Hook in Concert at Wolf Trap

A Wooden Barn in the Woods, With an Orchestra Inside It

Hook turns 35 this year, and the National Symphony Orchestra is marking it the way a John Williams score deserves. The full film runs on a screen at the Filene Center while the orchestra plays the music live below it, with Emil de Cou conducting. Robin Williams is the grown-up Peter Pan who forgot he was Peter Pan, Dustin Hoffman is Captain Hook, Julia Roberts is Tinker Bell. Saturday, September 5, at 7:30pm.

If you have never been, the Filene Center is a big open-sided wooden hall dropped in the woods off Trap Road. The covered seats sit under the roof facing the stage, and behind them the ground rises into the lawn, where most families end up. That choice matters more than it sounds. If rain is in the forecast, the covered seats are worth the extra money. If the night is clear, the lawn is the better call with kids, because nobody up there minds a five-year-old who needs to stand and wiggle.

Two things to sort out before you buy. Everyone needs a ticket, including a baby on your lap, and children pay the adult price, so a family of four starts around $172. And the film runs a little over two hours, which puts you back in the car close to 10. For a kid who can handle a late night, this is one of the best evenings of the year. For a four-year-old, it is a long sit in the dark.

Wolf Trap is the only venue around here that lets you bring your own food and drinks, so the lawn plus a packed dinner is how most families do this. Gates open at 6, which gives you time to eat on the grass before the lights go down. One catch worth knowing: if you buy covered seats instead, you cannot carry food to them.

Parent Tips 💡

• ✓Get lawn seats and pack dinner. It is the cheapest ticket, and the picnic on the grass is half the reason to go.
• ✓Buy a ticket for every child. There is no lap pass here. A baby needs a ticket too.
• ✓Arrive when gates open at 6. You get a flat patch of lawn and time to eat before it starts.
• ✓Bring a blanket, not a chair. Chairs are only allowed at the very top of the lawn.
• ✓Do the math on bedtime. The film ends around 10, so this is a night for older kids.
• ✓Pack a layer. September evenings on that lawn get cooler than you expect.
• ✓Watch the forecast. The lawn is open sky. If rain is coming, pay for the covered seats, but remember you cannot take food to them.