"LEAR" TIX??

[ellenkushner]

Boy, am I in trouble. I hope Delia doesn't read this. I forgot to buy "King Lear" tix at the beginning of the summer for the Ian McKellen performance at BAM this week, and of course it's completely sold out. I'm posting on Craigslist, and may as well crosspost here:

Have you got an extra pair of tix for Sept. 23, 25, 26, 29 or 30th performances? I just got back from Japan, forgot to buy before I left, and am now in deep trouble. Will gladly pay double the ticket price, or whatever you think reasonable.

Yes, I know they'll be at the Guthrie in Mpls in October, but a) we're not free that week and b) they're, guess what, sold out. Is this show going anywhere else in the U.S.? And did anyone see it in London? The RSC is bringing it back there Nov.12, but I can't find details of the run (or how to get tix).

C'mon, guys - let's see how well goes the Power of the Internet!

Comments

[annnimeee.livejournal.com]

Sadly, I can't help you at all, but if you can get Neil Gaiman to post on his blog, which gets like 100,000 hits a day, I'm sure you'll get something?

Good luck!!!

[webcowgirl.livejournal.com]

Taken care of!

Lear

[webcowgirl.livejournal.com]

Lear starts in November and goes through early December. Tickets were on sale at SeeTickets.com (I think still available (http://seetickets.com/see/event_calendar.asp?e|artist=KING%20LEAR&e|venaudit=New%20London%20Theatre%2C%20Drury%20Lane&resultsperpage=1000&dateto=30/11/2007&firstdate=15/11/2007&lastdate=12/01/2008&filler1=see&filler2=art-srch&filler3=)) for shows at the New London Theatre. I'll be taking my uncle to see it on November 26th. December 3rd seems to be the only day left with good availability at present, though there are also available seats for matinees on Jan 2 and Dec 5 ...

[lauriemann.livejournal.com]

Lear is completely sold out in all of its US venues. Apparently, someone on eBay is selling one ticket for $2,900!!

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20874559/site/newsweek/

[lareinenoire.livejournal.com]

Sadly I can't be of any help -- I tried to see Lear in Stratford earlier this year but it was sold out months in advance. One of my friends saw it (apparently she's got connections in Stratford) and said it was fantastic except for Cordelia who she found annoying.

[ellen-kushner.livejournal.com]

Aw, you guys...! Many thanks.

My friend Dan, a seasoned theatregoer, gives this useful if daunting advice:

"My advice if you really have to see it: Show up early at any night when Lear is on and wait for turnbacks. There are only a few nights left in the run so it will be difficult. If you get there early enough, it's likely you will get something. There are always people out in front waving tickets, as well as people looking for them. It's no fun, I've done it for a number of sold-out shows, but if your are dogged and persistent you can often get into the show. I was going to do that last night, but didn't have the will or the energy."

[stakebait.livejournal.com]

I just did this for Lear on Saturday. My friend and I arrived at 6:30 a.m. (for the 2 p.m. matinee) and were first in line, but apparently the first 14 folks got in -- very unusual, the box office told my friend it is usually more like 3-5 people. I'm told weekdays are usually somewhat less competitive if you can get there while everyone else is still at work.

Anyway, with enough books and a folding chair it is really not so bad (the coat check took mine without a blink.) And the line bonding can be fun -- by the time we actually got tickets, people applauded!

The only thing is, you're quite likely not to be able to sit together. And if you decide to try, bring cash, because people who show up in person will often just sell it to you and not turn it back to the box office (which takes credit cards).

I'm told the show is also going to LA, not sure where else.

[monkeygod.livejournal.com]

wow - so sorry to hear that its sooo difficult to get tix for the shows in the US. I managed to catch the show just after it left London in Singapore, where it stopped over for 2 nights before a quick Australian tour.

McKellen as Lear was, unsurprisingly, excellent. Power, madness, love and shame all hit the right notes at the right times. The rest of the cast was a little uneven - although the casting of Sylvester McCoy as the fool was brilliant. The staging was not particularly elaborate but I thought it made good use of light and shadow, echoing some of the themes this production was trying to emphasise.

All in all, a very good performance - but not unmissable.

[silme.livejournal.com]

I saw it in Stratford last May (I bought the tickets this time last year), and I do recommend it. A friend in New York City, who teaches at Cooper Union, saw it last week there and raved about it. There are some things about this production I don't want to give away; they're more what I'd want to discuss with you after you see it. Might you try going to the theatre that day to see if there are returns? I could send you links to the reviews from last spring -- we're talking 4/5 stars generally. And I'm sure you're aware about how some of the papers here, such as the Guardian tend to be stingy with their stars. :)

About the London run... It returns to London (New London Theatre, Drury Lane) on 12 November and closes on 4 January.

Here's the website with theatre information about that theatre. http://www.newlondontheatre.co.uk/Now, they seem to be selling only Blue Man Group tickets (currently there) from that website. However, there are other links, including the official RSC link.

http://www.rsc.org.uk/WhatsOn/5407.aspx
It appears that they're directing people to See Tickets, which means a service charge. Drats.
http://www.seetickets.com/see/event_calendar.asp?e|artist=KING%20LEAR&e|venaudit=New%20London%20Theatre%2C%20Drury%20Lane&resultsperpage=1000&dateto=30/11/2007&firstdate=15/11/2007&lastdate=12/01/2008&filler1=see&filler2=art-srch&filler3=

Of course, there are a lot of other websites that will sell tickets also.

Now, if you're coming over here for Lear with McKellan, why not check out Patrick Stewart's Macbeth? We caught him as Malvolio in Twelfth Night this summer in Chichester, but his Macbeth was in a smaller theatre in that city and sold out in minutes. It received rave reviews in the press, though, and has transferred to London, opening this weekend. We're going to see it next Saturday.

http://www.delfontmackintosh.co.uk/book/Macbeth.php

It runs through 1 December, so there is some overlap with Lear.

And, and, and... if you're here later, you might be able to nab tickets to see Zoe Wanamaker and Simon Russell Beale in Much Ado About Nothing at the National... (We're seeing it on 15 December; I'm looking forward to it.)http://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/Much%20Ado%20About%20Nothing+27163.twl

Okay, okay, so I'm an English teacher and a member of the RSC and the National, but they're not paying me to promote their plays. :)

[pameladean]

The Guthrie let its season-ticket subscribers have first grab, and there weren't any left by the day they went on sale to us proles. I didn't like the look of the Guthrie season that much, and couldn't afford to pay a hundred and fifty dollars (the smallest season-ticket set one could get) even to see Ian McKellen in "Lear." I'm pretty annoyed. At least when he came through some years back in "Richard III" he was at a vast theater that let you sit at the very back for a modest sum and gape at him through opera glasses.

P.