The London Lounge

Being big budget Broadway show Spiderman is making headlines I am curios to know what men are wearing to Broadway theatrical productions these days?

A lot of tourist attend these shows. And a lot of islanders. Can one spot the difference?

What is the correct gentlemanly dress code for such an affair in 2010 or 2011?

You will see all manner of carelessness. It is a sad state of affairs when a dinner jacket and trousers look out of place at this traditional haunt of style. You would do best to wear a well cut dark suit,perhaps double breasted,and a serious tie. A dark bowtie would be fine. This is my choice for affairs of art.

A dinner jacket to a Broadway play? I was thinking of asking this more directly in OP, as it is tradition to dine out before the show, with many of the better restaurants offering a pre-theatre or prix-fixe menu to help the party get in and out on time. And it would seem appropriate to wear a dinner jacket to a restaurant.

But then I got to thinking a dinner jacket wouldn't be right in a theatre as tail-less tux seems appropriate. Or would 55 years ago.

So if question gets amended to dinner first followed by theatre ... what do you prefer to wear?

Some of the backers, producers, and other "suit types" wear black tie to the opening and opening night party which follows.

You may also see some men in black tie on New Year's Eve. Presumably, they are going to a party after the show.

Otherwise, you will not see audience members wear black tie. Some sophisticated patrons wear dark suits, white or light shirts and ties. Otherwise, it's anything goes!

A curious bit of history about Broadway shows. Although there are, or were once upon a time, forty-five theatres in the Times Square area, there have never been more than five hit shows in any one Broadway
season. Most of the theatres still standing are dark. Time was most of them were owned by the Schubert and the Neiderlander organizations, then Disney refurbished Flo Ziegfeld's theatre from the ground up on tawdry 42nd Street and opened up The Lion King, which became a great ongoing success. All three of these Broadway biggies are really real estate companies who will lease you a theatre for a price, if you have a show and can find enough angels (backers) to put up the money. Suffice to say, mounting a Broadway show is ungodly expensive and no guarantee of a success. What used to be well-crafted, tightly written, and beautifully composed shows have turned into gee-whiz spectacles that can, and often do, come crashing down and send patrons running for the doors. Spectacles do not a great show make. It's substance and talent that has been the keystone of all the great Broadway hits.

JMB

My gosh, you could write volumes about the state of Broadway, the "fabulous invalid".

On the sartorial side:

1. Except for openings, audiences do not "dress". I have often been at matinees where I am the only man wearing a tie and sportscoat. A great many people wear sweaters, jeans, etc. In the summer, I have seen shorts. Things are a little more formal for evening performances.

2. The sense of occasion has vanished from American life. Even the President went tieless when he took the First Lady on a well publicized "date" to a Broadway show. This was a terrible role model for theatergoers. I can imagine a couple having the following conversation in the hotel before the show:

Wife: Honey, wear the navy shirt with a tie. We're finally going to a Broadway show!

Husband: Why wear a tie? The President did not wear one to see a show. I'll just wear the heavy turtleneck sweater.

3. One reason for the informality is Broadway's dependence on tourists, especially for the musicals. They don't wear suits and ties in their everyday life. They're not going to wear them to a Broadway show.

4. The restaurants in the theater district do not have dress standards. I recall a Saturday evening at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse which was filled with tourists in sweaters, open shirts, etc. This is not a cheap establishment. Again, the sense of occasion no longer exists.

No sense of occasion.

What a great line.

I've seen it before. But not in such good context. You nailed it for me. Thanks Mr. Seitelman.

Grown men in kinder-wear? Is it the emasculation of the American male?

Mark Seitelman wrote:Otherwise, it's anything goes!

The exclamation mark suggests this was intentional. Even if not, it made me chuckle.

rodes wrote:You will see all manner of carelessness.

Good definition of contemporary sense of style. In the past you would see all manner of looking smart. Now men try to appear carefree and end up looking careless.

There's only one response to the man who looks out of place wearing a dark suit and tie on an important night out: GOOD!

I am originally from New York but have lived in Vienna, Austria for over 20 years. Men here often still wear a suit for going out to dinner, not to mention going to the opera or symphony, notwithstanding the many tourists. I am sometimes shocked when visiting New York by the attire of men at social occasions (the ladies look fantastic). My answer is not to dress down, but to dress up....