Arts & Entertainment

Shakespeare In The Park's 'Hamlet' Opens Thursday: How To Get Tickets

The play's the thing! At the Delacorte. How it catches your conscience is your own affair.

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Ato Blankson-Wood in rehearsal for The Public’s Free Shakespeare in the Park production of Hamlet.
Ato Blankson-Wood in rehearsal for The Public’s Free Shakespeare in the Park production of Hamlet. (Photo Credit: Joan Marcus)

CENTRAL PARK, NY — To queue or not to queue? That is the question. Central Park's iconic Shakespeare in the Park opens Thursday, and for the first time since the pandemic, free ticket-seeking New Yorkers can line up to sign up.

This year, the Public Theater this year is hosting a play you might have heard of before. It's called "Hamlet." And, according to director Kenny Leon, the setting is one New Yorkers will likely recognize too.

"We set this production in 2021, filled with all of the challenges we face as Americans as we explore our need to love more profoundly both nature and its people,” Leon said.

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“I’m so happy to be at The Delacorte once again and to share something that binds us to one another."

The cast includes Ato Blankson-Wood as the melancholy prince, Solea Pfeiffer as Ophelia, Lorraine Toussaint as Gertrude and John Douglas Thompson as Claudius.

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The show —opening for previews Thursday—will have an extended nine-week run from June 8 to August 6 at the Delacorte Theater just north of the 79th Street Traverse.

There are six different ways to score tickets:

In-Person Distribution in Central Park

The traditional in-person line within Central Park is the most common way to secure tickets.

Tickets are distributed on each public performance day at the free ticket lines at the Delacorte Theater.

The tickets begin to get distributed at noon, and a Public Theater Patron ID is required to receive a free ticket, which you can create before you arrival — HERE.

Seat locations are randomly distributed and not based on a person's position in line, which means your group is not guaranteed to be seated together.

Each person over the age of five can receive up to two tickets while supplies last.

People waiting for the free tickets must line up along the paths designated by The Public Theater staff and the Parks Department. Central Park is officially closed until 6 a.m., and the Public Theater strongly encourages people not to start forming a line in the park overnight or before 6 a.m.

Anyone caught doing so will be sent to the back of the line.

In-Person Lottery at the Public Theater

On the day of the performance, a limited number of ticket vouchers are distributed at the Public Theater at 425 Lafayette St.

Again, you need a Public Theater Patron ID, and staff will start taking entries for the lottery at 11 a.m. The drawing will be at noon.

The ticket vouchers are then only valid until 7:30 p.m. for the performance on the day.

In-Person Distribution in the Boroughs

A limited number of free ticket vouchers will be given out on the day of the performance at locations throughout the five boroughs.

BROOKLYN

MANHATTAN

QUEENS

BRONX

STATEN ISLAND

Additional dates and locations will be announced as they are confirmed. Check back here.

Digital Lottery With TodayTix

A limited-number of free tickets are sent out through a digital lottery on the TodayTix app on most public performance dates.

Once you open the app, you scroll to find Free Shakespeare in the Park, and enter the lottery for one or two free tickets. You can double or triple your odds on the confirmation by sharing your entry on Facebook and Twitter.

You'll be notified at noon to see if you have won.

In-Person Standby Line in Central Park

After the final ticket is distributed for that day's performance, anybody who did not obtain a ticket may begin to form a standby line at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park.

The Public Theater staff will begin monitoring this line at 6 p.m., and hand out tickets based on availability.

Donate Money to the Public Theater

This is the only non-free way to do it, but you can give a donation to secure a ticket.

A tax-deductible $300 donation will get you a single reserved ticket, and $500 will get you two.

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