Every summer the Joe Papp's famed Public Theater produces two show to perform in Central Park at the Delacourt Theater. Tickets to the Delacourt Theater are free. ABSOLUTELY. And yet you need a ticket. How? you may ask does one score a FREE ticket to amazing productions? Well, there are several ways:
1. You "donate" $165 per ticket. (THAT'S NOT FREE you are thinking; but read on...)
2. You attempt a virtual line by logging in ONLY the day that you are hoping to attend from midnight to 1pm. Then you check the site AFTER 1pm to see if you were graciously and randomly selected to receive the coveted free tix. Almost no one is....because a huge percentage of the tickets are for:
3. You go to Central Park (CP) and get in an incredibly LONG line. AND you LIVE at CP for the day.
OK...guess what we did. I dare ya'. That's right ladies and gentlemen....I camped out at Central Park. And I'd do it again in a heartbeat. (Maybe even next week!)
My friends and I decided rather than risk over sleeping we would just find ways to stay up all night. Really. We WERE in NYC for crying out loud: the city that never sleeps. I will not divulge trade secrets of our shenanigans (mostly to protect those involved) but it was SO worth it.
We arrived at CP West at 5:30am. Really. And we weren't even first in line. We were about 20th in line. Not too shabby. Did I mention: they don't start handing the tix out until 1pm. You do the math. We put down our mat and covered it with our blanket. And promptly fell asleep. Oh, yes we did. And we slept off and on througout the morning...never getting gads of rest...but enough to keep us from killing each other. We had each other, we had music, we were set. The line behind us just kept growing, which as most of you know is oddly satisfying.
At approximately 8am or so the official Line Watcher Nazis start giving you the official rules. Which basically is: if you are ON line you must STAY in line. (But using the theater potty was fine and not too far from us.) If you are not ON line you may not join the line except at the end. Each person on line was entitled to 2 tix and they would indeed keep our "party" together when giving you tix. (Which we knew...we had more folks meeting us at dinner time.) He also provided us with the number of a local deli that would deliver. (This is NY...I kid you not.) We promptly called up for some egg and cheese type sandwiches and coffee. All you need to do is tell them sort of where you are in line, but that doesn't matter because the delivery guy just rides his bike up and down the line calling out your name. (And he's happy to give out menus too.) 20 minutes later we had breakfast.
Just between you and me: I outsmarted the line police. TWICE. Once I just walked around the Delacourt to see what it was like, at least from the outside, and the other time I went to the concession stand and bought my self a new Public Theater Hoodie! Now WHY would they open the concession window if they didn't want the line waiter to buy stuff??? I love my hoodie. It is so "title of show". (I know most of you don't get that reference....too bad.)
OK, so now it's 9 or 10. We just got slap happy and silly. I believe I started singing show tunes out at the top of my lungs. Well, just ONE show tune: Take Back Your Mink from Guys and Dolls. It got real quiet around us...which meant one of two things: either I was doing a decent job and entertaining folks or I was doing an utterly horrid job and they were gathering stones. We had a terribly incoherent phone call to one of our friends coming in later. We napped some more. There really isn't more to the story except to say that we landed tix and were on our way OUT of the park by 1:20.
Hair is now 41 years old, and, trust me, the only reason I actually know this is because LAS
T September, The Public Theater produced Hair in the Park for ONE weekend to celebrate the 4oth Anniversary. MOST of the cast from that mounting is indeed a part of the current production. I don't know how much an of you might know about HAIR, but if the late 70's movie version is your only reference PLEASE remove it from your mind. It was horrid. They re-wrote the entire concept, they even misconstrued some of the music. There WERE a few great performances (Treat Williams, Annie Golden -- whom I LOVE!) but it was awful. (Although I VIVIDLY remember the boy that took me to see it: I was SO in love with him. His name was Steve--um...er, but that's another story.) I will not insult you with the details of the plot, "google it" should you need to. The themes 40 years ago were obviously Free Love, pro-drug, anti-war (Vietnam), and wicked hippie. Now the themes that seem to resonate are: LOVE, hippies, search for beliefs and self....and the whole anti-war thing...but to a lesser extent.
The cast, led incredibly by director Diane Paulus, is practically perfect as a whole and individually. They were amazingly dedicated and beautiful: visually, vocally and spiritually. It's hard to single people out as this is so much an ensemble piece as you are likely to encounter, but I will anyway. Jonathan Groff (Claude), brought so much energy and love to his character that you simply wanted to embrace him and bring him home. Already a fan of Groff's (and let me tell you the boy is a lovely young man in person.) it was hard not to feel for him. Will Swenson was electrifying as the defiant ring leader Berger. Kacie Shiek (Jeanie, ironically the role that Annie Golden portrayed in the movie) was the real stand out suprise for me. It was hard NOT to watch her on stage, whether singing or not...the girl has got presence!
To top of a theatrically spiritual evening, the grand finale included inviting the audience to dance and sing on the stage of the Delacourt with the amazing cast. Believe it or not, I am not usually one to join in on 'audience participation' type things...but the spirt simply took me to the stage. It was truly exhilarating! (And I danced and sang and chatted with Kacie Sheik and a few other cast members -- another sweetheart)
Hair has been extended THREE times and will now play through 9/14; sadly without Jonathan Groff who is off now filming a movie about Woodstock. Christopher J. Hanke (Cry-Baby) is replacing and most reports have said he does the role justice. It is so worth the wait...you should all experience the Delacourt theater AND HAIR.
There are STRONG rumors that Hair is currently LOOKING for a B'way House for the Spring. While I don't think it will be able to compare to seeing HAIR in the open-air Delacourt...I'd pay a hundred bucks to see it again!
1. You "donate" $165 per ticket. (THAT'S NOT FREE you are thinking; but read on...)
2. You attempt a virtual line by logging in ONLY the day that you are hoping to attend from midnight to 1pm. Then you check the site AFTER 1pm to see if you were graciously and randomly selected to receive the coveted free tix. Almost no one is....because a huge percentage of the tickets are for:
3. You go to Central Park (CP) and get in an incredibly LONG line. AND you LIVE at CP for the day.
OK...guess what we did. I dare ya'. That's right ladies and gentlemen....I camped out at Central Park. And I'd do it again in a heartbeat. (Maybe even next week!)
My friends and I decided rather than risk over sleeping we would just find ways to stay up all night. Really. We WERE in NYC for crying out loud: the city that never sleeps. I will not divulge trade secrets of our shenanigans (mostly to protect those involved) but it was SO worth it.
We arrived at CP West at 5:30am. Really. And we weren't even first in line. We were about 20th in line. Not too shabby. Did I mention: they don't start handing the tix out until 1pm. You do the math. We put down our mat and covered it with our blanket. And promptly fell asleep. Oh, yes we did. And we slept off and on througout the morning...never getting gads of rest...but enough to keep us from killing each other. We had each other, we had music, we were set. The line behind us just kept growing, which as most of you know is oddly satisfying.
At approximately 8am or so the official Line Watcher Nazis start giving you the official rules. Which basically is: if you are ON line you must STAY in line. (But using the theater potty was fine and not too far from us.) If you are not ON line you may not join the line except at the end. Each person on line was entitled to 2 tix and they would indeed keep our "party" together when giving you tix. (Which we knew...we had more folks meeting us at dinner time.) He also provided us with the number of a local deli that would deliver. (This is NY...I kid you not.) We promptly called up for some egg and cheese type sandwiches and coffee. All you need to do is tell them sort of where you are in line, but that doesn't matter because the delivery guy just rides his bike up and down the line calling out your name. (And he's happy to give out menus too.) 20 minutes later we had breakfast.
Just between you and me: I outsmarted the line police. TWICE. Once I just walked around the Delacourt to see what it was like, at least from the outside, and the other time I went to the concession stand and bought my self a new Public Theater Hoodie! Now WHY would they open the concession window if they didn't want the line waiter to buy stuff??? I love my hoodie. It is so "title of show". (I know most of you don't get that reference....too bad.)
OK, so now it's 9 or 10. We just got slap happy and silly. I believe I started singing show tunes out at the top of my lungs. Well, just ONE show tune: Take Back Your Mink from Guys and Dolls. It got real quiet around us...which meant one of two things: either I was doing a decent job and entertaining folks or I was doing an utterly horrid job and they were gathering stones. We had a terribly incoherent phone call to one of our friends coming in later. We napped some more. There really isn't more to the story except to say that we landed tix and were on our way OUT of the park by 1:20.
Hair is now 41 years old, and, trust me, the only reason I actually know this is because LAS
T September, The Public Theater produced Hair in the Park for ONE weekend to celebrate the 4oth Anniversary. MOST of the cast from that mounting is indeed a part of the current production. I don't know how much an of you might know about HAIR, but if the late 70's movie version is your only reference PLEASE remove it from your mind. It was horrid. They re-wrote the entire concept, they even misconstrued some of the music. There WERE a few great performances (Treat Williams, Annie Golden -- whom I LOVE!) but it was awful. (Although I VIVIDLY remember the boy that took me to see it: I was SO in love with him. His name was Steve--um...er, but that's another story.) I will not insult you with the details of the plot, "google it" should you need to. The themes 40 years ago were obviously Free Love, pro-drug, anti-war (Vietnam), and wicked hippie. Now the themes that seem to resonate are: LOVE, hippies, search for beliefs and self....and the whole anti-war thing...but to a lesser extent.The cast, led incredibly by director Diane Paulus, is practically perfect as a whole and individually. They were amazingly dedicated and beautiful: visually, vocally and spiritually. It's hard to single people out as this is so much an ensemble piece as you are likely to encounter, but I will anyway. Jonathan Groff (Claude), brought so much energy and love to his character that you simply wanted to embrace him and bring him home. Already a fan of Groff's (and let me tell you the boy is a lovely young man in person.) it was hard not to feel for him. Will Swenson was electrifying as the defiant ring leader Berger. Kacie Shiek (Jeanie, ironically the role that Annie Golden portrayed in the movie) was the real stand out suprise for me. It was hard NOT to watch her on stage, whether singing or not...the girl has got presence!
To top of a theatrically spiritual evening, the grand finale included inviting the audience to dance and sing on the stage of the Delacourt with the amazing cast. Believe it or not, I am not usually one to join in on 'audience participation' type things...but the spirt simply took me to the stage. It was truly exhilarating! (And I danced and sang and chatted with Kacie Sheik and a few other cast members -- another sweetheart)
Hair has been extended THREE times and will now play through 9/14; sadly without Jonathan Groff who is off now filming a movie about Woodstock. Christopher J. Hanke (Cry-Baby) is replacing and most reports have said he does the role justice. It is so worth the wait...you should all experience the Delacourt theater AND HAIR.
There are STRONG rumors that Hair is currently LOOKING for a B'way House for the Spring. While I don't think it will be able to compare to seeing HAIR in the open-air Delacourt...I'd pay a hundred bucks to see it again!
1 comment:
I'd pay $100 to see it again, too! :)
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