Every morning between early August and mid-September, hundreds of people wake up at the crack of dawn and wait outside Central Park’s famed Delacorte Theater for a slim chance at free tickets to see big stars in Shakespeare in the Park productions.
But for about 50 years, there's been one performance line-waiters have been guaranteed to see: Garald Farnham playing the lute.
A crowd waits anxiously outside the box office for the Delacorte Theater as tickets are distributed.
On a recent morning, the line for "Twelfth Night" tickets snaked from the theater near 80th Street several blocks up around a path near the Great Lawn. While the line didn’t officially open until 6 a.m., some people at the front said they had started waiting outside the park at midnight.
At 8:30 a.m., Farnham started his busking routine. He was eager to entertain the captive audience.
“It’s a crazy time to sing,” he said. “But it’s when the line is, so I’m here.”
The Toledo native has been the unofficial opening act for those in the ticket line since 1976, several years after he said he moved to New York. He comes daily to share his love of Renaissance music.
“You get wonderful reactions,” Farnham said. “Some days, they seem to respond so much. Other days, they’re tired, I don’t know.”
Melania Levitsky, left, and her dog, Cozy, spent the morning chatting with new friend Danny Sexton.
Free tickets are handed out in Central Park starting at noon on the day of each performance during the season. There are also distribution events in the boroughs and lotteries both online and at the Public Theater, along with tickets set aside for donors.
Demand is particularly high this year, after the Delacorte Theater took a hiatus last summer for a multimillion-dollar renovation. The star-studded cast — including Sandra Oh, Lupita Nyong’o, Peter Dinklage — has brought fans flocking to the show.
A crowd waits anxiously outside the box office for the Delacorte Theater as tickets are distributed.
Shakespeare in the Park wraps up for the season Sunday, so the chances of securing a coveted ticket are getting smaller by the day. But for the eclectic mix of New Yorkers and tourists still hoping to score one of the theater’s approximately 1,800 seats, the suspenseful wait is half the fun.
“I’ve been having a wonderful year this year, because the play is such a hot item and everyone wants to be here,” Farnham said.
On the pleasantly warm Thursday morning, he wasn’t the only musician entertaining the line. A man stood outside the box office playing the flute. Another traveled down the line with a saxophone. Adam Kritzer, a filmmaker, played an acoustic version of several songs from a political musical film he had written.
“I don’t want any money or anything like that,” he told the crowd, a guitar strapped over his shoulder. “I’m just here to entertain you guys because clearly anyone who’s waiting in this line also likes theater.”
Lacey Elliot brought a tiny version of Twelfth Night, purchased in Shakespeare’s hometown, to read while waiting in line.
Sheree Silvey, sitting in the grass, responded with an enthusiastic, “Yes!”
Farnham knows what it’s like to wait in the line. A week and a half earlier, he said he joined the line at 4 a.m., and got tickets for himself and a friend in the last row of the theater.
“We just got in,” Farnham said.
He said the play was worth the wait: "Twelfth Night" is one of his favorites because it’s one of the few Shakespeare shows with a character who sings.
But whether or not he’s seeing the show, Farnham said, he’ll keep returning to the line for as long as he can, singing his songs to anyone who will listen.
”At this point in my life, this is where I want to be,” he said.
