The salsa legend Rubén Blades performs at the Damrosch Park Bandshell at Lincoln Center at 7 30 p.m. [Free, seating limited, get there early] Bilal, the Philadelphia-based neo-soul songwriter, plays at Marcus Garvey Park in Harlem.
The anticipated Karachi-Cairo run necessitated a 48-seat limit with a requirement for sufficient fuel for the lengthy stage.
It has been variously called "coach class thrombosis" or "economy class syndrome," because confinement in narrow coach seats limits opportunities for protective movement.
The smaller space made for a tight squeeze: fewer producers of Tony-nominated shows were given seats, limits were strongly recommended on people taking the stage for winning shows, and some guests were crammed into C-list seating.
The high cost of ticket prices also may have hurt attendance: Many musicals and some plays now sell their best seats at premium ticket levels of between $200 and $300, with relatively inexpensive seats limited to the worst locations in the theaters.
The Locog chief executive, Paul Deighton, has talked in the past of his determination to avoid any empty seats, limiting the length of sessions and holding seminars with sponsors to underline the importance of only taking tickets they can use.
Nor were seats limited in number.
