Parental Guidelines
As a parent, you are the only person qualified to determine what is appropriate for your child. The following information is provided to help you make the decision that is right for you and your family:
On the Town
PG
Adult Language: There is a little mild language, a couple of "damns," one "goddamn." One lyric repeatedly refers to New York as "a helluva town."
Alcohol/Drugs: The characters are seen drinking in a succession of nightclubs.
Violence: None.
Sexual References: Three sailors on leave for a day in New York find three girls to celebrate with.
One sailor, Ozzie, and his girl (Hildy, the lady cab driver) end up in her apartment; Hildy’s song, "I Can Cook, Too," contains subtle sexual innuendoes. They embrace as the lights go down. Another sailor, Chip, meets Claire, an anthropologist at the Museum of Natural History; they are seen making out on her couch before the lights go down. The third sailor, Gabe, goes on a quest for a girl he has seen on a poster. At Coney Island, a gaudy, honky-tonk kind of place, Gabe finds the girl he has been pursuing, Ivy, and watches her and several others girls perform as "cooch dancers"; they wear harem costumes and do bumps and grinds.
Candide
PG-13
Candide contains sexual situations, stylized violence, and mild adult language.
The musical, which is based on Voltaire’s great novel, concerns the young and innocent Candide, whose tutor, the "great" philosopher Pangloss, has convinced him that, as God’s will prevails in everything, all that happens must be for the best in this best of all possible worlds. Candide’s faith in this creed is severely tested as he, his true love Cunegonde, her brother Maximilian, and Pangloss all experience a series of increasingly disastrous adventures.
Violence: The characters experience a multitude of calamities, which take them halfway around the globe. These catastrophes include war, murder, shipwreck, earthquakes, cannibalism, rape, religious persecution, slavery, disease, and interracial strife. It should be noted, however, that the show’s tone is that of a satirical comedy and that the violence and disasters are not presented realistically, but in a stylized and theatrical manner. The main characters, although frequently believed to have been killed, somehow manage (miraculously) to survive.
Sexual Situations: The female characters are put in situations where they must sacrifice "virtue" for survival. Several references are made to the "pox," a medieval term for venereal disease. The sexual orientation of Cunegonde’s brother Max is hinted at.
Adult Language: There is a little use of mild language ("bastard" several times, "bitch" once, "arse" once).