Appropriate age for Curtains, LoveMusik, Legally Blonde & Pirate Queen?

Posted: 4/20/07 at 11:22am

Wondering if any parents have brought or are thinking about bringing their kids to see Curtains, LoveMusik, Legally Blonde, or The Pirate Queen?

What would you say is the minimum appropriate age for those shows? Are they more like the "R" of Cabaret and 3 Penny or closer to the "PG" of Les Mis and The Happy Time?

[Elphie3]

Posted: 4/20/07 at 11:29am

I would say "Legally Blond" is fine for any child who is old enough to attend a Broadway show. I haven't seen the others, but I would say the same goes for "Curtains" - though there are some gun shots. The others, I'm not sure...but I've heard that "Pirate Queen" is just so bad that no one should go, adult or child.

[WOSQ]

Posted: 4/20/07 at 11:31am

Lovemusik is probably guaranteed to bore the pants off of kids. There is nothing salicious, but the subject matter is adult themes with adults talking to one another as adults do.

Legally Blonde and Curtains, think 8-10. Curtains does have plot points and turns that take a certain amount of intellect to follow.

Pirate Queen is 6+.

I am not of the ilk that thinks all ages ought to be brought to Broadway shows. First off, the kids rarely remember them and second it is one less thing to look forward to being an adult for. What do you have to look forward to?

Kids under about 10 have no taste. To them everything is good, so save the money and take them to local productions that won't set you back 110 bucks a pop. Spend the money on a sitter and take yourself to the show so you can enjoy it without potty breaks, etc.

[Elphie3]

Posted: 4/20/07 at 11:40am

I have to respectfully disagree. I saw my first Broadway show when I was seven. It was one of the most magical experiences ever for me, and I definatly had distinct (and tastefull) opinions about what I liked and didn't like. I do think there is an age when children can't sit through a show, but you know your child best, and when they are old enough to sit through a show, I think the're old enough to go to an appropriate B'way show.

[WickedOne2]

Posted: 4/20/07 at 11:44am

Curtains is definitely okay for a 10 year old. The humor is not too sophisticated humor but some of the one-liners may be lost. Visually its fun. Definitely not as racy as Cabaret.

[TechEverlasting]

Posted: 4/20/07 at 11:51am

I disagree as well.

Broadway shows are most certainly not wasted on kids under 10, and those of us who love theater and want it to have a future should hope that more young children get a chance to develop a taste for this wonderful art form.

By the same token it is the responsibility of parents to teach their kids proper theater etiquette (since so many adults don't seem to know how to behave in a theater these days that might be a lost cause) to pick appropriate shows and determine if a kid is ready for a particular show.

Pirate Queen is a bit more kid friendly now then it was in Chicago, when the lyrics were filled with lots of pointless profanity. There is some sexually suggestive staging now, but I agree that it's fine for most kids 6 or older. My kids enjoyed PQ's dancing and vocals, and didn't seem at all concerned that the show might be derivative of Les Mis.

[bjh2114]

Posted: 4/20/07 at 11:58am

The only thing I would advise is with Curtains, if your kids get scared easily, be wary going in. They might get fightened by the scene towards the end involving the cat in the orchestra pit. I would say the show is fine for 10+, but if your 12 year old gets scared by suspense and fightening anticipation, then they might not enjoy Curtains (or at least the ending).

[Jim in Merced CA]

Posted: 4/20/07 at 12:45pm

My wife and 12-year old daughter and I attended 'Legally Blonde: The Musical' in San Francisco, and one of my gripes about the show is that it has a few places where it gets into what I would describe as 'mature' subject matter.

Because the rest of the show is so fun and light and bubbly and....well, pink, it kind of jumped out at me. Plus, the audience was filled with little tween girls, and I thought, wow, if they took out the racy parts, It'd be a real family-friendly musical.

My wife thought I was being overly sensitive.

I would give 'Legally Blonde: The Musical' a PG-13 rating.

[jewelchk]

Posted: 4/20/07 at 1:06pm

I agree about LoveMusik. Not offensive, but not kid appropriate either. They'll have trouble following, I think, and I'd imagine it would be very long for them.

[ChrisLovesShows]

Posted: 4/20/07 at 1:09pm

LANGUAGE WARNING on Curtains: Curtains has the same issue as The Producers. Overall it's fairly family-friendly (PG), but the F*** word appears and some other profanities. So parents be aware of that.

[Anakela]

Posted: 4/20/07 at 1:10pm

Lovemusik is probably guaranteed to bore the pants off of kids. There is nothing salicious, but the subject matter is adult themes with adults talking to one another as adults do.

Heh- honestly, LoveMusik bored the pants off of me. I know, I know, I should have loved it- yes the performances were totally great, but there was just something about it that had me counting the # of ActII songs during intermission, and then counting them down in my head during ActII, so that I knew how far away I was from the end.

(and fyi, my friend and I, two 20-somethings, were the youngest people in the audience that night (at least as far as we could see) by far- there were no kids/tweens/teens in the aud.)
Updated On: 4/20/07 at 01:10 PM

Posted: 4/20/07 at 1:24pm

Points well taken, and thank you. It's not always a simple question when it comes to 'tween girls, and there's no resource I can trust besides the people on this message board. I mean, Spring Awakening is about cute kids and Avenue Q is about cuddly puppets, right?

[Weez]

Posted: 4/20/07 at 1:28pm

And Spelling Bee doesn't involve erections and occasional swearing at all! ^_^

[Danielm]

Posted: 4/20/07 at 1:30pm

I think it depends on what parents think is appropriate for their children. Curtains does have some vulgar language and crude humor. I don't think LoveMusik's subject would especially appeal to children. I don't remember anything especially offensive in Legally.

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 4/20/07 at 1:31pm

Jim, if you think your twelve year old daughter heard anything in Legally Blonde she and her other tweeners don't already talk about at school you are going to be in for a real shocking teen years...

But yeah - I'd say these are all "PG rated."

[ChrisLovesShows]

Posted: 4/20/07 at 1:40pm

But it is emphasized in Avenue Q that the erection is "unfortunate."

[theaterdude87]

Posted: 4/20/07 at 1:49pm

No i do agree with you about Legally Blonde. Although it is a fun happy musical there are things in it that are not apporpriate for y ounger age. The courtroom scene with gay or european, which is a hysterical number...some parents may not want to deal with the gay issue at a young age.

[jordangirl]

Posted: 4/20/07 at 2:18pm

Is Legally Blonde's storyline and stuff in the musical that different from the movie? (I know the music obviously, but other than that.) The courtroom scene theaterdudr mentioned sounds as if it's directly from the movie, so it they have seen that, it shouldn't be shocking. I'd think that's one time where the movie rating (PG-13 "for language and sexual references") would be a good indication. It's not Disney after all. :)

[theaterdude87]

Posted: 4/20/07 at 2:51pm

No it is not just like the movie. There is a big production number now. not just the line

"And your boyfriends name is."

Personally it was hysterical. But I can see how some parents may be iffy. I wanted to get out a rainbow flag though.

[Anakela]

Posted: 4/20/07 at 3:24pm

The courtroom scene with gay or european, which is a hysterical number...some parents may not want to deal with the gay issue at a young age.

I'm going to see LB: The Musical for the first time next week, but this totally reminds me back when LB: The Movie came out, my sister would have been about 7/8 years old, and yes she did see it, and so after she saw it she was telling me all about it:
sis- "...but then turns out he's gay. Do you know what gay is?"
me- "do you know what gay is?" (hey- it's a parent thing, right, answering a question with a question? :))
sis- "yeah, so you know how boys like girls? But then sometimes, boys like boys, and girls like girls- it's not worse, it's not better, it's only different. Ok, and so then..."
and I just loved how it was such a non-issue issue to her.

Personally it was hysterical. But I can see how some parents may be iffy. I wanted to get out a rainbow flag though.

Ok now I am really looking forward to this number. :)

[jordangirl]

Posted: 4/20/07 at 3:28pm

My basic point was if the movie was PG-13, why should parents expect a musical version to be G-rated?

[B3TA07]

Posted: 4/20/07 at 4:02pm

Cause musicals are all fun and happy and have happy endings where the green witch doesn't really die.

[Jellylorum]

Posted: 4/20/07 at 4:12pm

Curtains has some profanity, startling gunshots, and dying people. They're not that bad compared to what they show in lots of movies these days, though. I didn't see any kids there when I went, but I'd say anyone 10 or above can handle it.

Updated On: 4/20/07 at 04:12 PM

[folkyboy]

Posted: 4/20/07 at 4:39pm

i'd definitely agree that Curtains is a great family show. it may be objectionable in places but it's wicked good fun. kids will really appeal to it's bawdy humor and the dancing would be a great sight for them. something fun to talk about for the car ride home.

Pirate Queen is a bit of a snore fest, honestly. kids may enjoy the dancing and Celine Dion vocals but i think the long run they'll be not as fixated merely by the vast size of the theatre. there IS a bit of sexual overtones but they could be confused on a younger face by just rough dancing.

in turn, LoveMusik (while i LOVED it) is not good theatre for younger audiences as well. i wouldn't even suggest LoveMusik to random tourists who come into the city and are fixated on the fact that Wicked is "suddenly" sold out. it's art and it's not really going to be taken on the younger crowd. not to mention the first scene shows Wiell mounting Lenya on a boat and her showing him her goods.

Legally Blonde is probably more for the younger kids to see when you're off seeing YOUR shows. i would be hard pressed to see what an older adult male might see in this show but hey ¤shrug¤ to each his own. it's not really much of a stretch of the younger crowd's imagination though. they're used to seeing a majority of this on Primetime TV.

[carymetorent2]

Posted: 4/20/07 at 5:15pm

I think there is a few one liners in Legally Blonde that might be slightly inappropriate, but nothing glaring that would really jump out.