I have been fortunate enough to visit my section of New York, the one that I have chosen to study for my ethnography project, pretty much each day that I have been here so far. I have explored almost every street between 8th Avenue and Broadway because I head up there for a different show in a different theatre almost every night. I also spend time walking around in the morning because the tickets that I have been getting are rush tickets, which means they are only sold on the day of the performance when the box office opens. So, I spend my mornings and evenings in my favorite place on Earth.
The thing I have noticed most about being up in the theatre district, is that it attracts a much larger tourist population than I had ever imagined, especially on the weekends. Crowds of tourists, mixed with some locals, line up by the hundreds to enter Broadway houses for a show every single night. The sidewalks down 42nd, 44th, 45th, 47th, 50th, and 52nd are literally packed with people around 7:15 PM, just before theatres begin allowing their patrons inside to sit down.
Times Square is also a giant attraction for tourists. What I used to find to be a wonderful experience, walking through Times Square, has now become tedious because of all the tourists walking so slowly, taking pictures and taking in the sites. I find myself trying to avoid walking through Times Square, and instead, walking up either 8th Avenue or 6th Avenue. The next streets that I plan on exploring are between 7th Avenue and 6th Avenue in the theatre district. The easiest way for me to continue to explore my region of NYC is to just keep going up there every day. And, I have no plans of stopping anytime soon.
P.S. If anyone wants to know how to get cheap tickets, I would gladly help you out. I have seen 9 shows for the price of about 3. It is so easy to experience theatre and not spend too much money, and I would love to point anyone towards a place where they can get cheap tickets or explain how to do a ticket rush. Here are a couple of previews of the shows I have been able to see because of cheap tickets…
hjeffords 
totally interested in the ticket rush thing. anything special you have to do?
Hi there,
I am so sorry it took me a while to get back to you! I would love to help you out with regards to getting cheaper tickets. Rushing is one of the easiest ways to do this, however it requires a bit of flexibility, and a lot of patience. Below I have listed a few websites that might be useful in learning more about rush policies and how it works. Basically, some theatres offer student rush (in which only current students can participate), others offer general rush (which is open to anyone), and the box offices for really popular shows tend to do a lottery rush (which basically means whoever shows up for the rush has their name put into a hat, and after a drawing, the winners can purchase the rush tickets). Some shows have no rush at all.
TKTS is another wonderful way to get discounted tickets. Though often more expensive than rushing, TKTS booths offer great seats up to 50% off. There is a booth in Times Square (which sells matinee tickets beginning at 11, and evening tickets beginning at 3), and another location at the South Street Seaport (which sells matinee tickets the day before, and evening tickets at 11). That booth is often less crowded as well, requiring less of a wait time.
Here are a few websites that might help you further.
http://www.playbill.com/celebritybuzz/article/82428-Broadway-Rush-Lottery-and-Standing-Room-Only-Policies
http://www.playbill.com/celebritybuzz/article/144419-Off-Broadway-Rush-Standing-Room-and-Inexpensive-Ticket-Policies
http://www.tdf.org/TDF_ServicePage.aspx?id=56
Thank you so much. Hopefully I will be successful at the end of this month with your tips.