Good tickets to a show or concert are always a commodity, especially in New York City. That's why scalpers are going to extremes to get the very best seats for their clients. They're also utilizing senior citizens to help them get those tickets.
For example, this summer’s Shakespeare in the Park is a hot ticket and in order to help scalpers get those great seats, they hire senior citizens to stand in line at the public box office, waiting for them to go on sale. They also love senior citizens because they are guaranteed to get at least the first ten rows because of their age.
The Public Theater, which has been putting on the plays in Central Park since 1962, distributes free tickets to its Shakespeare productions from its box office at the Delacorte Theater in the park and other venues. Long lines to obtain tickets to the same evening’s performances often start forming at 6 a.m. However, the line for senior citizens is usually half that.
The theater is said to be cracking down on these senior scalpers.