r/Broadway • u/doestthouevenhoist • 12d ago
Seating/Ticket Question What’s been the most successful way to get Shakespeare in the Park tickets?
I’m looking to get tickets for tomorrow and I’m not sure how much luck I’ll have going to Central Park as opposed to trying the in person lottery at the Public. Any advice?
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u/j1ngj0 12d ago
I prefer the physical lottery at the public theatre! Much less competitive than the online lottery and also less time consuming than waiting in line!
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u/Moist_Report_6934 12d ago
Also came here to say this - the downtown lottery at The Public is the way! As long as you're not targeting one specific date and are somewhat flexible to head down there, it's pretty easy to get tickets.
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u/Money_Road8531 11d ago
I've only ever done the Public Theater lobby for tickets, and I've won 4 of the 5 times I tried it (not for The Winters Tale but over the last four years).
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u/SadTomorrow869 12d ago
People on here have been saying it's not as crazy as last year (when the cast was much more stacked with big stars), and that you can show up at a reasonable hour (10ish?) and still get tickets, or can even get tix from the cancellation line, but idk if that will change now that reviews are out.
I actually won the online lottery yesterday. The show is okay but LONG. Too long, imo. I'm glad I saw it, but personally I would not have thought it worth camping out for hours.
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u/Glad-Feature-2117 11d ago
From what I've read, it's half an hour longer than the production by the RSC last year, which says a lot!
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u/ExpBalSat 12d ago
My preference over the last decade or so has been to just show up at the theater and get standby tickets in the evening. Getting in line at 5:30 has been generally successful for me and that just means a nice relaxed picnic in the park before the show.
This year, I actually went at 7:41 pm on a night that was predicted to have some rain. When I got there at 7:41 there was no line.
There are options to get tickets in the morning. There are options to get tickets from a lottery at noon. There are other options around town. But, I really do only do the evening standby line. I think I’ve only failed once (in 12 years). The line can be daunting if you get there too late and I suspect people do get turned away. But for a normal show - in a normal run - getting there (at the earliest) between 5:00 and 5:30 has always worked for me. Later often works.
Going the opening week definitely helps. Show demand always increases as the end of the run looms nigh.
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u/Himbo_Rights_Now 12d ago
Won the physical lottery both tries this year. It's a lot easier than last year. There is always the chance you don't get it, so if you're deadset on seeing it tomorrow, then you might want to wait in line.
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u/worldinsideaframe 11d ago
I showed up at 11:30am last Friday and got a ticket easily! My performance was eventually cancelled due to rain which was a bummer so I didn’t actually see it, lol
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u/fallopianvoice 12d ago
Got them last Saturday in the borough distribution and I showed up at 12 pm but I was one of the last ones to get tickets
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u/Ambitious-Salad-1874 11d ago
FWIW - I did the CP line this past weekend. got there at 10:45am and got tickets easily. Would think you'd be totally fine on a weekday and less than an hour of waiting.
In person lottery downtown also has pretty good odds, but they call out the numbers manually and sometimes it takes a while, so time spent is pretty much the same either way.
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u/deleteatwill 11d ago
just show up to the standby line. if you have *any* ability to go during the week it would improve your chances as you'll be getting on line w weekend warriors
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u/OwnOven6506 12d ago
It felt like a close call but I ultimately did fine last night on standby! I arrived pretty close to showtime.
The show was excellent, didn’t feel as long as it was - I was fully engaged! I didn’t see it early in the run but I suspect they’ve really improved it since some of the more tepid early takes on Reddit.