The Children's Hour Tickets

The Children's Hour Tickets

If you're searching for The Children's Hour tickets, you're looking at a landmark American stage drama by Lillian Hellman, widely regarded as one of the most important plays of the 1930s. First seen on Broadway in 1934, this tense, dialogue-driven tragedy examines how a malicious lie can destroy reputations, relationships, and lives — a subject that made the play daring in its own era and keeps it powerful in revival.

This page covers everything you need — from what the show is and what to expect, to finding the right seats and buying with complete confidence.

Show Information

The Children's Hour premiered on November 20, 1934, at Maxine Elliott's Theatre on Broadway in New York City. Written by Lillian Hellman, the original Broadway production was directed and produced by Herman Shumlin. The play was inspired by a real 19th-century Scottish legal case, the “Drumsheugh” or Pirie v. Gordon case, documented in William Roughead’s Bad Companions.

The Children's Hour is a realist American stage drama and tragedy, structured in three acts. The original Broadway production is closed, but the play is frequently revived by regional, repertory, academic, and professional theatre companies. Depending on the production, the performance typically runs approximately 2 hours to 2 hours 30 minutes, with one or two intermissions.

The play’s original Broadway run lasted 691 performances, a substantial success for a serious drama of its era. Its frank treatment of a lesbian accusation on the American stage in the 1930s made it a landmark work, and its subject matter led to bans in Boston, Chicago, and London. The play was also notably passed over for the Pulitzer Prize despite its acclaim, a controversy that contributed to the eventual creation of the New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award. Hellman later wrote the 1961 film adaptation, The Children’s Hour, directed by William Wyler and starring Audrey Hepburn, Shirley MacLaine, and James Garner; a prominent 2011 West End revival at London’s Comedy Theatre starred Keira Knightley and Elisabeth Moss.

If you're searching for The Children's Hour tickets or want to check the current show schedule, Box Office Ticket Sales carries inventory across available performance dates and productions.

Story Summary

The Children's Hour is set at a private girls’ boarding school in rural New England in the early 20th century. Karen Wright and Martha Dobie are close friends who run the school together, building their professional lives around education, discipline, and trust. Their world begins to collapse when Mary Tilford, a vindictive student, spreads a malicious lie accusing the two women of a romantic relationship.

The rumor reaches Mary’s wealthy grandmother, Mrs. Amelia Tilford, and rapidly damages the women’s school, reputations, and personal lives. Karen’s relationship with her fiancé, Dr. Joseph Cardin, is pulled into the crisis, while Martha is forced to confront painful truths about her own feelings. The play’s tension comes from the way adults respond to the accusation, the speed with which gossip becomes judgment, and the devastating human cost of social condemnation.

The Children's Hour stands fully on its own and requires no prior knowledge to follow or appreciate. Its themes — the destructive power of lies, the fragility of reputation, intolerance, prejudice, and the failure to protect the truth — land clearly for adult and older-teen audiences.

Story Highlights

These signature moments show why The Children's Hour remains a searing work of American drama:

• "Mary's Accusation" — This pivotal moment sets the tragedy in motion as Mary tells her grandmother the malicious lie that will upend Karen and Martha’s lives. The scene is memorable because it shows how quickly a falsehood can gain power when adults are willing to believe it.
• "The Confrontation with Mrs. Tilford" — Karen and Martha confront Mrs. Tilford in an attempt to clear their names. The moment builds intense dramatic pressure as the women fight to reclaim the truth in a room already shaped by suspicion.
• "Martha's Confession" — Martha’s climactic admission of her true feelings for Karen is one of the play’s most emotionally devastating passages. It deepens the tragedy by shifting the play from public accusation to private pain.
• "The Final Act" — The play’s tragic resolution reveals the full cost of the lie. Vindication arrives too late, leaving the audience with the consequences of gossip, prejudice, and irreversible damage.

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How Much Do Tickets to The Children's Hour Cost?

The Children's Hour ticket prices vary by seat location, performance date, venue, and production type, especially because the play is frequently staged by regional, repertory, academic, and professional companies.

The Children's Hour ticket prices vary based on venue, city, seat location, date, and performance time. Premium orchestra and front sections are in high demand, while rear and upper-level sections offer excellent value.

Prices can shift based on weekend versus weeknight performances, limited-run schedules, audience demand in a specific market, and how close the performance date is. Buying earlier generally gives you a wider choice of orchestra, mezzanine, balcony, and rear-orchestra seats before popular sections narrow.

No hidden fees. At Box Office Ticket Sales, the price you see is the price you pay. All fees are shown before checkout — no surprise charges when you reach the final step.

How to Buy The Children's Hour Tickets

Getting your The Children's Hour tickets through BoxOfficeTicketSales.com is fast and straightforward. Here's how the process works:

• Browse The Children's Hour productions — Search for The Children's Hour tickets and select the production, city, and date that work for your schedule
• Pick your seats — Use the interactive seating map to compare sections, rows, views, and real-time pricing side by side
• Secure checkout — Pay with a credit card, PayPal, Apple Pay, or Affirm for flexible payment options
• Receive your tickets — Digital tickets are delivered to your email or mobile wallet before the show, ready to scan at the theater entrance

Every order is backed by our 100% verified ticket guarantee and on-time delivery promise. Once your order is confirmed, you'll receive an email with your invoice and everything you need before curtain time.

The Children's Hour Seating Guide

The Children's Hour is performed by regional, repertory, academic, and professional theatre companies, so venue size and layout can vary from one production to another. Wherever you see it, your seat location shapes how closely you experience the play’s facial expressions, pauses, and tightly controlled dialogue.

Best Seats for The Children's Hour

For a dialogue-driven stage drama like The Children's Hour, the best seats usually balance closeness with a full view of the stage picture.

• Best value: Upper mezzanine or rear orchestra sections — These seats often provide clear views of the full stage while keeping you close enough to follow the emotional tension of the performances.
• Closest to the stage: Front orchestra sections — These place you nearest the actors, making the play’s confrontations, silences, and emotional shifts feel especially immediate.
• Best overall experience: Mid-orchestra or front mezzanine sections — These sections usually offer the strongest balance of proximity, sightlines, and overall stage perspective.
• For groups: Coordinate contiguous seats early, since blocks in popular sections can sell through quickly for limited regional or repertory runs.

The Children's Hour Seating Chart

You can view an interactive seating map for The Children's Hour productions directly on BoxOfficeTicketSales.com while browsing available listings. The map lets you compare sections, check row depth and distance from the stage, and see real-time pricing for what's currently available — all before committing to a purchase.

Can I See Where My Seats Are?

Yes. The interactive seat map on BoxOfficeTicketSales.com shows your exact section and row placement before you buy. Use it to understand your angle to the stage, your distance from the front, and whether you're in the orchestra, mezzanine, or balcony — so the seats you choose match exactly what you're looking for before the curtain rises.

Getting Ready for Show Night

Once your tickets are confirmed, a little preparation makes the full experience run smoothly from arrival through the final bow.

• Download your tickets before you leave. Cell service around the theater can be congested on busy performance nights. Save your tickets to your phone's wallet or screenshot them before heading out so you're ready at the door without needing a signal.
• Charge your phone fully. Digital ticketing is standard at most theaters. A portable battery pack is worth having, especially if you're combining the show with dinner or other activities.
• Arrive at least 30 minutes before curtain. Theater doors open well before the show begins; arriving early gives you time to find your seats and settle in before the house lights go down — and avoids the disruption of late seating, which many theaters restrict.
• Plan for the intermission. The Children's Hour is typically performed in three acts with one or two intermissions, depending on the production. Lines for concessions and restrooms often build immediately after the act break, so it helps to move promptly if you need anything.
• Know the venue's phone and photography policy. Most professional theatrical productions ask audiences to silence phones and refrain from recording or photographing during the performance.
• For older teens and adults. The play includes mature themes, including a false accusation, references to homosexuality, slander, and suicide, making it better suited to adult and older-teen audiences than young children.

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The Children's Hour remains a frequently revived classic of American drama, and limited regional, repertory, academic, and professional productions can move quickly once performance dates are announced. The best-value listings disappear first. If you have a specific date or city in mind, acting sooner gets you better seats at better prices. Browse The Children's Hour tickets now and lock in your seats before inventory tightens.

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