The Public Theater to Offer Free First Preview Tickets

The Public Theater will give out free tickets to the first performance of every mainstage show in The Public’s 2014-15 downtown season at Astor Place, the theater has announced. The "Free For All" initiative will make tickets available at the theater and via a mobile lottery, launching one week before the first preview of each show.

Winners will be notified by email and push notifications between noon and 3p.m. on the day of the first preview. In addition, a limited number of tickets will also be distributed, beginning at noon, via lottery in the lobby of The Public Theater.

"We have been doing free theater in Central Park for more than half a century," said Public Theater Artistic Director Oskar Eustis in a statement. "This is a delightful, long overdue extension of the idea to our downtown shows."

In addition to free Shakespeare in the Park and the "Free For All" initiative, The Public Theater offers the free Mobile Shakespeare Unit, which brings free Shakespeare to audiences in the five boroughs who have limited or no access to the arts, and Public Works, an ongoing initiative that invites members of diverse communities to participate in workshops and join in the creation of works of participatory theater.

For more information on The Public's free first performances, click here.