They’re both kind of crazy then, though David sounds more so. Is David hyper-competitive in general? Is he trying to show off his girlfriend/show off for her?
They’re both jerks, Brian a bit moreso than Dave.
Brian’s a jerk for treating his best friend like the guy is soooooo humiliating and inappropriate he can’t even be in the same building with them, and also for acting like he owns the theater and can ban someone from attending a specific performance. Even if he thinks Dave would embarrass him, all you really need to say to your best friend, assuming you don’t already know he’s a huge asshole, is that you’d like him to tone down the banter since this girl isn’t used to it yet.
Dave’s a jerk for digging in his heels and being stubborn about the specific day, unless he has things going on the next few days off that would preclude his going another week.
My take: Brian thinks that David won’t approve - or might be appalled somehow by the gf (especially if they haven’t already met). He’s worried that if David sees them together then he’ll be open to all kinds of teasing, which might be hurtful.
So Brian is more worried (perhaps) by what his friend thinks than what he wants to do and is trying to avoid the situation. David is being a jerk by insisting that he could be there no matter what Brian thinks thus making the whole date more stressful than it should be.
Or not, of course - depending on details.
Brian is overreacting, but if David hasn’t bought his tickets yet, insisting on going the same night (after being asked not to)is jerkish.
First of all, my first though was that there was some sort of sexual element to Brian and David. Not that they’ve necessarily fooled around, but that there were at least some mutual fantasies between the two. I think this is very common in male “best friends” who spend their days with each other, and this is speaking from personal experience. They wouldn’t give half a damn what each other did on their personal time if they weren’t in a “relationship”, so to speak. I chuckled when I saw AngelSoft’s post.
Now, given the nature of this “relationship” between Brian and David, they’ve had a habit of sharing lots of things : stories, food, movies, games, thoughts, jokes, etc. Nonetheless, there’s one thing David always has that Brian doesn’t get to share in. You see, David is the attractive aggressor in the “relationship” whereas Brian is the more average looking sidekick. Brian finally got “lucky” and scored a real looker and would like to impart his admirable qualities on the lady before David swoops in with his good looks and charm to woo her away. Brian knows that if he starts dating this girl, she is going to be seeing a lot of David also, so he wants to “lock her in” on the first date without outside influence. This is why he needs to be “alone” from David for at least this first date.
Brian needs to go on the date and not worry about what David does. His akwardness around ladies is caused solely by his lack of confidence, and vice versa - that is, they are self perpetuating qualities. Brian needs to find a reason to love himself and things will start to sort themselves out.
David needs to quit being such a man whore and he should be ashamed for wanting to take stock on his friend’s date, especially while he has a girlfriend of his own. If his current girlfriend isn’t what he’s looking for, he should let her go. Brian will one day realize that the best women are the ones you don’t have to worry about losing.
Heh…maybe I need to see a psychologist because I feel like I’ve been writing about myself for the last five minutes. 
First reaction: Brian’s overreacting.
Second reaction: Two guys fighting over when they go to a Broadway show? There are dating issues here, but not the ones described in the OP.
Brian sounds like an insecure man-boy. What is he so terrified that David is going to do? Drop his pants and light his farts? Burp the Star Spangled Banner?
And why is Brian taking a woman out on a date? It’s obvious that he’s gay and he and David are actually in love. C’mon, they’re wallowing in sexual tension here. Swing open that closet door, fellas, it’s 2009 and no one cares anymore.
Her? Yeah right.
I was thinking that Brian might be overreacting with the following caveat:
Until I read this:
That’s just weird and aggressive. It makes me think that Brian probably has good reason to want David to go on another night.
But even if Brian is overreacting a bit, so what? It may be a bit silly, but we’re all a little irrational at times. If David was truly a good friend, he’d probably roll his eyes, say “whatever, dude,” go another night, and proceed to tease Brian about it mercilessly for the rest of his life.
I’m not sure what you mean by this. Would you mind explaining?
You too, Jettboy and Rand Rover.
They have sexual tensions. Homosexual sexual tension. They secretly and perhaps unconsciously fantasize about wild, gay monkey sex with each other.
Alright, let’s go ahead and put a stop to this. If they are secretly gay, then fine, whatever. However, that’s not what I’m asking with this thread and it really doesn’t help with this particular situation.
But whether or not they are, I do have to say that it’s disappointing that so many people think you can’t work in theatre and be straight at the same time. 
In any case, can we please just get back to the helpful answers?
Seriously? I think they’re both being silly and that the best compromise is to both go whenever they plan to go and if they should happen to see each other, agree to pretend not to know the other 
That way everyone is happy and in the crowded theater, it wouldn’t be hard.
Yeah, it’s plenty pathetic. Is it okay if it’s Avenue Q or something else ‘real men’ are ‘allowed’ to like?
Anyway, unless there’s precedent (e.g. that time when David pantsed him at prom), Brian’s overreacting. David’s got his girlfriend there so he won’t be stealing dates. There’s a very, very slim chance they’ll be seated together (especially if David’s getting last-minute tickets). Even if they were, there’ll be a bunch of people on stage singing and dancing that may prevent conversation. Has David proposed they all go out together afterwards? Maybe that’s what Brian’s afraid of (though I’d probably find it preferable).
Really? You’re not just being disingenuous?
I am suggesting that there is a homosexual subtext to their relationship. Perhaps instead of being passive-aggressive with each other they should honestly express their feelings for each other.
On the one hand, I could see that maybe David doesn’t want Brian to see something before he does, so he wants to keep up and go the same day.
Does Brian seriously think David will do something to embarrass himself and everyone in a Broadway theater? Like what?
And I didn’t see anything in the OP that said they work in the theatre so I didn’t think anyone was playing off a stereotype??
Yes, I’m sorry I didn’t make that clear… we all work in theatre AND we go to other shows whenever we can (OMG MAY-B WE’RE ALL GAAAAY WTF!!!1).
Let’s try it this way:
- Brian and David are best friends. They work together, and see each other every day. They have a relationship wherein they tease each other a lot, always in good fun, like brothers.
Brian has a date this week and has decided to take her to a football game. David also wants to see this game. Both men have one day off per week, the only night they can see this game. The game closes in four weeks.
Brian tells David he bought two tickets for the game this week, and David says then he’s going this week too. Brian would rather not deal with the possibility of David embarrassing him, and asks David to go next week instead. David refuses.
It’s a big stadium, and since the tickets are being bought separately there is no guarantee they will be seated close to each other. However, Brian is still apprehensive because David is so adamant about going the same week as him. David assures Brian he just really wants to see the game and will not do anything to embarrass him if he happens to see him there.
Is Brian overreacting, or is David being a jerk by not bowing out and going next week?*
Yep. Subtext is still present. It’s not the theater, it’s the over-concern regarding each others’ dating life/embarrassment/presence. It’s nothing to be ashamed of, you know. Perhaps you folks in the theater need to learn some tolerance for the potentially homosexual.
Brian needs to promise David that he will suffer a harsh, painful and certain revenge in the event that David fucks up Brian’s date.
Okay, one more post before I have to leave for work. First of all, NicePete, I hope you’re kidding about the homosexual tolerance thing… a lot of my friends are gay and I obviously have no problem with it. Hence my “fine, whatever” in Post #31 (which you clearly ignored).
What I am asking, both in that post and in this one, is that WE LET THAT THEORY GO. Because I don’t think it’s true, and even if it is, it doesn’t help in this particular situation.
All I’m trying to do is get other people’s opinions on who is being unreasonable in a social situation, not write a dissertation on the possibly suppressed homosexual tendencies of people you don’t even know.
Wow! How old are these guys. The way they’re acting, it seems like they’re not even old enough to either date or have jobs!
Brian is overreacting. He’s not the boss of Dave and it’s really none of his business what Dave does. While Dave’s insistence on going to the exact same show seems fairly assholeish, he is clearly being provoked.
To sum up, Brian is being a jerk.