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Books, games, food, drink, friends and plenty of blankets and mattresses. They were all useful distractions for people in Central Park on the mornings of June 26 and 27 as I was waiting in line with them for same-day free tickets to the Public Theater's Shakespeare in the Park productions of The Merchant of Venice and The Winter's Tale.

The experience of waiting in line for Shakespeare in the Park tickets, from the wee hours of the morning until they're distributed each day at the Delacorte Theater's box office at 1 PM, has become a New York institution.

Masha, who moved to New Jersey from Russia four years ago, was in line for the first time to see Winter's Tale. She had seen many Shakespeare plays in indoor theatres, but wanted to see at least one in the park because, she told me, "I think it's part of the New York experience [and] for me, this could potentially be my last summer for a while in New York, so I figured I should do it."

	Lily Rabe and Al Pacino
	photo by Joan Marcus

The prospect of free tickets, a summer night in the park and exciting theatre with accomplished and often starry casts is an appealing combination. This year, Tony, Oscar and Emmy winner Al Pacino and respected theatre veteran Lily Rabe headline Merchant. Tony winner Ruben Santiago-Hudson and Tony nominee Linda Emond lead the Winter's Tale cast, and stage and television notables Jesse L. Martin, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Hamish Linklater and Oscar nominee Marianne Jean-Baptiste appear in both productions.

The productions attract every sort of theatregoer, from senior citizens (who get their own waiting line, as do patrons with disabilities) to families to middle-aged professionals. Many I talked to were in their 20s and early 30s — co-workers and friends who were more than up for the adventure of getting in line at 5 or 6 AM (or earlier), with little opportunity to get up and move around for some eight hours, except to use the bathroom or grab a snack at the theatre's café. (No cutting allowed, either.)

Many line up well before sunrise outside the nearest park entrance to the Delacorte, at 81st Street and Central Park West. Some 200 were waiting there around 5 AM June 26, when I arrived for Merchant. Although the Public does not encourage this practice — loitering for the sake of art before park hours — theatre officials escort these intrepid souls into the park when it opens at 6 AM. (Just don't bother camping out inside the park over night for tickets. Since the park is officially closed from 1 AM to 6 AM, you may have to deal with the NYPD overnight, or with the Public officials in the morning. I saw a group being escorted out of the park as we walked in.) Continued...