Hamlet (Shakespeare in the Park)

producer: New York Shakespeare Festival

Shakespeare's melancholy great Dane struts and frets in Central Park's Delacorte Theater, 5/27-6/29. Most of the seats are free.

Ticketing Details

Long a New York tradition, Shakespeare in the Park has entertained generations of New Yorkers with starry productions of classic texts. The sets are lavish, the casts are often recognizable from television and film, and the palpable good humor of everyone involved makes for a very pleasant evening.

HAMLET
By WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE
Directed by OSKAR EUSTIS

With Lauren Ambrose, Christopher Bonewitz, Andre Braugher, Bruce Cannon, Matt Carlson, Kevin Carroll, Margaret Colin, W. Tr� Davis, Emily DeCola, David Harbour, Stephen James King, Hoon Lee, Dana Lyn, Piter Marek, Greg McFadden, Julio Monge, Paul O�Brien, Erin Orr, Gilbert Owuor, Jay O. Sanders, Michael Schupbach, Miriam Silverman, Michael Stuhlbarg and Sam Waterston.

You can also read the play here.

Existing corporate and sponsorship commitments always take up a good percentage of the seats (landed gentry, buy your way in here), and competition is always fierce for the rest of them.

Once the summer gets into full swing, the first few folks on line for free tickets at the theatre (2 per person) usually show up the night before. Right behind them are the ones who got there at 6-7AM. The majority of the line usually shows up between 8AM and 9AM. Counting from the time folks show up, the cutoff time to get tickets at the park has ranged from 6:00AM to after 3:00PM. (Note - the box office opens at 1:00PM.) Your best bet is to get there around 8AM, give or take, or arrive in late afternoon for the cancellation line (1 per person, arrive together).

Due to construction at Astor Place, tickets will not be distributed at the Public Theater this year - Central Park and Borough distribution only. (See the ticketing link above for details.)

Tickets are always much easier to get during the first week or so of performances.

Special Performance Notes - Added performances June 16 and June 23. No performance June 18 and June 24. Performanace on June 19 starts at 8:30 PM. June 23. No distribution/stand-by line only June 17.