Shakespeare in the park ticket...how early to line up
Shakespeare in the park ticket...how early to line up
EM55
Understudy Joined: 5/5/17
#1Shakespeare in the park ticket...how early to line up
Posted: 5/5/17 at 3:59pm
I know there are people who line up overnight outside the park, but does anyone have any advice on realistically when you can line up and still get tickets? Does anyone know how many are handed out per day?
#2Shakespeare in the park ticket...how early to line up
Posted: 5/5/17 at 4:07pm
If you go early in the run, especially during the week, you usually don't have to wait at all; the last couple years, I've been able to walk right up at noon and get tickets. Weekends are busier usually because people are off work. I don't think JULIUS CAESER will be a hard ticket to get, because there aren't any huge names in the cast.
"You travel alone because other people are only there to remind you how much that hook hurts that we all bit down on. Wait for that one day we can bite free and get back out there in space where we belong, sail back over water, over skies, into space, the hook finally out of our mouths and we wander back out there in space spawning to other planets never to return hurrah to earth and we'll look back and can't even see these lives here anymore. Only the taste of blood to remind us we ever existed. The earth is small. We're gone. We're dead. We're safe."
-John Guare, Landscape of the Body
#3Shakespeare in the park ticket...how early to line up
Posted: 5/5/17 at 4:13pm
Do you think Midsummer will be harder to get? The cast is pretty flashy.
#4Shakespeare in the park ticket...how early to line up
Posted: 5/5/17 at 4:17pm
In the twenty-plus years I've been doing Shakespeare in the Park (including a few summers when I worked there as an usher), the only time I saw insane lines were for productions that had big marquee names (Streep, Hathaway, Pacino, etc). I think MIDSUMMER will probably attract a bit more attention that JC simply because it's a more familiar title, but I don't think Burstein, Ashford et al are going to draw the kinds of crowds that would require people to sleep overnight for tickets.
"You travel alone because other people are only there to remind you how much that hook hurts that we all bit down on. Wait for that one day we can bite free and get back out there in space where we belong, sail back over water, over skies, into space, the hook finally out of our mouths and we wander back out there in space spawning to other planets never to return hurrah to earth and we'll look back and can't even see these lives here anymore. Only the taste of blood to remind us we ever existed. The earth is small. We're gone. We're dead. We're safe."
-John Guare, Landscape of the Body
EM55
Understudy Joined: 5/5/17
#5Shakespeare in the park ticket...how early to line up
Posted: 5/5/17 at 4:18pm
Midsummer is what I am hoping to see, I don't live there so limited to chances on a vacation. I wondered too if that would be harder to see. Thanks for the reply AC126748, I appreciate the insight.
JSquared2
Broadway Legend Joined: 3/23/17
#6Shakespeare in the park ticket...how early to line up
Posted: 5/5/17 at 4:19pm
icecreambenjamin said: "Do you think Midsummer will be harder to get? The cast is pretty flashy."
Only "flashy" for theatre people. There isn't anyone in the cast (so far) who means anything to the general public.
#7Shakespeare in the park ticket...how early to line up
Posted: 5/5/17 at 4:27pm
So what you're saying is if I decide to hang out at around 10 am in the park the first week of Julius Caesar I'm probably just fine?
#8Shakespeare in the park ticket...how early to line up
Posted: 5/5/17 at 4:33pm
JSquared2 said: "icecreambenjamin said: "Do you think Midsummer will be harder to get? The cast is pretty flashy."
Only "flashy" for theatre people. There isn't anyone in the cast (so far) who means anything to the general public.
Yeah I meant flashy for theatre people. I was just wondering if a lot of us will show up ridiculously early for that production
#9Shakespeare in the park ticket...how early to line up
Posted: 5/5/17 at 4:35pm
ChairinMain said: "So what you're saying is if I decide to hang out at around 10 am in the park the first week of Julius Caesar I'm probably just fine?
"
Yeah, I don't think you'll have any problems.
Another thing: the Public is really good about posting on their social media when they still have tickets available post-distribution, so follow them on FB and Twitter.
"You travel alone because other people are only there to remind you how much that hook hurts that we all bit down on. Wait for that one day we can bite free and get back out there in space where we belong, sail back over water, over skies, into space, the hook finally out of our mouths and we wander back out there in space spawning to other planets never to return hurrah to earth and we'll look back and can't even see these lives here anymore. Only the taste of blood to remind us we ever existed. The earth is small. We're gone. We're dead. We're safe."
-John Guare, Landscape of the Body
#10Shakespeare in the park ticket...how early to line up
Posted: 5/5/17 at 4:40pm
Even if they do hand out a full allotment in the morning, the standby line has always been reliable for me, but that's also going early in the run, which is always the best option.
I am a firm believer in serendipity- all the random pieces coming together in one wonderful moment, when suddenly you see what their purpose was all along.
#11Shakespeare in the park ticket...how early to line up
Posted: 5/5/17 at 4:50pm
Do I understand correctly that the Public now hands out tickets at noon and allows ticket holders to leave and come back at curtain time? Great idea, if true!
Back in the Dark Ages when I was attending, one had to remain in line all day in order to hold one's place. I finally stopped going because after 8 or more hours in the heat and humidity, I was too exhausted to enjoy ANY show.
#12Shakespeare in the park ticket...how early to line up
Posted: 5/5/17 at 4:55pm
^ It's been that way for awhile now. Even when they had big shows like Into the Woods with Amy Adams, I was able to get my ticket and leave until showtime.
Seems like they have added ways to get tickets as well. Like I was just reading there is going to be some available from the Today Tix app.
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#13Shakespeare in the park ticket...how early to line up
Posted: 5/5/17 at 4:56pm
GavestonPS said: "Do I understand correctly that the Public now hands out tickets at noon and allows ticket holders to leave and come back at curtain time? Great idea, if true!
Back in the Dark Ages when I was attending, one had to remain in line all day in order to hold one's place. I finally stopped going because after 8 or more hours in the heat and humidity, I was too exhausted to enjoy ANY show.
"
That's correct and has been for as long as I've been doing Shakespeare in the Park (I started in the mid-nineties). They used to give the tickets out at 1pm, but they knocked it down to noon a few years ago.
"You travel alone because other people are only there to remind you how much that hook hurts that we all bit down on. Wait for that one day we can bite free and get back out there in space where we belong, sail back over water, over skies, into space, the hook finally out of our mouths and we wander back out there in space spawning to other planets never to return hurrah to earth and we'll look back and can't even see these lives here anymore. Only the taste of blood to remind us we ever existed. The earth is small. We're gone. We're dead. We're safe."
-John Guare, Landscape of the Body
#14Shakespeare in the park ticket...how early to line up
Posted: 5/5/17 at 5:34pm
^^^ That's great to hear. When I left NYC in 1985, they had just started selling "premium tickets"--which I thought violated the whole idea of "free theater in the park".
I saw just one act of Raul Julia and Richard Dreyfuss in OTHELLO. I'd been in line for 10 hours by show time and temperatures were in the high 80s/low 90s.
VintageSnarker
Broadway Legend Joined: 1/30/15
#15Shakespeare in the park ticket...how early to line up
Posted: 5/5/17 at 6:45pm
EM55 said: "I know there are people who line up overnight outside the park, but does anyone have any advice on realistically when you can line up and still get tickets? Does anyone know how many are handed out per day?
It depends on how popular the show is mostly and to a lesser extent the weather (it's usually nice in the summer and they'll cancel if it's raining or something). I've had to go around 6 am and sometimes I've gone from 9 am-10:30 am and gotten tickets. It's impossible to say until the show has started its run and people have started lining up regularly. Quite a number of tickets are handed out. It's not like rush. But with everyone in line able to get two tickets, it's easier to judge from your place in line. If you're past a certain marker, they tell you to go home. I'll also point out that being close to the front of the line doesn't guarantee the "best" tickets. If you do settle in for a long wait, bring a friend or a book. It gets boring.
broadwaygirl89
Chorus Member Joined: 8/29/16
#16Shakespeare in the park ticket...how early to line up
Posted: 5/6/17 at 8:38am
Marianne2 said: "^ It's been that way for awhile now. Even when they had big shows like Into the Woods with Amy Adams, I was able to get my ticket and leave until showtime.
Seems like they have added ways to get tickets as well. Like I was just reading there is going to be some available from the Today Tix app.
"
There are a few ways! They have an in person lottery downtown and a Today Tix lottery, which I've entered (and won) for Taming of the Shrew. I haven't actually gone in person to the park before.
#17Shakespeare in the park ticket...how early to line up
Posted: 5/6/17 at 10:07am
The good thing about getting there early and being one of the first 100 or so in line is that you get to wait under the trees--which is crucial if temps climb high that day. Also, you're much closer to the facilities if you need to take a restroom break or buy a sandwich from the concession stand.
EM55
Understudy Joined: 5/5/17
#18Shakespeare in the park ticket...how early to line up
Posted: 5/6/17 at 1:22pm
Thank you for all the help everyone! Appreciate it!
EM55
Understudy Joined: 5/5/17
#19Shakespeare in the park ticket...how early to line up
Posted: 5/6/17 at 2:36pm
One more question guys....how early do people start getting in the standby line?
dev101
Featured Actor Joined: 8/31/14
Hamilfan2
Broadway Star Joined: 12/28/15
#21Shakespeare in the park ticket...how early to line up
Posted: 8/1/17 at 5:50pm
I am hoping to see Midsummer during closing weekend. I know it will be pretty difficult but what time would you recommend I get there in order to ensure tickets? I was going to try getting there at 10 but I fee like that will be too late.
#22Shakespeare in the park ticket...how early to line up
Posted: 8/1/17 at 8:55pm
I got in the standby line around 4 this past Wednesday and was maybe tenth in line. They started giving out tickets around ten minutes before the show started.
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chuckydisc
Broadway Star Joined: 7/28/13
#23Shakespeare in the park ticket...how early to line up
Posted: 8/1/17 at 10:07pm
Hamilfan2 said: "I am hoping to see Midsummer during closing weekend. I know it will be pretty difficult but what time would you recommend I get there in order to ensure tickets? I was going to try getting there at 10 but I fee like that will be too late."
What prevents you from arriving early?
cali8
Chorus Member Joined: 11/6/16
#24Shakespeare in the park ticket...how early to line up
Posted: 8/2/17 at 12:21am
EM55 said: "One more question guys....how early do people start getting in the standby line?"
I got to the standby line around 6:10pm last Tuesday 7/25 (I didn't count but guessing around 35 people in front of me) and got two tickets just before the show started.
brdway411
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/24/14
#25Shakespeare in the park ticket...how early to line up
Posted: 8/2/17 at 4:57am
I did first preview and got there at 6 am (4th in line). Had a blast both in line and at the show. Not sure about now that it got a rave review. My friend Sam made some of the costumes.
