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Hundreds Line Up At Central Park To Get Tickets For Shakespeare In The Park

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Hundreds of people lined up before dawn in Central Park, hoping to get tickets for the latest production of Shakespeare in the Park.

"King Lear," starring John Lithgow and Annette Bening, will begin Tuesday night, but fans jumped on the ticket line hours in advance.

Hundreds Line Up At Central Park To Get Tickets For Shakespeare In The Park

"I got my chance and I'm first in line," said Tom Robinson of Lindenhurst, who secured his spot in line at 11 p.m. Monday.

"'King Lear' is not only Shakespeare's greatest play, it's probably the greatest play in any language," said Roy Hovey of Princeton N.J. who has been attending the event for more than 30 years.

"In college I was supposed to read it, but I think I just read the Cliff Notes," said Russell Pearce, who lined up at 4:40 a.m. "I think this might be an opportunity to redeem myself and see the whole play."

Daily ticket distribution doesn't begin until noon, but Public Theater officials suggest getting on line by 8 a.m. and knowing the rules ahead of time.

"You can only get two tickets per person, they're free, you can only see a show twice, and you have to be five and older to get a ticket," said line assistant Thomas Meerschwaf.

The show runs every Tuesday-Sunday until August 17.

For those who don't want to brave the line, there's also a virtual ticket lottery at publictheater.org.

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