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| "The Seagull" (2001) - Any experiences waiting for tickets? | |
| Posted by: YessicaHaircut 04:30 pm EDT 08/20/21 | |
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| As part of research for a play I'm writing, I am reaching out to ask this forum: Did anyone here wait in line for the Public Theatre’s star-studded 2001 production of "The Seagull"? I was only 8 when the production was staged and wasn’t really following theatre then. It’s been pretty well-documented that this production was in high demand; with people often waiting up to 15 hours (maybe even longer) for a chance at getting a ticket or two, this and "The Producers" seemed to be the hottest show in NYC at the time. I’ve found some information about waiting for tickets, ranging from a personal blog, to a Theatremania article, to two different articles about a dead body being discovered near the line at some point during the run. I recently asked this same question on BroadwayWorld and am now reaching out here to gain any further knowledge. If anyone reading this got to experience the line for themselves, would you be willing to share your experience? Roughly what time did you arrive at the line? Roughly how long did you wait for tickets? Of course any other details you can remember (i.e., How did you pass the time?) would be helpful too. Any and all stories are welcome and much appreciated. |
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| re: "The Seagull" (2001) - Any experiences waiting for tickets? | |
| Last Edit: libbymaebrown 09:22 am EDT 08/23/21 | |
| Posted by: libbymaebrown 09:18 am EDT 08/23/21 | |
| In reply to: "The Seagull" (2001) - Any experiences waiting for tickets? - YessicaHaircut 04:30 pm EDT 08/20/21 | |
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| I had only been in NYC for a year, and had only attended JULIUS CAESAR the season before and (I believe?) MEASURE FOR MEASURE earlier that summer in terms of Shakespeare in the Park outings. I was living just south of Canal Street on Lafayette Street (working at NYU) at the time so my friend Angie and I walked up to the Public on Lafayette and got there at 1 AM, somewhat early in the run. We weren't the first people in line, but close! I had my dog Dot with me and she kept us company. We had blankets and nibbles and spent the time chatting and dozing--no laptops or smartphones then. People were indeed friendly; there was no awful building next to the Public then, so the line snaked around the parking lot and down the block on the other side of the lot. I admit I get annoyed, though, when people seem to seek me out to ask "what are you all waiting in line for?" After getting asked that 50-100 times, you want to respond either "well, wait with us and find out!" or "if you have to ask, then it's not for you." So it was my first night on the street in NYC--it was a twelve hour wait. We did indeed get tickets, and (as you got two each) the friends we took were very grateful they got tickets to the hottest show in town without having to wait in line. :) So how was the show...? It was honestly a thrill to be there, and see all the actors interact, but that was about it. Whatever THE SEAGULL is supposed to do as a piece of theater was completely missing and it was just about seeing the stars together on stage. Portman was especially disappointing as she had taken the town by storm a few seasons before in ANNE FRANK as I remember. I do remember sitting directly in front of Julianne Moore, who had worse seats than us, but likely did not have to wait in line. :) Still hard to believe the Public got all those people together--not sure that'll ever happen again. I'm so glad others have complained about that saxophone player guy--I like the IDEA of him playing, but his execution is HORRIBLE. First off--he honks away on that sax in a way that is hardly comforting--when he plays flute, that's much more suited for the experience. The yakety sax he plays is so LOUD and grates on your nerves and you have nowhere else to go. I have been tempted to give him a $20 and ask him to STOP playing for an hour. I don't remember if he was playing the night of the SEAGULL but...probably. :( |
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| re: "The Seagull" (2001) - Any experiences waiting for tickets? | |
| Last Edit: WWriter 02:45 am EDT 08/22/21 | |
| Posted by: WWriter 02:41 am EDT 08/22/21 | |
| In reply to: "The Seagull" (2001) - Any experiences waiting for tickets? - YessicaHaircut 04:30 pm EDT 08/20/21 | |
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| For either The Seagull or Mother Courage, Streep on occasion brought pizza for the people sleeping in line overnight to get tickets down at the Public. I also waited down at the Public (I live a block or so away) stopping first at Kmart to get a comfy folding beach chair in which to wait. I think we waited about four hours. To be honest, I don't remember which line experience was which for those two shows, but in my experience the people in those lines were generally friendly and interesting. My only complaint about lines for Shakespeare in the Park is that abrasive, annoying, loud saxophone player who hangs out at the Delacorte while people wait on in the cancelation line. He really ruins the vibe. I was sad when they stopped giving out tix at the Public |
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| re: "The Seagull" (2001) - Any experiences waiting for tickets? | |
| Posted by: lordofspeech 10:22 am EDT 08/22/21 | |
| In reply to: re: "The Seagull" (2001) - Any experiences waiting for tickets? - WWriter 02:41 am EDT 08/22/21 | |
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| I like having the musician playing as we wait on the queue. It’s not, at least, the kind of look-at-me street performance that we get sometimes, for instance, in Times Square. It’s a festive background from a good-humored troubadour. | |
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| re: "The Seagull" (2001) - Any experiences waiting for tickets? | |
| Posted by: writerkev 07:27 am EDT 08/22/21 | |
| In reply to: re: "The Seagull" (2001) - Any experiences waiting for tickets? - WWriter 02:41 am EDT 08/22/21 | |
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| I have to agree about the saxophone player. Truly annoying. It would be fine if he simply played his music and took his tips as they came and moved on, but he brings a sad-sack, woe-is-me demeanor and complains and harangues if people don’t give him money. It’s always seemed odd to me that he thinks the best crowd to wheedle out of a few bucks are the people waiting to see Shakespeare for free. |
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| re: "The Seagull" (2001) - Any experiences waiting for tickets? | |
| Posted by: dsikula 12:13 am EDT 08/21/21 | |
| In reply to: "The Seagull" (2001) - Any experiences waiting for tickets? - YessicaHaircut 04:30 pm EDT 08/20/21 | |
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| We went downtown around 3:00 am and waited all night in camp chairs. There was already someone there, but nothing happened other than our napping and reading. As for the production, we thought it was awful. Nichols did his usual job of letting the actors do whatever they wanted rather than building a coherent ensemble, so there were about eight or nine different plays up there. Some of them (Walken's and Kline's) were interesting. Some (Hoffman's and Portman's) were not. Some were just bizarre -- Streep's somersault reeked of something an actor would do in the rehearsal room that someone else thought was nifty, so it was kept, in spite of it being absolutely antithetical to the character. I'm not a fan of the translation, either, so that didn't help. The most notable part of the evening was a brief rain delay in Act Two, which Kline ad-libbed a reference to later. I wouldn't call it a disaster, but it was in the same area code. (The best production of the play I've ever seen was in the 80s at La Jolla. Phoebe Cates remains the only actor I've ever seen who was able to nail all the aspects of Nina. Just stunning.) |
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| re: "The Seagull" (2001) - Any experiences waiting for tickets? | |
| Posted by: WWriter 02:51 am EDT 08/22/21 | |
| In reply to: re: "The Seagull" (2001) - Any experiences waiting for tickets? - dsikula 12:13 am EDT 08/21/21 | |
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| I thought Nina was unplayable until I saw Carey Mulligan. She was astonishing. She nailed the whole "I was the seagull" speech, which I had often found excruciating. I thought Natalie Portman was out of her depth, and I agree that each actor was in a different play--not to mention a different continent and century. I was quite disappointed |
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| re: "The Seagull" (2001) - Any experiences waiting for tickets? | |
| Posted by: Zelgo 03:45 pm EDT 08/25/21 | |
| In reply to: re: "The Seagull" (2001) - Any experiences waiting for tickets? - WWriter 02:51 am EDT 08/22/21 | |
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| Here! Here! Mulligan was a revelation!! I recognized when I first saw her years ago in The Seagull that she was going to be a major actor of our times. |
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| re: "The Seagull" (2001) - Any experiences waiting for tickets? | |
| Posted by: andPeggy 11:25 pm EDT 08/20/21 | |
| In reply to: "The Seagull" (2001) - Any experiences waiting for tickets? - YessicaHaircut 04:30 pm EDT 08/20/21 | |
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| A group of friends and I got in line at about 10PM the night before the performance we wanted to see. We brought beach chairs and blankets and slept for some of it. At midnight we were told the line needed to move out of the Park. In a pretty orderly way, we moved to Central Park West. I forget what time the line moved back in the next morning. Since I was in a group we could leave to grab food and go to the bathroom. We got friendly with the people around us as one does in these situations. We were told not to hold spaces for anyone, but there was a solo person near us and we all held his spot when he grabbed food... At about 9AM a staff member from The Public told people a few in front of us that they were pretty much guaranteed tickets. We and the people right around us were told there's no guarantee we'd get in. The people several behind us, who had gotten in line not that long after us, were told it was very unlikely they'd be getting tickets. Once the line started moving we did get stand-by tickets and were told to come back an hour before curtain. We did, and we got in. Marcia Gay Harden was out. Her understudy was Robin Weigert. She was fine, but against that starry starry cast, she didn't have the wattage. Portman entered on a horse. Streep was exceptional. I recall her doing a cartwheel and blessing herself "backwards," but of course that's how a Russian Orthodox would. The generational difference between the characters was something that was very clear. You had these exceptional older actors whose work we all knew, and some exciting new talent. The conflict of the generations was very clear. Stephen Spinella was heartbreaking. Streep and Hoffman's relationship was beautiful. Portman played it a bit small, but you could see why she was intrigued by Konstantin and pulled in by Trigorin. I've seen other productions of the play since (Kristin Scott Thomas, Kate Burton), but this is the definitive one for me. I feel like I do about the Broadway production of The Delicate Balance a few years earlier. Since I've seen that production, I don't ever need to see another. |
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| re: "The Seagull" (2001) - Any experiences waiting for tickets? | |
| Posted by: lordofspeech 09:56 pm EDT 08/20/21 | |
| In reply to: "The Seagull" (2001) - Any experiences waiting for tickets? - YessicaHaircut 04:30 pm EDT 08/20/21 | |
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| I went twice. Opening night And closing night. Bith times, I breezed into the cancellations line and got tickets easy. What do I remember? Streep had mastered the final act by the final performance. She had Arkadina’s showy narcissistic center from the git-go, but she found something deeply beautiful at the play’s end. Streep and Hoffman looked like they could have been family: both white-pink faces with hypersensitive emotions. John Goodman’s work nearly stole the show both times. Walken and Streep seemed to truly love each other as their brother and sister characters. Nathalie Portman’s shallow voice hurt the overall production. It was great to see it all. |
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| re: "The Seagull" (2001) - Any experiences waiting for tickets? | |
| Posted by: NightMusic77 10:57 am EDT 08/21/21 | |
| In reply to: re: "The Seagull" (2001) - Any experiences waiting for tickets? - lordofspeech 09:56 pm EDT 08/20/21 | |
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| A small group of friends of mine had decided to wait for tkts outside The Public and I went down there to meet them when I got off of work just to say hello. I had no intentions of sleeping out on the sidewalk overnight to get tkts yet there I was in my work clothes sitting on the sidewalk until the next morning. As for the production itself, I absolutely loved it. Talk about event theatre! That production and experience hold such a special place in my heart--a few weeks later everything was changed by 9/11. That production of The Seagull exists as a bookmark in my memory as the last "before"; it was just one of those magical NYC days/nights. | |
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