![]() The Public does not make available the number of seats given out via the Virtual Line each day, the number of Summer Supporters who pay their way in, or the number of seats given to corporations whose donations are instrumental to keeping the theater going, (but whose largesse does cut into the number of seats available to the general public, even if it's to a small degree). ![]() Keren from "The Bacchae" line said she and a friend tried all last summer, to no avail. Last summer, presumably to address the issue of accessibility for those who have to work around a full-time job, the Public introduced the "Virtual Line," a lottery you can enter up to once a day for the entire run of a show from any computer via the Internet.īut it's not easy. It should be said that the Public has made pains to create options for the time challenged, one of which is making a tax deductible donation in return for which you are given a "free ticket." The minimum contribution this summer for those who have the means to help the theater and themselves (by avoiding the line) is $170 - more expensive than the priciest seats for " Billy Elliot" on Broadway, which will set you back $136.50 apiece on a Saturday night. "You have to be very dedicated," he said. He and the others on line had the repose of those who've made peace with the necessary commitment (as well as that of people not at work on a summer Friday). "But when you spend five hours waiting and don't get tickets, you feel hostility - at yourself, at those around you, and at the theater that created this situation." ![]() "On balance, I'm grateful," he said of the opportunity to see such wonderful productions free of charge. it's a better opportunity to get tickets than lining up on the weekend, and it's a preview." "Since we had a hard time before, waking up early, twice, coming all the way here, bringing the chairs. So this time, she wasn't taking any chances, and while using a vacation day may seem like a steep price, to her it was well worth it. "It was unbelievable, the line," she said of a string of people that stretched to 89th Street. Keren, who moved here from the Philippines 3 years ago, was among those who took a day off from her office job at an accessories company especially to wait in line after failing twice to get tickets for "Twelfth Night." In addition to the self-employed Bruce, an informal survey of the front of the line for Friday's showing of "The Bacchae" found three people who took vacation days from work to avoid the longer, weekend-day lines two students a consultant who makes his own hours a ski instructor who is off for the summer and a teacher.Īnd while they were all happy to be there, many of them had stories of previous disappointments. It's easy to see how someone who works 40 hours a week - or, as is likely the case in New York, significantly more - would find it difficult to undertake. And while it was indeed fun, it was during a period of part-time employment when trading in a good night's sleep for an evening of nocturnal wandering - followed by a some memorable theater - was more feasible. This reporter experienced a Central Park slumber party in 2001, for the production of "The Seagull" that starred Meryl Streep, Kevin Kline, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, and Natalie Portman. For anyone unfamiliar with the ritual of the overnight line, that means the entire group of intrepid ticket seekers marches out of the park and reassembles on Central Park West - that's right, out on the street - until the park officially reopens at 6 a.m. each day, that made the wait for those exceptionally dedicated theatergoers about 11 hours.Īnyone who joined in as Central Park was turned into a camp ground on the Saturday night before the final Sunday performance was subjected to a thunder shower with gusting winds.Īnd, if settling in for the night under the trees in Central Park sounds idyllic (even with the rain), it should be noted that the park officially closes during the wee hours of the night. ![]() Since the tickets are handed out at 1 p.m. ![]() In contrast, during the closing weekend of this summer's production of "Twelfth Night," which starred exquisitely lovely and talented film actress Anne Hathaway and garnered stellar reviews, the last people who got tickets lined up around 2 in the morning, according to the Public's box office. ![]()
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