A Bean in Central Park

I slept in Central Park!

No I did not lose my apartment, I decided to do something that true New Yorkers would do. Wait on a line for 7 and a half hours to get tickets to a free show.

The Public Theatre puts on productions of some Shakespeare plays over the summer. In order to see the shows and get tickets you have to get to the box office really early in the morning. I mean really early. I was in Central Park when the sun came up, 530am.

On the way to the theatre, I got lost. It was still dark out and I was a little but scared but mostly in awe of the beauty of the park when there was close to no one around. I ended up lost in a woody area and was just enjoying the silence of the park, away from the noise of the city.

I finally came to the theatre and there were my friends equipped with an aerobed, two chairs and remote controlled cars. For the next 7 hours, I slept in the park (!) ate some food, finished a book and talked. The boys played with the remote controlled cars.

The line began to form and grow longer and longer until it snaked around the corner and was not in view anymore. The was one man and his dog on line in front of us. The man behind us was slightly strange but kept to himself.

The time crept on and the delivery men from a local deli came with food. There were strict rules about leaving the line which were repeated at different times. People were very serious about the rules and waiting for their tickets. This was a very interesting experience and I learned about the hardcore NYers and what they will do for free tickets.

At ticket handing out time (12 noon) , I was told to get into my spot in the line (I had gotten there 20 minutes later than my friends and the two people in between wanted me to go back in the line). I received my two tickets and was free to go home and go to sleep.

The show was that night and really interesting. A 70's version of Two gentlemen of Verona. I'm not sure if it was worth waiting on line for 7 hours but it still was fun.

Another NYC experience for the books(or the blog!)