"It is, indeed, illegal in New York, and it has been for almost six years"
If that is the case then it is a law that is never enforced. If it were, the ushers would confiscate cell phones at the door and return them after the performance and there would not be an announcement asking people to turn them off or to set them on vibrate before the show.
I don't understand why people who are asked this at the beginning of practically every show to can't seem to just follow those simple instructions. They deserve to be escorted out of the theatre if their phone goes off during the performance.
I've carried my phone into many shows and I know to have it on vibrate.
"Smart! And into all those exotic mystiques -- The Kama Sutra and Chinese techniques. I hear she knows more than seventy-five. Call me tomorrow if you're still alive!"