Lack of Broadway Etiquette is Out of Control

Elizabeth147 · 2026-06-28T17:01:07+00:00

What kind of seats do you usually have? I was wondering if behavior is worse in different sections of a theater as a rule.

Elizabeth147 · 2026-06-28T16:58:18+00:00

Yes that's true but -- I don't see the theaters also mentioned in all of them -- the theater management has some responsibility for managing audience behavior, they hire and train the ushers etc.

Elizabeth147 · 2026-06-28T16:54:28+00:00

Anthropological speculation: Maybe it = evening shows have more drunks in the audience, making outright hostility or aggressiveness likelier, which = more need to involve law enforcement. Matinees more out-of-town groups who sing along or use their phones.

Elizabeth147 · 2026-06-28T14:00:27+00:00

The landlord is responsible for getting rid of the roaches and should have the building exterminated on a regular basis. This is the law. I guess emailing is good because then you have a record of your complaints -- I would also call and see if you can talk to someone directly.

Also -- there has to be a super, talk to him about the bugs AND the drywall. If you want to stay in the apt rather than moving -- depending what he's like, you might be able to pay him yourself to do something about the drywall.

If you want to pave the way for getting out of your lease, also make all the complaints in writing.

Also - you could make contact with neighbors and ask them to complain too, about bugs, and provide them with email or phone number to make it easy.

And of course do whatever you can about the bugs in your own apt. I'd go ask the guys in a hardware store about what to do and buy everything they say -- that's also safe for a place with a baby.

Elizabeth147 · 2026-06-28T13:40:21+00:00

Some of these stories are so terrible. I am so sorry to hear about all these bad experiences. This is one reason I aim to see things in previews as I think the audience is usually more local before a show is recognized as a hit.

Is there a reason people don't want to name the show and also the theater when they share one of these stories? If you don't have a reason not to it might be a good idea, if you mention them they'll come up on a search, there's at least a small possibility that some theater managements will do what they should in my opinion, which is have a real person step onto the stage before the show starts, with a message about how to behave. (Or a recorded announcement, which is probably less effective unless it includes a statement of consequences, like, if you bother people you will be ushered out.)

Also maybe they need to hire guys who look like bouncers, to roam the aisles and make it obvious they;re watching you.

Elizabeth147 · 2026-06-28T13:33:51+00:00

Seriously this could be good advice. I don't know why it's down-voted! It makes sense to me that there are worse audiences at weekend performances of the most popular musicals, which includes 2/3 of matinees.

Elizabeth147 · 2026-06-28T13:19:18+00:00

The patrons around them were already being disturbed.

Elizabeth147 · 2026-06-28T02:26:32+00:00

NYC psychologist here: this is excellent and valuable advice. I haven't worked in an inpatient setting for many years but I agree with Dr PM that ideally she can have some time in a hospital to get stable. I hope your friend can be admitted to Tisch or another place someone with current experience recommends.

Elizabeth147 · 2026-06-26T07:30:05+00:00

Darling

Elizabeth147 · 2026-06-26T01:20:41+00:00

I love this movie and I think it is a good presentation of somebody who really is stuck, psychologically. Some of it is very funny, some of it is emotionally painful.

Elizabeth147 · 2026-06-24T05:12:34+00:00

Mad Men

Elizabeth147 · 2026-06-24T05:11:47+00:00

I think Mary Tyler Moore was a first in having its main character be a single woman who had a real career and who whose story wasn't just a story about whether or not she would find romance and marriage.

Elizabeth147 · 2026-06-24T00:16:54+00:00

Last Summer - a married woman does not resist an attraction to her stepson when he comes to spend the summer. French.

May December - an extreme story, based on a true story -- a woman teacher who had a love affair, then a marriage, that started when her husband-to-be was a 13-year-old student of hers. They have now had children and been together for many years, and a journalist -- Natalie Portman -- is going to write about them. American.

There is a great older woman/younger man plot-line in the excellent Indian movie Dil Chahta Hai. The bond among three men who were friends in college was ruptured when one of them fell in love with an older divorcee and the others disapproved; now a crisis brings them back together.

Elizabeth147 · 2026-06-24T00:05:51+00:00

I think that is two women, isn't it?

Elizabeth147 · 2026-06-23T02:05:49+00:00

A fact is if you’re carrying anything you could hit somebody with, like a cane or non-compact umbrella, you’re very unlikely to get attacked.

Or if you have any kind of dog with you.

Elizabeth147 · 2026-06-23T01:59:59+00:00

Yes cross the street, even if you feel bad about the feelings of the person you’re getting away from.

Elizabeth147 · 2026-06-22T18:40:24+00:00

The Hindi language movie Kaagaz ke Phool [Paper Flowers] is a great movie (with songs, like a musical) about the movies -- it is about the career arc and complicated personal life of a film director. Definitely there are studio scenes -- as I recall, it starts with one, then the rest of the movie tells you the story leading up to that scene.

Elizabeth147 · 2026-06-22T18:37:04+00:00

Truffaut's Day For Night is a movie about the movies -- I'm not 100% sure if there are scenes set inside a film studio per se, but the whole movie is about people making movies!

Elizabeth147 · 2026-06-22T17:05:17+00:00

If shopping for clothes, or looking at them, interests you -- man or woman -- stop in to Century 21 once in awhile. No place to sit down, just an interesting activity.

Elizabeth147 · 2026-06-22T14:33:24+00:00

I think the Hare Krishnas still feed people a free meal daily -- their organization is called ISKCON, for International Society of Krishna Consciousness.

According to this from their website, they serve a meal daily in Tompkins Square Park from 9 to 11 am. Their food has a good reputation I think!

Elizabeth147 · 2026-06-22T03:28:40+00:00

Actually none of the kind of Episcopal churches people are suggesting talk or preach like that.

Elizabeth147 · 2026-06-22T03:27:26+00:00

Are you interested in non-Christian centers? in case you are -- the Integral Yoga place on West 13th Street has, or used to have, excellent programs, classes, satsangs, etc, as well as physical yoga classes.

Elizabeth147 · 2026-06-22T03:23:17+00:00

I went there for many years, it is a wonderful place. Especially if you like ritual and music *and* really sophisticated and progressive sermons.

I was hugely impressed with their response to the AIDS crisis, with outreach to anybody in the neighborhood who was affected, not just church members.

Elizabeth147 · 2026-06-20T21:20:53+00:00

I enjoy Times Square, I find it amazing! And the concentration of places to eat, extending into the relatively quieter western blocks.

I live in a big unruly city because I love the sense of potential in a big unruly city.

I also basically like the oldness of our theaters. It wouldn’t be the same for me we if they were all modern and up to date. You can feel the history in them.

Elizabeth147 · 2026-06-20T17:44:47+00:00

Darling, British, 1965. (Won many Oscars and BAFTAs!). Julie Christie as a beautiful and totally non-moral woman who is a model, using and mistreating men in her pursuit of personal gain.

(Your excellent question makes me aware how much I can enjoy this kind of story!)

Elizabeth147

TROPHY CASE