Broadway show dress code?

[cmhjeff]

In the heat of summer can one get by wearing nice shorts for a matinee show on Broadway? How about shoes would it be frowned on to wear gym shoes if that's what I wear over my brace?

thanks

[bocker3]

You will see every manner of dress at Broadway shows -- from dressed to the nines, to tattered jeans, t-shirts and flip-flops.

My feeling has always been --- I'm paying damn good money, so I'm going to be comfortable.  This is at odds with my partner, so when we do get to NY for some shows, he's usually in a jacket and tie and I'm often in shorts.

Just go and enjoy the show!

Mike

[cmhjeff]

You will see every manner of dress at Broadway shows -- from dressed to the nines, to tattered jeans, t-shirts and flip-flops.

My feeling has always been --- I'm paying damn good money, so I'm going to be comfortable.  This is at odds with my partner, so when we do get to NY for some shows, he's usually in a jacket and tie and I'm often in shorts.

Just go and enjoy the show!

Mike

Perfect! Thanks!

[edfu]

I've seen people at Broadway shows dressed as if they were taking out the garbage.  All sense of dress decorum and civility has long been lost.  They also now eat in their seats during the show--not just candy but actual pieces of fried chicken, Chinese take-out, etc.  And they talk to their friends--out loud and at full volume--throughout the show, as if they were sitting in their living room.  If you shush them, they threaten you with physical harm--out loud. 

I pity the poor actors.   And I grieve for a better time, when common courtesy, respect, and appropriate behavior and dress were the norm.  We live in a time of barbarians.     

[cmhjeff]

We wore khaki's for Friday night of Rent and shorts for the matinee of Wicked on Saturday. We fit in at both shows just fine. 

[Iggy]

You wore khaki's to rent?!?  The irony is killing me.   

[HIV+Me]

I wish I could remember when/where I first heard this advice, but it was to dress similarly to the actors on stage.  (Just think what the audience of Naked Boys Singing would look like!)  I'm not sure how this would work if you're not that familiar with the show, and in many cases, it would come off looking like the audience of Rocky Horror.  I was first told this before seeing Angels in America but didn't know how anyone in the show was dressed.

I would've killed for a pair of those hot boots Adam Pascal wore when he started in Rent (and being on the front row I got a nice view) but that was in hindsight.

Chris

[Miss Philicia]

There is one fashion rule that should always be at the top:  When in doubt, wear black.

This is doubly true in NYC.

[bear60]

Ha ha.
 I thought it was "Always  wear black". 
or "Black is the new blue."
or "Black never goes out of fashion."