More than 4,000 tickets will be available online at noon Oct. 1 At noon Oct. 1, more than 4,000 free tickets to 28 theaters and The Washington National Opera will be available online.
The offering is part of an annual drive to attract and encourage new audiences called Free Night of Theatre. Presented by the League of Washington Theatres and the Theatre Communications Group, this nationwide program will allow theatergoers to attend shows from Oct. 6 through Nov. 19.
“This is the fourth year we’ve done Free Night of Theatre,” said Nicola Daval, administrator for LOWT, “and we’re pleased that so many theaters and the opera are participating.
“It’s a wonderful opportunity for people who don’t go to plays to experience great theater. It’s also a chance for seasoned play-goers to take a friend or to try a new venue.”
The offerings in this year’s program will involve large and established theatres (Shakespeare Theatre Company, Folger Theatre, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, among others) as well as smaller groups and theaters some distance from Washington (American Shakespeare Center in Staunton, Va.).
The offerings will vary widely, from the Washington National Opera’s “Ariadne auf Naxos” and Forum Theatre’s “Angels in America, Parts 1 and 2”) to children’s theater (Imagination Stage and Adventure Theatre).
Tickets can be reserved by visiting lowt.org and accessing the ticketing system.
“All tickets go through the Web site,” Daval said. “Most of them are given away within a 24-hour period, many of them in the first 30 minutes.
“But if you can’t get to the Web site on Oct. 1, you should keep checking back, because we hope some theaters will add more inventory. The important thing is that it’s one reservation per person — not per e-mail — and up to two tickets per reservation.
“Since the tickets disappear so quickly, we’re again adding a feature that will be available at certain theaters — a discount coupon. So if people can’t get the free tickets, they can at least get a few dollars off a regular ticket. They will get a bargain that will encourage them to try a variety of theaters.”
