Shakespeare in the Park Lines- Page 5

[bwayfan3]

Posted: 7/8/09 at 10:59am

So..can a stand-by line begin forming as soon as they hand out the morning line tickets at say 1:15 or so? Because I don't mind waiting 5-7 hours in the park but would prefer to spend them later in the day rather than in the morning.

[ghostlight2]

Posted: 7/8/09 at 1:24pm

"there was no one watching anything outside of the park and when the line was let it some people ended up farther back than where they actually were".

Interesting, yay gerb. Earlier in the run they had someone accompany the line down into the park when it opened, and they were pretty strict about it. I'd assumed that now that tickets are scarcer they'd continue doing that. Sorry to hear that's not still happening.

[bjh2114]

Posted: 7/8/09 at 3:22pm

I got there this morning at 5:20 am and was the 204th person in line. By the time my friend and I got our tickets, they were out of pairs and were only giving out singles. There must have been well over a thousand people in the line today, and the last tickets were given out to only a few people behind us.

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 7/8/09 at 3:29pm

Just FYI, I did the stand-by line yesterday.

Got there at 3:30. Was about 40-50 people from the front. Got a ticket but there were only about five tickets in the guy's hand when I got to the front of the line. There were probably about 70-80 people behind me, if not more.

[Mrfreeze]

Posted: 7/8/09 at 5:14pm

I m tempted to try the standby for closing night. Wonder how crazy it will be..

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 7/8/09 at 5:29pm

So am I, but at the rate so many people are waiting until the last minute, i think temptation is as far as that idea will go! I'm lucky to have seen it three times. I'm good with that.

[mee.who]

Posted: 7/8/09 at 6:33pm

I was under the impression that the theater purposely handed out the tickets randomly because they don't WANT to encourage people to wait overnight trying to get the best seats in the house. They're trying to let people sleep in a little by handing them out randomly. Personally, I think it's a good idea for keeping the line insanity to a minimum, though clearly it doesn't work so well with a show like this where getting there hours before the crack of dawn becomes the only way to get tickets at all!

[yay_gerb]

Posted: 7/8/09 at 11:39pm

well mee, as good as an idea that is, it's clearly not working lol. and ghostlight there was someone that came and told us that we could go into the park and i guess you can say he accompanied us over to the theater but he didn't really watch anyone he just walked in front of everyone.

i'm want to overnight it for closing night but it's supposed to thunderstorm :/

[acd114]

Posted: 7/8/09 at 11:45pm

I'm confused... if the Delacorte has 1800 seats... approx 360 (give or take) are given to sponsors each night.. even if you round 360 to 500... that should mean that 750 people in line would be able to get tickets... even if each person got 2 tickets each. How did they run out at 204?

[bjh2114]

Posted: 7/8/09 at 11:47pm

I said the same thing before today acd114. I didn't believe it myself until I saw it. I would venture to say that they ran out around person 250.

[acd114]

Posted: 7/8/09 at 11:49pm

well boo... alas! BUT I'm glad that you got tickets!!!! Hope that you liked it!

[Anakela]

Posted: 7/8/09 at 11:53pm

Are you counting corporate seats in your math? (Corporate != the paid summer sponsor tickets, rather the comps that The Public, etc have to pass out to their guests.) I would guess that corporate seats, plus summer sponsor tickets, add up to quite a large number, especially the closer it gets to closing night?

[AryaUnderfoot]

Posted: 7/9/09 at 12:00am

I'm planning on overnighting the closing. I was actully wondering if anyone wanted to accompany me... Waiting in line alone can be DREADFULLY boring. I'll probably be getting to the park around 2:30-3:00. Let me know!

[Mrfreeze]

Posted: 7/9/09 at 12:34am

I'll gp!

[yay_gerb]

Posted: 7/9/09 at 1:15am

arya i'd be glad to accompany you. i'm pretty sure my PM's are on so just message me :]

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 7/9/09 at 1:53am

bjh, I got there at 5:30 and was about number 217 or something.
No one official was counting, but several people who just liked to count were.
There were easily a thousand people behind us, up to and around the reservoir.
About when we got to ten or so people ahead of me they announced they only had single seats.
I was Tempested.
When did the Public Theatre become the mostly corporate partly Public Theatre.
The amount of tickets given to Bank People should be limited to about 2%.

The show, from row X without my friend who was far away, was wonderful:
I loved Audra McDonald, who got the best reactions tonight, Anne Hathaway was a lovely, cute in a gay twink way Viola, with a hot hair cut. Same about Stark Sands.
All the comics were hilarious, Pittu, Sanders(perfection),
White (amazing, bringing her own vibes to the Bard), Walker (funny and musical) and the elastic Dana Carveyish Linkletter.
Raul (was that a beatle wig) got some great laughs, but the rolw seemed smaller than I remembered.

Gorgeous simple set, Some of Greenwood's best costume's ever, the colors of them against the trees was breathtaking.
Wonderful music.

Now let the real PUBLIC see these productions for free and screw the bank parties taking up our seats.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 7/9/09 at 2:01am

Is it really such a vast majority? I've been wondering that, especially since I've heard of so many people (on BWW and otherwise) who have gotten to the park super early and gotten awful seats. It seems like most of the seats that get handed out to the line are way far back. A lot of the better ones definitely end up on the stand-by line, but I wonder how many farther forward than like, row O are really ending up on the general distribution line... and who's getting them!

[ghostlight2]

Posted: 7/9/09 at 2:22am

"screw the bank parties taking up our seats".

"Our seats"? CPD, what makes you so entitled? Seriously. It's not like they're taking up half the theater, and without the money men, there's no show. Early in the run, seats were easy to get. Now that it's late in the run, you're complaining about the quality of your free seat? That you enjoyed a free show but couldn't sit next to your friend?

You're seeing free theater, as often as you have the time to spend to wait for a ticket. The whining and villifying of those who make it possible just reeks of entitlement. Free theater isn't a right.

Three times I've been - front row center, 3rd row house right, and all way the hell in the back. All three times on standby. Quit your bitching and appreciate the fact that those bank people you want to "screw" make it possible for the Public to continue the treasure that is Shakespeare in the Park at the Delacorte.

Stop looking a gift horse in the mouth.
Updated On: 7/9/09 at 02:22 AM

[acd114]

Posted: 7/9/09 at 5:53am

good point ghostlight. I guess the fact is that it's going to vary from night to night as the whether or not 217 is in the beginning of the stack of tickets that they have to give out, or near the end. Either way, I'll take the free theater.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 7/9/09 at 6:06am

I know of a few folks that got to the line by 5:30 and didn't get tix in the last few days.

You have to admit....THAT'S a bit ridiculous. I'm sure the bad weather has made tix even harder to get -- does anyone know how many shows were cancelled due to the rain?

Interesting thought about the number of tickets available, though. Add in that they give some away for the virtual line, and some go to those willing to donate for tix, and some (I'm guessing) for their own employeees....that must chip away at the number available for free...but it still doesn't seem to add up.

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 7/9/09 at 8:21am

What makes me so entitiled????
It's the PUBLIC theatre!!!!!

They make a HUGE deal of the fact that they are giving the PUBLIC free tickets, but if less than a third of the seats are actually being given out, it's not right.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 7/9/09 at 9:01am

Dramarama - They've only actually been rained out once. The percentage of seats that go on the virtual line is not very big, though I don't know exactly what it is, and the staff allotment is really, really small.

I know someone who went at 5:00 this morning and was already sent home because she was too far back in line. That's a little bit insane. I wonder if people are just coming out earlier as the run draws to a close, if the number of tickets up for grabs is shrinking because it's almost over, or both.

Updated On: 7/9/09 at 09:01 AM

[ghostlight2]

Posted: 7/9/09 at 9:34am

Both.

"What makes me so entitiled????
It's the PUBLIC theatre!!!!!"

Well, yes, and except for Shakespeare in the Park, you pay for tickets at the PUBLIC theater. It's just a name. It isn't as though it's publicly-funded. You're acting like there's some kind of conspiracy going on, cheating you out of something you deserve to have.

You conveniently forget that this wasn't a problem before the reviews. There were nights that you could walk up at 8 pm and get a ticket - and there were still empty seats inside. Hell, I essentially second-acted it once. I don't doubt that due to the bad weather early on, more of the corporate sponsors are going later in the run, but the end of the run for any popular show is harder to get. I don't understand the surprise about that. Happens almost every year. Everyone who kept putting it off is now trying to get tickets.

Even if less than a third of the seats are given out to the public (and again, that certainly wasn't true early on), the bottom line is that they ARE giving the public free tickets. A lot of them. Even if we go by your estimate somewhere around 500 a night, factoring in the virtual line. So many free tickets have been given out that several people in this thread alone have seen it more than once.

It's not enough that they give out free tickets. You want more free tickets. Honestly, these are things a spoiled child might say. They don't owe you anything, and they're not accountable to you.

Glad you enjoyed the free show. Good luck to all those intrepid souls attempting to brave the opening night lines.

[BroadwayGirl107]

Posted: 7/9/09 at 10:10am

"You have to admit....THAT'S a bit ridiculous. I'm sure the bad weather has made tix even harder to get -- does anyone know how many shows were cancelled due to the rain?"

As Emcee said...one. I have to throw in here...what's more ridiculous is that early in the run, I'd guess there were about seven or more shows that did not sell out, and one night I remember where the theatre was not even HALF full. All these hundreds of people complaining about how hard it is to get tickets could have walked up to the box office that evening without waiting more than 5 minutes for their turn and gotten good seats and a fantastic show. ghostlight is right...these are FREE tickets. Let's be grateful that there's a theatre willing to put on shows of high production-value with top-notch professional actors and give out even hundreds of free tickets to the general public!

And frankly, people need to come out during the not-so-great weather and early in the run. Sometimes those are the most interesting shows. How upsetting to see a less-than-half full theatre on the night of one of the best performances and hundreds of people turned away just two weeks later.


Emcee...as for tonight. It is a limited distribution night, I believe because it's some sort of partners night. So it will probably be worse than yesterday.

[jewelchk]

Posted: 7/9/09 at 12:51pm

Oh boy. I didn't know that. Bad timing, but I'm going to see how the standby line is this afternoon.