It would seem ungrateful to complain when you're being treated to five — five! — Tony-nominated Broadway shows, including "The Audience" with heavenly Helen Mirren, "Skylight" with Bill Nighy and Carey Mulligan, and "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time."

So, I'll make this quick. Broadway has a privy problem.

My 82-year-old, theater-crazy Mom and I visited New York in June with one primary goal: to see as many Broadway shows as possible in the week before the Tony Awards. We almost missed a few second acts. Why?

Lines. LOOONG lines. In one glorious historic theater after another, womenfolk grumbled about, ahem, limited seating. Some gave up and stepped out of the potty line, wishing they hadn't accepted the chardonnay offered earlier in a theater-approved sippy cup. Some waited it out, then sheepishly returned to their seats after the lights were down.

A few (like me) tromped over to the empty men's restrooms. Harrumph!

I went online to see if, maybe, this was just a particularly busy week on Broadway. Nope.

"The theater opens an hour before show time. Take this opportunity to go to the bathroom," advises theater writer Trish Causey, who noted that renovating these "grande old dames," once the bastion of male-focused burlesque, would be time-consuming and prohibitively expensive. "Even if you don't really need to, try anyway."

"The women's bathrooms had a huge line during intermission, but what's new?" commented a theatergoer at the Broadway Theater. "Guess I should have skipped that dumb drink."

So, arrive early and take care of things. Skip that dumb drink. And enjoy the show.

Gail Rosenblum • 612-673-7350 • @gailrosenblum

Travel editor Kerri Westenberg returns next week.