Ritz Theatre & Performing Arts Center — Attraction in Elizabeth

I am writing to formally address my recent experience at Ritz theatre in Elizabeth on Saturday, when I attended to see Yailin perform. While I thoroughly enjoyed Yailin’s performance, along with the other talented artists, I am extremely disappointed with the unprofessionalism and misconduct demonstrated by your staff and security team. Upon my arrival, I encountered a male staff member at the entrance who was supposedly guiding guests. When I informed him that I would not be drinking, he immediately told me to step aside, which I did without hesitation. However, I noticed that he proceeded to give uncomfortable and inappropriate looks to me and several other women around me. I chose to ignore it and even advised another young woman next to me to do the same. Another concerning experience occurred when my mother and I visited the restroom before the concert began. The women managing the restroom were openly degrading and criticizing female guests who had paid their hard-earned money to attend the performance. Their behavior was unprofessional and demeaning. Additionally, rather than ensuring the cleanliness of the restroom — which is a primary part of their job — they instead spent their time gossiping and belittling the attendees. I found it extremely disappointing and unprofessional, especially given their role in maintaining a welcoming environment. Following the concert, my mother and I decided to use the restroom again before leaving. At this point, a staff member stationed inside the restroom aggressively rushed me, stating that I needed to hurry up because they were getting ready to close. Her approach was extremely rude and unnecessary, and when I politely addressed her behavior, she continued speaking to others without any regard for how she treated me. This left me feeling humiliated and disrespected. As we were leaving the venue, another incident occurred. My mother and I stopped momentarily on the stairs to put on our jackets as it was cold outside. At this moment, one of the female security guards rudely approached us and said, "What are you looking at me for? You need to leave," in Spanish. The tone and attitude she used were entirely uncalled for, considering we were simply preparing ourselves to head out into the cold weather. Thankfully, one of the officers present kindly reassured my mother, gently held her arm, and told her not to worry because he would handle the situation. I truly appreciated his professionalism, which was the only positive interaction we experienced with the staff that evening. However, the unprofessional behavior from the security staff did not stop there. As my mother and I proceeded to the bar area to set her drink down before exiting, the same female security guard once again began to make unnecessary and aggressive remarks toward us. At that point, I firmly responded to her due to the lack of professionalism and respect she continued to demonstrate. I was appalled at the behavior displayed by your security team, and it completely tarnished my experience at your venue. I find it extremely unacceptable for a place of business, especially one that hosts public events, to have staff members who lack basic customer service, professionalism, and respect toward paying guests. It is disheartening to think that individuals who attend your venue with the intent of enjoying themselves are met with hostility and demeaning behavior from staff members who are supposed to ensure a welcoming and safe environment. Given the severity of my experience, I do not intend to remain silent about it. I plan on sharing my experience on social media platforms such as TikTok and Instagram to ensure that future guests are aware of the mistreatment that can occur at your venue. I strongly suggest you take action to address this issue and properly train your employees to provide respectful and professional service. I look forward to hearing how this matter will look on my social...

I went on an event on Saturday, April 15, 2023. The show supposed to start at 0800 pm, however started at 0845 pm. I understand that is out of the Management control. My seat was in lower level orchestra and they wanted me to use the upper level bathroom. I had to show my handicap ♿️ ID, because there is no elevators to go upstairs and I have a medical condition that block me to use the regular stairs. The bathroom was clean. There is no handicap (wheelchair) facilities, seats, etc. If you are a big beautiful girl like me (or a guy) there is no seats for us. I suffered terrible. The Seats are in wood, no cushion, very narrow. Even regular size people were uncomfortable. I have to endure pain in my hips to the point that I was crying. In one point I had to stand up but the security man, I'm guessing is for the artist told me that I had to sit down. I went to stand up in a hallway but also they said no. I had to leave 15 minutes before the end of the show, because the pain was bad. If is winter don not wear thick clothes definitely leave the jackets and coats in the car, you will not fit in the seats with the jackets and coats on even if you are slim. The Theater is a relic because it was built at the beginning of the century and I imagine that in its golden age it was one of the best. You can see that they remodeled some areas but the seats are very uncomfortable. They sell snacks and alcohol very expensive but that is common for this kind of shows. Security personnel check bags and take cigarettes and lighters away. I think they should make aware the people about these things and let them make a choice if they want to go under this conditions or not and people that smoke can leave their belongings outside. Is nothing in written telling me about the bathrooms, bag checks and seats. Its okay to do bag checks but people needs to know what kind of items they will take away, like water, lighters, cigarettes, etc. There is no parking around so I suggest to get there early to find a good spot and walk. Don't wear expensive items because the area is no safe at night. The theater outside looks old but inside is well kept. It's depend of the show and audience that you can find different situations like long lines for things but that is normal. The concert was good. I enjoyed the time that I spent listening to Ednita Nazario even though I was in pain because of the seats size. She is a great artist sound and lights were awesome. I sat down orchestra front row H and the view was great. She transported me with her music to all the beautiful and sad events of my life. She is part of my life because her music explain all my feelings at the moment. Overall is a nice theater but you need to be aware of all...

I went here Saturday June 24th, 2023 with a party of 3. I thought the theater was nice when we got there. Seemed clean, and the staff appeared professional and friendly. The armrests of the seats were sticky as if they had removed a sticker off but that wasn't too bad. The worst part was that the concert was supposed to start at 6:30pm, but they actually started it closer to 8:30pm. It was ridiculous that we had to wait 2 hours, especially because while we were just sitting there waiting they kept flashing the stage lights in our faces, it was so frustrating and I got a headache. The main performance didn't start until around 9:30pm. By 10:30 my group and I were exhausted and we left before the concert ended. Overall, would not recommend this place, and I would not go back there unless they guaranteed the performance would start on time. I read another review with a similar experience, so it appears they tend to start very late. The problem itself is not that the performance started at 8 or 9 or whenever, but the fact that the start time was 2 hours later than it was supposed to be. There was no warning whatsoever from the staff about the waiting, and no apology for...