# The "Greatest Family Musical Ever" starting at 7:30 on a school night! Ugh. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 19, 2009, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-family-musical-ever-starting-at-7-30-on-a-school-night-ugh/518096 "2009-11-19T00:30:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2009, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-family-musical-ever-starting-at-7-30-on-a-school-night-ugh/518096/1 "2009-11-19T00:30:30Z")
One of 9YO **mudgirl’s** favorite all-time movies is _Annie_ (the Albert Finney/Aileen Quinn version); so when I heard a radio commercial for a National Tour of _Annie_ coming to the WVU Art’s Center (about an hour and a half away), I was very excited. It’s one night only. December 9th. I thought, maybe as an early Christmas gift? She’s almost 10, and very well-behaved. Probably old enough for live theater if it’s something that engages her! So as soon as I got home (heard the ad on the car radio), I looked it up online. It’s a Wednesday night. ☹ And the radio station is based in a town an hour away from the Arts Center. If it’s a ‘national tour’, I can certainly understand it only hitting WV for one night, and not even being able to necessarily get it on a weekend. But come on, this is _Annie_! They (the commercials) are _selling_ it as “a family favorite!” Don’t you think it could maybe start an hour earlier? If it did, I’d seriously consider shelling out the bucks and taking her. As it is, though, _only_ younger kids who live in the _immediate vicinity_ are going to be able to see it, Even if you live _right there_, I’d assume the show will run until 9:30; then, consider battling parking, etc., it’s _at least_ 10PM by the time you get home, 10:30 by the time you get the kids into bed. On a school night! Maybe I’m being naive, and they’ll sell plenty of tickets just as-is, but this seems somewhat ill-conceived to me. I’d have really liked to be able to take my daughter, but on a school night, there’s no way. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2009, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-family-musical-ever-starting-at-7-30-on-a-school-night-ugh/518096/2 "2009-11-19T00:40:47Z")
If it’s a special treat, then going to bed slightly later than usual is worth it. It’s not that big of a deal, surely. I am not a parent. ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2009, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-family-musical-ever-starting-at-7-30-on-a-school-night-ugh/518096/3 "2009-11-19T00:50:03Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > If it’s a special treat, then going to bed slightly later than usual is worth it. It’s not that big of a deal, surely. > > I am not a parent. Going to bed later than usual wouldn’t be that big of a deal _except_: She’s normally an “early to bed” kid; even though her bed-time isn’t until 9:30, it’s a rare night that sees her up that night. She’s usually _asking_ to go to bed by 8:30. Also, her school bus picks her up at 7:15AM, which means the _absolute latest_ I can let her “sleep in” on a school morning is 6:30. Now, something I’d not previously thought of that I’ll have to give some mental room to is the idea that I _could_ declare Dec 10th a “mental health” day, and just not _send_ her to school. . . There’s more to education than going to school, after all! ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2009, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-family-musical-ever-starting-at-7-30-on-a-school-night-ugh/518096/4 "2009-11-19T01:11:04Z")
> [@me](#): > > it’s a rare night that sees her up that night. Of course, I meant, sees her up that _late_. Sigh. I’m getting tired, too! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2009, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-family-musical-ever-starting-at-7-30-on-a-school-night-ugh/518096/5 "2009-11-19T01:28:13Z")
I’ll lend my encouragement to letting her go and letting the next day slide. I’m a bit biased, though, in favor of fostering a love of the theater. Unless she has something uber important in school that day, a kid’s first experience with the theater can be really fun. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2009, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-family-musical-ever-starting-at-7-30-on-a-school-night-ugh/518096/6 "2009-11-19T01:41:21Z")
A lot of people don’t get off work in time to fight traffic, get home, eat, grab the kids, and get to the venue on time if it’s much before 7:30. Besides, that’s what Mountain Dew is for. One thought: can you make a whole special evening of it and spend the night in a local hotel? It could be a special holiday she’d never forget. If not, I’d keep her out of school the next day if she can’t get up. She’ll never remember what it was she learned in school that day, but she’ll remember Annie for the rest of her life. I still remember every play I ever saw from age 4 on up. ---
**Author:** ![Leiko](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Leiko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leiko)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2009, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-family-musical-ever-starting-at-7-30-on-a-school-night-ugh/518096/7 "2009-11-19T01:42:11Z")
If she’s in bed by 10:30 and asleep by 11, she’ll still get seven and half hours of sleep before school. That should be enough, especially since it sounds like she gets a lot of sleep most nights. Unless she’s very very tired, I’m not sure about taking the mental health day. December 10 is close to Christmas vacation. Maybe check with the teacher first to make sure she won’t missing anything really important? ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2009, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-family-musical-ever-starting-at-7-30-on-a-school-night-ugh/518096/8 "2009-11-19T01:57:04Z")
> [@Leiko](#): > > If she’s in bed by 10:30 and asleep by 11, she’ll still get seven and half hours of sleep before school. That should be enough, especially since it sounds like she gets a lot of sleep most nights. I’m thinking it’ll be more like midnight before she’s in bed. Assuming we get out of the theater at 9:30, then traffic getting out of the parking lot. . .we’re looking at hitting our driveway 11:30, then teeth-brushing, etc. and yeah, you’re looking at midnight. But of course, I’m only guessing. I could be off by a half-hour either way! > [@](#): > > Unless she’s very very tired, I’m not sure about taking the mental health day. December 10 is close to Christmas vacation. Maybe check with the teacher first to make sure she won’t missing anything really important? Can’t really do this, unfortunately. Anything short of real illness is considered an “inexcusable absence” or some such nonsense, so _if_ I decide to let her take a “sick day”, I can’t let the school in on it ahead of time! (I know, I know; I hate that part!) However, in this county, students _are_ expected to make up _all_ work missed when they are absent (as she has found out the hard way the two times she’s missed _entire weeks_ due to sinus infection!) so whatever is done in school, _will_ be done at home by Friday! > [@needscoffee](#): > > One thought: can you make a whole special evening of it and spend the night in a local hotel? It could be a special holiday she’d never forget. If not, I’d keep her out of school the next day if she can’t get up. She’ll never remember what it was she learned in school that day, but she’ll remember Annie for the rest of her life. I still remember every play I ever saw from age 4 on up. Now, I hadn’t thought of this, but I think it’s something I definitely need to consider! I will be talking to my husband tomorrow, and I’ll see what he thinks! I agree on the “she’ll never remember what she learned in school that day. . .” ---
**Author:** ![Leiko](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Leiko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leiko)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2009, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-family-musical-ever-starting-at-7-30-on-a-school-night-ugh/518096/9 "2009-11-19T02:00:52Z")
**norinew** Now that it’s midnight I can see the trouble. Your original post said “10:30 by the time you get the kids into bed” and I didn’t realize you were talking about people who live closer to the theatre, and not your family who lives further away. ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2009, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-family-musical-ever-starting-at-7-30-on-a-school-night-ugh/518096/10 "2009-11-19T02:01:46Z")
7.5 hours of sleep would be ludicrously inadequate for my 7yo, just for purposes of comparison. He still needs about 9 hours per night. I vote for letting her skip school the next day! That’s what I would do. Rare chance to see a musical production of her very favorite show? You gotta do it. ---
**Author:** ![amarone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@amarone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarone)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2009, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-family-musical-ever-starting-at-7-30-on-a-school-night-ugh/518096/11 "2009-11-19T12:30:40Z")
If she is a typical 9-year old she will probably sleep all the way home. I am with letting her go and letting the next day slide. If you are in a position to do so, you could let her sleep in and miss the first couple of classes, then take her in. ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2009, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-family-musical-ever-starting-at-7-30-on-a-school-night-ugh/518096/12 "2009-11-19T13:43:44Z")
> [@amarone](#): > > If she is a typical 9-year old she will probably sleep all the way home. I am with letting her go and letting the next day slide. If you are in a position to do so, you could let her sleep in and miss the first couple of classes, then take her in. You are right that she will probably sleep much of the ride home! I can take a little travel pillow to facilitate that. As for letting her just miss the first hour or two of school, believe it or not, I just thought of that myself this morning. See, she was up in the middle of the night with a cough that would _not_ let her sleep. I was torn between giving her the “good” cough syrup (the kind with codeine that I _know_ will work, but will put her down for a few hours) or giving her the Robitussin, which often does nothing at all, and her not being fit to go to school today. I decided, around 4AM to give her the prescription stuff (don’t fret, anyone, it’s _her_ prescription), and told her I was going to turn off my alarm clock and we could sleep in a little this morning. So we slept until 7AM, I had her at the school by 8:10; she didn’t miss much class at all. So it struck me I could do the same thing, basically, on December 10th! Thanks for all the input, folks! I’m going to talk to her father about it today, I’m certain he’ll agree with me, and then I’ll order tickets! 🙂 I think I won’t tell her, on the 9th, where we’re going, just that it’s kind of a long ride, so bring a book, and dress nice! ---
**Author:** ![Chessic\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7c8e57/32.png) [@Chessic\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chessic_Sense)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2009, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-family-musical-ever-starting-at-7-30-on-a-school-night-ugh/518096/13 "2009-11-19T14:09:12Z")
**norine** , you absolutely have to take her. Everything else is secondary. Who cares if she’s tired in school for a day? Her classes start at, what, 8:30? You can let her sleep in another hour and she won’t even miss a minute of class. Let her sleep an extra 1:30 and she’ll just miss one class. The first thing I thought was “she’ll sleep in the car” anyway, so she probably won’t even have to sleep in the next day at all. You could, worst-case, just wake her up at the normal time, and if she’s tired, she’s tired. ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2009, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-family-musical-ever-starting-at-7-30-on-a-school-night-ugh/518096/14 "2009-11-19T15:06:40Z")
> [@Chessic\_Sense](#): > > **norine** , you absolutely have to take her. Everything else is secondary. Who cares if she’s tired in school for a day? Her classes start at, what, 8:30? You can let her sleep in another hour and she won’t even miss a minute of class. Let her sleep an extra 1:30 and she’ll just miss one class. > > The first thing I thought was “she’ll sleep in the car” anyway, so she probably won’t even have to sleep in the next day at all. You could, worst-case, just wake her up at the normal time, and if she’s tired, she’s tired. Well, I talked to my hubby about it this morning. I didn’t mention anything about school the next day, since right now, I’m trying to look at all options as “open” (keep her home, send her in late, send her in on time and just let her be tired. . .), but he did agree that I have to take her! The only other thing I need to know before I order tickets is whether my sister (who would also love to see the show) will be visiting that week. I’ll talk to her later today. Tickets will be ordered before I go to bed tonight! Yay! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Bookkeeper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bookkeeper/32/281_2.png) [@Bookkeeper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bookkeeper)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2009, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-family-musical-ever-starting-at-7-30-on-a-school-night-ugh/518096/15 "2009-11-19T19:31:15Z")
**norinew** , you know that you 're going to have to follow up on this with a post-play report, don’t you? ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2009, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-family-musical-ever-starting-at-7-30-on-a-school-night-ugh/518096/16 "2009-11-19T19:50:20Z")
> [@Bookkeeper](#): > > **norinew** , you know that you 're going to have to follow up on this with a post-play report, don’t you? Yeah, I guess I kind of knew that. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2009, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-family-musical-ever-starting-at-7-30-on-a-school-night-ugh/518096/17 "2009-11-20T00:24:08Z")
OK, I’d planned to buy tickets and surprise her with them. But the computer is in the kitchen, and I hit a glitch in ordering tickets, so it took about twice as long as it should have, and she walked _into the kitchen_ while I was ordering tickets! So she knows. Her response? She said “Mom, could you cover your ears for just a minute, while I scream as loud as I can?” 😃 She’s psyched! ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2009, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-family-musical-ever-starting-at-7-30-on-a-school-night-ugh/518096/18 "2009-11-20T00:57:58Z")
Aww! Way to go, **norinew**! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2009, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-family-musical-ever-starting-at-7-30-on-a-school-night-ugh/518096/19 "2009-11-20T02:13:14Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > Aww! Way to go, **norinew**! 😃 I hope to make it a really special evening for her! Hopefully, it’s one she’ll never forget. ---
**Author:** ![gwendee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/35a633/32.png) [@gwendee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gwendee)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2009, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-family-musical-ever-starting-at-7-30-on-a-school-night-ugh/518096/20 "2009-11-20T02:13:29Z")
Besides not remembering what she learned, she won’t be learning anything that day anyway. Grade school in December is a lot of review and clock watching and coloring another map. How does your daughter’s school handle partial days? Not saying that’s what I’d do, just wondering. I saw Annie with Sarah Jessica Parker and still remember every single lyric. I didn’t go on a school night, it’s true. But I imagine the producers are thinking more of nostalgic people my age than families. Sorry. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-family-musical-ever-starting-at-7-30-on-a-school-night-ugh/518096.md?page=2)