Into The Woods Questions

[Citygirl.grace]

Posted: 7/30/12 at 4:17am

Few questions... I've never gone to Shakespeare/Sondheim in the Park before, and was possibly wanting to go see "Into The Woods" this coming Saturday....

1. How hard is it to get tickets? I know you just go to the box office the day of, but what are my chances of getting them and about what time is good to go??

2. Obviously since its outside, the weather is always a concern. Is it cold?? Do you take blankets/jackets or any of that kind of stuff??

3. What is the seating like???

4. Lastly... Is it good/worth it to go to?? hahah

THANKS!!



Updated On: 7/30/12 at 04:17 AM

[aaronb]

Posted: 7/30/12 at 4:36am

I've only been to the Park once, to see Pacino in THE MERCHANT OF VENICE. Arrived at about 4am and was among the last to get a voucher for return tickets. Came back around 5 or 6pm and ended up getting a pair. I've heard this show is much worse, with people lining up as early as midnight already--and that's before opening.

I don't remember the weather being that bad, the worst part is that you've been up all night so you're not very well-rested. The seating is good, it's an amphitheater, you can see a picture of it on Wikipedia.
Delacorte Theater

[aaronb]

Posted: 7/30/12 at 4:37am

Oh, and I thought MERCHANT was well worth it, but obviously it varies from show to show. If you live in New York, though, you should definitely do it once.

[mar97]

Posted: 7/30/12 at 7:11am

You may want to check the schedule. It looks like there is no performance on Saturday Aug 4. There are scattered scheduled days off during the run.

[broadwaydevil]

Posted: 7/30/12 at 10:19am

1. Very hard. It depends on the show, but Into the Woods has been very popular. Get there between 5 and 6 AM.

2. Yes, the weather is a concern, but it usually isn't too cold in NY in August. I would worry more about rain. They do cancel the performance if it's raining very hard or if there are thunderstorms but they try to run the show.

3. There are actual seats with a back but they're hard plastic. Not the most comfortable but they're fine. You are allowed to bring seat cushions, blankets, etc. to make it more comfortable but I've never had an issue with that.

4. 100%! I think the time in line can fly by especially if you bring a lot to do, can get some sleep on line, or can talk to people. I've never felt the wait wasn't worth it.

[AEA AGMA SM]

Posted: 7/30/12 at 12:01pm

They have said in the past that they will only cancel once it is no longer possible to get the show done and audience out by Central Park's curfew, which, if I remember correctly, was the show down by 12:00 and audience and staff completely out of the park by 1:00. They will try their hardest to avoid holding until conditions get too severe to continue with the show and then will wait out as long as they can based on when they called the hold and if they think there is any chance of the weather breaking. They will pretty much call an immediate hold if there is lightning (big safety issue) and I don't remember what they said their policy is for restarting after lightning (I would assume it is much like a public pool/beach in that they have a certain window after the last lightning is seen/thunder heard before they can allow the show to continue).

I have also heard that the best odds for getting tickets in the evening in the cancellation line are those nights when the weather is iffy. Some people will just assume that because there is rain, or it has been raining all afternoon, or that it is lightly raining when they would be heading back to the park for the performance that it will be cancelled.

[Marianne2]

Posted: 7/30/12 at 12:25pm

^ That makes me a bit thrilled with the weather for Wednesday, although I don't want the show cancelled. I would be so disappointed.

[ljay889]

Posted: 7/30/12 at 12:49pm

Yes, the time to go is when the weather is iffy. On Saturday night, my dad was around #104 on the standby line, and he got in BEFORE the opening number. They were also letting people in all throughout the first quarter of act 1.

[frogs_fan85]

Posted: 7/30/12 at 12:57pm

Ditto.

I did standby on Saturday, got on line at 6, and got my ticket at 7:45.