 

[iluvtheatertrash]

Posted: 3/5/26 at 12:52am

uncageg said: "I prefer going solo and have never had a problem getting a single seat.

There are times I do like going with one or a few other people, depending on the show."

Lots of theatres here, and even more in the UK, won't let you book good single seats if it leaves a remaining single in the row.

[Phantom4ever]

Posted: 3/4/26 at 8:12pm

Prior to about 2011, I would always have to go with someone to a Broadway show. I would ask current friends, former friends, exes; I would look up people I haven’t spoken to in years. Then, I finally just ran out of people willing to keep seeing shows with me.  Too many people I knew saw theater as a once-a-year thing, not a constant thing like me. So, I finally went by myself. I felt like everyone was staring at me and feeling sorry for the friendless loser. But then I realized: hey I can buy an overpriced M&Ms and eat it all myself. I could stay through the end of the orchestral music rather than leave when the curtain closes. I could stand by the souvenir stand and loiter before I made a purchase. So, I started to see pretty much all of my Broadway shows alone. I do have to sit on the aisle due to my anxiety but I always manage to find good seats. 

Updated On: 3/5/26 at 08:12 PM

[uncageg]

Posted: 3/4/26 at 9:24pm

Phantom4ever said: "Prior to about 2011, I would always have to go with someone to a Broadway show. I would ask current friends, former friends, exes; I would look up people I haven’t spoken to you in years. Then, I finally just ran out of people willing to keep seeing shows with me. Too many people I knew saw theater as a once-a-year thing, not a constant thing like me. So, I finally went by myself. I felt like everyone was staring at me and feeling sorry for the friendless loser. But then I realized: hey I can buy an overpriced M&Ms and eat it all myself. I could stay through the end of the orchestral musics rather than leave when the curtain closes. I could stand by the souvenir stand and loiter before I made a purchase. So, I started to see pretty much all of my Broadway shows alone. I do have to sit on the aisle due to my anxiety but I always manage to find good seats."

Kind of the same here. I would also have people cancel out the day of. I got tired of that years ago. I did have a great theatre partner and good friend for about 4 years in the early 2000's. 

I also love hanging out at the Merch stand and taking my time to decide what I want. (Usually only a magnet!) and also stay until the music ended. I too sit on an aisle, if I can, due to my right foot (An erector set in there!). Barometric pressure can cause pain so I like to be able to extend it if it happens in a theater. 

I also like meeting people sitting next to me and usually end up chatting with them, sometimes walking out discussing the show. I like going alone if it is a serious/emotional show. Also, if it is a special show I like to go alone. I had never seen Hello Dolly and planned to see it with Donna Murphy. I just basked in it and enjoyed being on cloud 9 alone after. Same with The "Pippin" revival. I had never seen it and I had been part of that special choir for "Just No Time At All". Saw the show after the choir recording and broke down crying across the street from the theater just thinking how fantastic it was and that I was a small part of it. Something I needed to do alone. And I was A MESS after "The Normal Heart" across from the theater.

Also, I don't like to comment during a show and a lot of people I have gone to the theatre with do. 

 

 

Updated On: 3/4/26 at 09:24 PM

[chrishuyen]

Posted: 3/5/26 at 9:34pm

I'm sure theatergoers (like the ones on this board) are very familiar with the concept of attending solo, but I think people are underestimating the wide portion of the population that is still afraid to do things by themselves, even something like eating at a restaurant or going to a movie.  And for Broadway specifically where the majority of the audience is tourists, the number of tourists that come to NYC to do a dedicated theater trip where they might be more likely to attend a show solo is probably much lower as well.

All said, I think these solo ticket initiatives are great since I love talking to people about shows, but I'm often too shy to start the conversation if I don't know how receptive they'll be.  I want to say that recently I saw a show either at the Beacon or at Radio City where on the seat map solo tickets were discounted and I think that would be fantastic too.

[BwayinVan]

Posted: 3/6/26 at 1:16am

I do a solo trip to NY every year. Each year since 2014 I take 5 days and see at least 7 shows. I have no problem going alone mainly cus it means I can see what I want and spend what I want. The fact is that many of my friends don’t want to shell out that much money for live theatre. They all say they want to cons with me but I always tell them be prepared to go to the theatre every night and sometimes twice a day. I realized a long time ago that I can’t but do things because there’s nobody to do them with. Even now my boyfriend understands that this is a solo trip and given That I get more vacation time than he does he’s quite content with me getting my theatre fix alone. 

[GirlFromOz68]

Posted: 3/6/26 at 2:47am

chrishuyen said: "I'm sure theatergoers (like the ones on this board) are very familiar with the concept of attending solo, but I think people are underestimating the wide portion of the population that is still afraid to do things by themselves, even something like eating at a restaurant or going to a movie. And for Broadway specifically where the majority of the audience is tourists, the number of tourists that come to NYC to do a dedicated theater trip where they might be more likely to attend a show solo is probably much lower as well.

All said, I think these solo ticket initiatives are great since I love talking to people about shows, but I'm often too shy to start the conversation if I don't know how receptive they'll be. I want to say that recently I saw a show either at the Beacon or at Radio City where on the seat map solo tickets were discounted and I think that would be fantastic too."

This is so true. So many people are afraid to go to things on their own, afraid of eating alone etc. I  got over the idea of going to the movies or theatre on my own a long time ago as if i had to wait for other people to be free I would miss out. I also got past the fear of going to restaurants on my own 10 years ago when I did a solo trip to France and had the best time eating at some fabulous restaurants.

In Australia we can have this issue of not being able to get the seat you want if they don't want a spare seat next to you but I always sit on the aisle due to some issues with my knees. 

[Fosse76]

Posted: 3/6/26 at 6:13am

iluvtheatertrash said: "Sutton Ross said: "Is this a real thing? Solo theatergoers have always been part of every audience. What a wild thing to just notice and write an article on."

Yep. And if they want more of them, they'd knock it off with making some seats unavailable to singles."

I kept trying to buy a single ticket to a show at the National Theater in Washington.D C. Ticketmaster wouldn't let me buy a single seat on the aisle in the front orchestra, and if it left an odd number of seats available, it wouldn't let me buy it anywhere else in the row either. When I called Ticketmaster to complain, they said it was the theater's policy. So I emailed the theater, and they had no idea what Ticketmaster was talking about and sold me to call them directly to buy a single seat in the front on the aisle.

At first I thought it was Ticketmaster just being Ticketmaster. But I'm convinced now that it was definitely the theater discouraging single seat sales. When I called, they didn't actually sell me the ticket. They went into the system to enable me to buy the single ticket through Ticketmaster. So the fact that they were able to do that type of resolution means that they did, in fact, instruct Ticketmaster not to sell single seats in certain areas.

 

[TarHeelAlan]

Posted: 3/6/26 at 8:19am

It's a lousy policy, but It's not just The National. Ticketmaster is notorious among concert ticket buyers for the "Can't leave a single seat" rule, although it often seems to be applied inconsistently from show to show. One of the fan message boards to which I subscribe is always loaded with people bitching about it during an initial onsale when demand is highest, regardless of the venue. I saw the complaints most recently when Springsteen tickets went on sale at multiple venues around the country. It begs the question: If I can't leave a single seat, then why do I often see singles dotted all around the venue for a well-sold show?

[Huss417]

Posted: 3/6/26 at 8:20am

Also if they want more solo theatre goers Broadway Week we should be able to purchase one ticket for the discount.

Updated On: 3/6/26 at 08:20 AM