#3
Posted: 8/20/25 at 1:01pm
https://forum.broadwayworld.com/thread/Peter-DinklageLupita-Nypng-oJesse-Tyler-FergusonSandra-Oh-to-star-in-Shakespeare-in-the-Park-s-TWELFTH-NIGHT/3
Reddit also has a daily thread dedicated to the line. Looks like people are getting denied tickets even when showing up at 5:30a.
#4
Posted: 8/20/25 at 1:12pm
I was at the in person lottery at the Public today (and was lucky enough to win) and another winner mentioned going to the line at 5:45 yesterday and still not getting tickets.
#5
Posted: 8/20/25 at 2:44pm
Yikes! We were lucky to win the on-line lottery yesterday. Interestingly while waiting for the house to open a security guard took an informal poll asking everyone how early, they got in line for tickets. Not one of the ten people ahead of us or behind us admitted to having to wait. Either someone else had given them tickets or they used the online lottery. He jokingly called us cheaters.
Up In One
#6
Posted: 8/20/25 at 8:45pm
New Yorkers are out of their freaking minds. They will gladly stand in line for seven hours or more just to get a free ticket to something that lasts 90 minutes.
#7
Posted: 8/20/25 at 8:54pm
Whatever it takes to get that Playbill photo with the stage in the background and the night isn't complete without that vertical video of the curtain call, yo.
#9
Posted: 8/20/25 at 8:57pm
God forbid theater fans wait on line for theater.
I think it’s fun to make a day of it. This isn’t like waking up standing on the sidewalk of midtown Manhattan for a rush ticket, it’s in the park. Take a day off work, bring a blanket, meet up with a friend, sit outside, play cards, order breakfast to the line, say hi to all the dogs walking by, catch up on a book. Get your ticket, head home, nap, eat dinner, Shakespeare.
#10
Posted: 8/20/25 at 8:58pm
Truly the last thing any theater fan should be complaining about is that people are willing to wake up at 4am to see Shakespeare.
Updated On: 8/21/25 at 08:58 PM
#11
Posted: 8/20/25 at 9:07pm
raddersons said: "Truly the last thing any theater fan should be complaining about it’s that people are willing to wake up at 4am to see Shakespeare."
I’m not complaining about anything. I simply stated that I find it the height of lunacy to wait 7 hours in line for a 90 minute show. But hey, if that’s what these people find enjoyable, go for it. That’s my opinion and I’m entitled to it, just like the people who think camping out all night for a 90 minute show is an excellent idea. I hope they all have a fantastic time.
#12
Posted: 8/20/25 at 10:02pm
Tonight’s performance was rained out so hopefully those who stood in line for hours all went to dinner with the new friends they made today. 
#13
Posted: 8/20/25 at 10:09pm
The increasing severity of both heat and storms during New York summers are going to make Shakespeare in the Park harder to pull off with every passing year.
"...everyone finally shut up, and the audience could enjoy the beginning of the Anatevka Pogram in peace."
#14
Posted: 8/21/25 at 8:04am
Waiting in line for Shakespeare in the Park is not new. It’s just that the last few years before closing weren’t that great. But I was there at 4am to see Al Pacino in Merchant. We’re back to a year when people are actually excited to see the show.
Some of y’all just love finding something to complain about.
#15
Posted: 8/21/25 at 8:17am
raddersons said: "Truly the last thing any theater fan should be complaining about it’s that people are willing to wake up at 4am to see Shakespeare."
...for FREE no less!
I might add that the line is so much a part of the experience! For the past few years, I've been a donor with access to tickets in advance, but I remember waiting outside the park beginning around 1AM for the Hathaway Twelfth Night, the Streep Mother Courage, and the Pacino Merchant. Hell, even Hair was drawing crowds at 4AM! I felt completely safe each time that I stayed overnight and have some incredible memories being in line with my friends and (future) husband.
And ain't nothing better than ordering a bacon egg and cheese from Andy's and having it delivered in line!
Bring some blankets, a collapsable chair, a good book and some playing cards and you'll have a hell of a time and an experience you'll never forget!
#16
Posted: 8/21/25 at 9:47am
90 minutes? They should have changed the title to 1/2 Night
...
#17
Posted: 8/21/25 at 10:39am
inception said: "90 minutes? They should have changed the title to 1/2 Night"
Matt Rogers made that up. This production is a solid two hours.
#18
Posted: 8/21/25 at 5:03pm
I believe reviews are out tonight....think it will do very well.
#19
Posted: 8/21/25 at 6:10pm
TotallyEffed said: "inception said: "90 minutes? They should have changed the title to 1/2 Night"
Matt Rogers made that up. This production is a solid two hours."
Hag, the website used to say 90 minutes. It now says 115 minutes. I didn’t make up anything and either way, it’s not a solid two hours.
#20
Posted: 8/21/25 at 6:24pm
You are a mean, nasty old man.
It’s actually longer than two hours, curtain call ended at 10:02 when I saw it.
#21
Posted: 8/21/25 at 6:29pm
I did Shakespeare in the Park lines when I was a college student in NYC, early 2000s. It was a pleasant experience then, and especially if you went early in the run, you rarely had to wait more than a couple hours for tickets. (Often if you went during the first week of performances, you could walk right up around 1pm -- when they started distributing -- and receive a pair with no wait.) As Kad mentioned though, given that summer weather is far less temperate now, the prospect of a multi-hour queue is far less appealing. Also, it's really only conducive to people who live in the city. If you don't have an apartment or hotel where you can nap in the afternoon, you'll be mighty tired once curtain rolls around.
"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
#22
Posted: 8/21/25 at 6:35pm
TotallyEffed said: "You are a mean, nasty old man.
It’s actually longer than two hours, curtain call ended at 10:02 when I saw it."
Thanks for proving yourself to be as vile as ever. Check the website if you have the ability to know how to check a website. It currently says 115 minutes. It used to say 90 minutes. If your performance was over 2 hours, it clearly started quite late. Take a seat.
#23
Posted: 8/21/25 at 7:01pm
TotallyEffed said: "It’s actually longer than two hours, curtain call ended at 10:02 when I saw it."
Performances have been starting around 8:15pm-ish not 8:01pm.
#24
Posted: 8/21/25 at 7:28pm
Has anyone actually seen the show? Surprised there's not more discussion here.
#25
Posted: 8/21/25 at 8:05pm
I saw it and it was fantastic. A very joyous evening.
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