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Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts announces the opening of a special three-month pop-up TKTS residency at the David Rubenstein Atrium’s Zucker Box Office starting Tuesday, August 2 at 12:00 pm. The partnership with Theatre Development Fund, the nonprofit service organization for the performing arts which operates the TKTS Discount Booths, will give more New Yorkers the opportunity to purchase discount tickets, and to have access to the wonderful range of performing arts available in New York. The David Rubenstein Atrium, located on Broadway between 62nd and 63rd Streets, which already sells discount tickets to productions on Lincoln Center’s campus, expands the options available to consumers with TKTS, including discount tickets to Broadway and Off Broadway productions regularly sold at the other TKTS locations (Times Square, South Street Seaport, Downtown Brooklyn).

TKTS at Lincoln Center will be open Tuesdays–Saturdays from 12:00 pm to 7:00 pm at the Zucker Box Office. Same-day tickets will be sold for all performances and matinee tickets will also be sold the day before the performance (in addition to the day of the performance). TKTS discount tickets are mostly 50% off and have a per-ticket service charge of $4.50 each. Week-of tickets will still be available for Lincoln Center’s performances.

“Expanding access to the arts is very important to Lincoln Center,” said Tom Dunn, Senior Director, Concert Halls and Operations. “Partnering with TKTS for this new pop-up residency will give more people the opportunity to experience New York City’s bounty of cultural offerings.”

“We’re thrilled to have the opportunity to serve Lincoln Center’s constituents and residents of the surrounding neighborhoods,” said Victoria Bailey, TDF’s executive director. “Having another TKTS location to serve theatergoers on a budget is a win-win for the NYC theater industry as well as the folks who would not be able to attend if it weren’t for the same-day TKTS discounts.”

The pop-up TKTS residency is an example of the Atrium’s versatility as a public space. “I’m excited by the addition of TKTS to the David Rubenstein Atrium because of what it represents: more affordable access to the performing arts,” said Manhattan Borough President Gale A. Brewer. “The Atrium is a model Privately Owned Public Space, providing a gathering place for both neighborhood residents and visitors to Lincoln Center. The addition of TKTS here, where the arts and the community come together, is fitting.”

Since its 2009 opening, the David Rubenstein Atrium has welcomed over two million New Yorkers and tourists to Lincoln Center’s campus. A vibrant public visitors’ center, free performance space, and ticketing facility on Broadway between 62nd and 63rd Streets, the Atrium is open daily with an array of services for local residents, the general public, and the thousands of people who visit Lincoln Center and the surrounding community every day. The Donald and Barbara Zucker Box Office remains committed to providing access to discount tickets to world-class performing arts programs taking place at Lincoln Center and beyond. The David Rubenstein Atrium, formerly known as the Harmony Atrium, is one of approximately 503 Privately Owned Public Spaces (POPS) in New York City created under a longstanding program that offers zoning incentives for buildings to provide accessible public spaces. The Harmony Atrium was originally conceived as a lively gathering place for local residents as well as visitors, and the David Rubenstein Atrium proudly fulfills this original vision. The facility is named in honor of the philanthropist, financier, and Vice Chairman of Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts David Rubenstein, in recognition of his $10 million gift to the Bravo Campaign. The Tod Williams Billie Tsien design reflects a respect for the materials used throughout Lincoln Center and provides an open, accessible, and inviting environment. The Atrium is the first LEED certified “green” building on the Lincoln Center campus. The Atrium also features two vertical gardens; a floor-to-ceiling fountain; a media wall with performance information, which also serves as a canvas for video presentations; an art installation by Dutch textile artisan Claudy Jongstra; and 16 “oculi” lighting fixtures that bring natural light and state-of-the-art illumination into the Atrium's interior.

TKTS opened for business on June 25, 1973, and quickly became a mecca for theatergoers from all over the world. Making theater affordable with same-day discount tickets and providing an urban fellowship of theater lovers on Duffy Square (47th Street and Broadway) has helped turn TKTS into one of New York City’s most photographed landmarks. The current TKTS Booth, housed under red glass steps, opened in 2008 and has garnered over a dozen international design awards. The glowing red staircase above TKTS became the first public space in Times Square, and it quickly became a popular respite for locals and visitors 365 days a year. TKTS also has discount booths at the South Street Seaport at the corner of Front and John Streets and in Downtown Brooklyn in 1 MetroTech Center. Through all of its locations, TKTS has distributed over 63.3 million tickets to Broadway and Off Broadway productions since it first opened for business on June 25, 1973. These tickets represent over $2.3 billion in revenue from these same-day sales to thousands of stage productions. The small per-ticket service charge (currently $4.50 per ticket) is used to operate the booths and to help fund TDF’s myriad of education, access, and service programs. 

Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (LCPA) serves three primary roles: presenter of artistic programming, national leader in arts and education and community engagement, and manager of the Lincoln Center campus. A presenter of more than 3,000 free and ticketed events, performances, tours, and educational activities annually, LCPA offers 16 series, festivals, and programs, including American Songbook, Avery Fisher Career Grants and Artist program, David Rubenstein Atrium programming, Great Performers, Legends at Lincoln Center: The Performing Arts Hall of Fame, Lincoln Center at the Movies, Lincoln Center Emerging Artist Awards, Lincoln Center Festival, Lincoln Center Out of Doors, Lincoln Center Vera List Art Project, Midsummer Night Swing, Mostly Mozart Festival, White Light Festival, the Emmy Award–winning Live From Lincoln Center, which airs nationally on PBS, and Lincoln Center Education, which is celebrating 40 years enriching the lives of students, educators, and lifelong learners. As manager of the Lincoln Center campus, LCPA provides support and services for the Lincoln Center complex and the 11 resident organizations: The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Film Society of Lincoln Center, Jazz at Lincoln Center, The Juilliard School, Lincoln Center Theater, The Metropolitan Opera, New York City Ballet, New York Philharmonic, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, School of American Ballet, and Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. For more information, visit LincolnCenter.org.

Theatre Development Fund was created in the conviction that the live theatrical arts afford a unique expression of the human condition that must be sustained and nurtured. It is dedicated to developing diverse audiences for live theater and dance and strengthening the performing arts community in New York City. Since 1968, TDF’s programs have provided over 92 million people with access to performances at affordable prices and have returned over $2.7 billion to thousands of productions. Best known for its TKTS Discount Booths, TDF’s membership, outreach, access (including its newly formed Autism Theatre Initiative), and education programs—as well as its Costume Collection—have introduced thousands of people to the theater and helped make the unique experience of theater available to everyone, including students and people with disabilities. Recent TDF honors include a 2011 Mayor’s Award for Arts and Culture, a 2012 Tony Honor for Excellence for its Open Doors Arts Education Program, a 2012 New York Innovative Theatre Award for its support of the Off-Off-Broadway community and a 2013 Lucille Lortel honor for “Outstanding Body of Work” in support of the Off-Broadway community. For more information, visit tdf.org.