Are kids allowed at Gateway's 'Frozen'? Child disturbance policy explained

A policy of the Broadway-length "Frozen" show at The Gateway Playhouse in Bellport caused some confusion and consternation among families during opening weekend as the theater indicated that children younger than 7 could be asked to leave if disturbing others in the audience.

Gateway clarified to Newsday that children ages 3 to 7 are welcome, but that parents should understand what the 2½-hour performance entails before deciding whether their children will be able to sit still and quietly through it. There haven’t been any problems at the first five performances, and no child has been asked to leave, says Gateway’s executive artistic director, Paul Allan. The show runs through April 13.

"You should definitely bring your kids. We don’t want to turn anybody away; we just want them to understand what they are coming to," Allan explains. The show is not the abridged "Frozen Jr.," which eliminates much of the movie dialogue, or a sing-along where kids can chime in to hits such as "Let It Go." It’s an epic, Broadway-scale experience, he says.

Gateway typically has a policy that children younger than 3 aren't admitted to performances. As for ages 3 to 7, "we put it specially for this to make people aware that kids should be able to sit still for two hours," he says. On Broadway, current shows also have age restrictions set on tickets, allowing only children older than ages 6 to 8. The Broadway League did not immediately respond to a request for comment.  

Some parents on Facebook lamented that 3 to 7 is the "target age" of "Frozen," and wondered whether the theater might do a performance specifically for younger kids to attend that would be more forgiving of the needs of that age group. There are no plans for such a performance, Allan says.

"When the movie came out, it was a movie obviously aimed at kids and families. It was a natural to turn it into a Broadway show such as ‘The Lion King’ or ‘Beauty and the Beast,’" Allan says. The Broadway version has new songs, new staging and choreography, smoke, fog, scenery, costumes, he says. "We’re the first theater on Long Island to do ‘Frozen’ as it was done on Broadway," he says.

"Bringing a 3-year-old or a 4-year-old, it could be a problem for them. There are also 5-year olds who can’t sit still for 15 minutes. We’re encouraging parents to think about it and make sure their kids can sit through a Broadway show," he says.

Younger children have attended the five Gateway performances so far. "I’ve been at every one of them," Allan says. "There hasn’t been any disturbance in the audience. I’ve seen 3- and 4-year-olds. I’ve seen a few of them being taken out by their parents and then brought back in. People coming are respecting the rules. We haven’t had any problem. There are a lot of quiet moments when impactful things are happening on stage, and you can hear a pin drop."

By Beth Whitehouse

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Beth Whitehouse writes about families, parenting and great things to do with the kids on Long Island. She’s been a Newsday editor and shared a 1997 Newsday staff Pulitzer Prize for coverage of the crash of TWA Flight 800.