Effective immediately, the Spreckels Theatre Company in Rohnert Park has reduced ticket prices for young people 18 and under to $10 plus a $2 handling charge. This new pricing policy applies to all shows, including musicals, whether the ticket is purchased in advance or at the door.

“We have made this change because Spreckels is here to serve our community,” said Sheri Lee Miller, artistic director. “The young comprise our future audience. We want them to feel welcome to experience live theater.”

In Sonoma County, tickets for live theater generally range around $30 – $50. Student ticket prices at the neighboring Cinnabar Theater in Petaluma run $30 while Santa Rosa’s 6th Street Playhouse offers patrons 30 years of age and younger tickets to their shows in the $18 to $35 range. With Spreckels’s new youth pricing, however, young people who have rarely or never seen a live play or musical can now check out a production for about the same price as a movie.

Sheri Lee Miller

“No matter how often they see their favorite film, it will always be the same,” said Miller. “But when they sit down in the 511-seat Codding Theatre or the more intimate Condiotti Experimental Theatre, they will be treated to a unique performance. That is the magic of live theater.”

While Spreckels is widely known for its large-cast musicals, the company also produces contemporary comedies and dramas that have the potential to deeply engage young theater-goers, like last year’s acclaimed production of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time. “Live theater is a cultural wonder too good to miss, especially for the young,” Miller said. “Talk to almost any theater artist and they will tell you about the first show they saw, how old they were, who took them and what the experience meant to them. That’s the power of live theater for the young.”

The first show available to the 18 and younger crowd at the new, low ticket price will be the musical A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder, opening Friday, October 11 in the Spreckels Performing Arts Center’s Codding Theatre and running through Sunday, October 27.

For more information, go to spreckelsonline.com.