Children Will Listen More Easily with Family-Friendly Performance of Into the Woods

The cast ofInto The Woods, in The Public Theater’s Shakespeare in the Park production,directed by Timothy Sheader with co-direction by Liam Steel. Running now at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park. Photo: Joan Marcus

The Public Theater will present a special family-friendly matinee of the free Shakespeare in the Park production of Into the Woods 3 pm Wednesday, Aug. 22 at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park, NYC

This matinee is designed to engage younger audiences and to serve families unable to attend evening performances. The 95-minute production will comprise act one only of Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s musical Into the Woods.
 (school versions also eliminate the darker, scarier second act). The 8 pm full version will  be presented as usual that night.

Tickets to the special family-friendly matinee will be distributed for FREE primarily through the Virtual Ticketinglottery (www.shakespeareinthepark.org/matinee), with a limited number of tickets available through a stand-by line on the day of the performance.

The Public Theater is also now accepting requests for a limited number of group reservations.  Interested groups of 10 or more can submit a group request form available on-line at www.shakespeareinthepark.org/matinee.Groups will not be guaranteed tickets and orders will be processed in the order they are received.

The Virtual Ticketinglottery for the family-friendly matinee will open on Wednesday, Aug. 15 at 4 pm and remain open through Thursday, Aug. 16 at 4 pm. Guests can register for up to four tickets and those who win tickets through the Virtual Lottery can pick their tickets up on Aug. 22 at the Delacorte box office between 12:30 and 2:30 pm. The Delacorte Theater in Central Park is accessible by entering at 81Street and Central Park West or at 79 Street and Fifth Avenue.

Instead of the standard ticket distribution line at the Delacorte Theater, patrons may start picking up numbers for up to four tickets for a stand-by line beginning at 9 am at the Delacorte box office. Guests with stand-by line numbers can line up at 2 pm and any available tickets will be distributed beginning at 2:30 pm. for the 3 pm matinee.

To accommodate the family-friendly matinee performance on Wednesday, August 22, tickets for the regular evening performance of Into the Woods at 8 pm will be distributed at noon that day instead of the normal 1 pm.

Due to the afternoon heat, costumes may be modified for the family-friendly matinee.