Pioneer Theatre Company

PTC Content Advisory PTC wants the theatre-going experience to be enjoyable and entertaining. Because of our commitment to our patrons, we annually post a review of potentially discomforting or offensive material in our shows. What follows is a detailed list of items that have been found offensive by some in the past. If you have concerns about content, feel free to look over this page. As you do so, please keep in mind that the words listed, taken out of context, may seem more offensive than they would in the context of the play. Below, we provide you the Content Advisory for the upcoming 2007-2008 Season:

PAINT YOUR WAGON

SYNPOSIS: It's 1852, and Ben Rumson is looking to strike it rich in the gold fields of California. He has raised his daughter Jennifer in the gold camps, and she has become a beautiful, if somewhat tomboy-ish, young woman. She's also the only woman for miles around, and some of the miners have become skittish around her. One day she meets and falls in love with Julio, a handsome young Mexican miner. When a lecherous miner with designs on Jennifer discovers that she loves Julio, he frames Julio as a gold thief, forcing them to run off together. Meanwhile, Ben strikes it rich, and an enterprising miner imports some beautiful "fandango" girls to keep the miners entertained. Ben finds himself falling in love with the lead fandango girl. The story plays out against some of the most striking and memorable show tunes in Broadway history - "I Talk to the Trees," "They Call the Wind Maria," and "Paint Your Wagon," among others - and the arrival of the fandango girls results in several big song-and-dance numbers.

LANGUAGE: There is a very small amount of vulgar and profane language. The language includes "son-of-a-bitch" (three times), "shit" ( four times), "damn" and "God-damn " (twice).

SMOKING AND DRINKING: Paint Your Wagon takes place in the gold camps of California, where drinking and smoking were the norm. There will be some depictions of drinking and may be smoking.

SEX: None to speak of. The fandango girls are women of easy virtue, and their arrival in town is the occasion for some celebrating between the men and the girls. One of the miners, Bull, has lecherous designs on Jennifer, but these elements are handled in the conventions of musical theatre.

VIOLENCE: Again, none to speak of. Bull menaces Jennifer, and the miners threaten to lynch Julio, but there is no violence portrayed in the play.

FOR WHICH AUDIENCES?: Paint Your Wagon is suitable for all general audiences, including children aged 10 and older. The very small amount of language should not be an issue except for extremely conservative audience members.

RATING: This stage version would be rated "PG" if it were a movie.

DOUBT

SYNOPSIS: Father Brendan Flynn is the charismatic pastor at St. Nicholas, a Catholic church in the Bronx, New York in 1964. Sister Aloysius is the principal of the parish's elementary school. When a young black student is enrolled at the primarily Italian and Irish school, Sister Aloysius begins to suspect that Father Brendan's relationship with the boy may be inappropriate. Her pursuit of the truth becomes a compelling mystery that investigates the themes of faith and moral uncertainty against the backdrop of a small parish community during the turbulent '60s. Doubt won both the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and Tony Award for Best Play in 2005.

LANGUAGE: None.

SMOKING AND DRINKING: None.

SEX: None.

VIOLENCE: None.

FOR WHICH AUDIENCES?: Doubt is suitable for general audiences, including children aged 10 and older. Children under 10 might not understand it.

RATING: If it were a movie, Doubt would be rated "PG."

THE FOREIGNER

SYNPOSIS: "Froggy" LeSeur and Charlie Baker are two Englishmen who have come to Betty Meek's Fishing Lodge in rural Georgia for a little rest and relaxation. Depressed over his failing marriage, Charlie wishes to avoid conversation with strangers, and Froggy comes up with the idea of telling the locals that Charlie neither speaks nor understands English. Over the course of the next several days, Charlie becomes privy to some outrageous - and very funny - information as the locals confide their secrets to a man they believe can't understand a word they say.

LANGUAGE: There is no strong language in the play, beyond one vulgar exclamation at the comic climax of one scene. The expression "holy shit" occurs once. "Damn" occurs three times.

SMOKING AND DRINKING: There are depictions of social drinking in the play.

SEX: There is no sexual activity in the play, but a young woman reveals to her fiancé that she is pregnant.

VIOLENCE: Some theatrical mayhem, but purely for comic effect.

FOR WHICH AUDIENCES?: The Foreigner is suitable for all audiences, including children aged 5 and older.

RATING: If it were a movie, The Foreigner would be rated "PG."

THE VERTICAL HOUR

SYNOPSIS: Nadia Blye is a glamorous, intelligent and politically connected Middle-East war correspondent turned Yale professor of political science, who believes that America had a moral obligation to intercede in Iraq. Romantically involved with an Englishman, she travels to Britain to meet her prospective father-in-law, an eminent physician battling personal demons from his past. Over the course of several days, the two of them engage in a passionate discussion of personal and political ethics in the age of terrorism, confronting the very questions that America and the world faces at the onset of the twenty-first century.

LANGUAGE: The Vertical Hour contains a significant amount of strong language, including the frequent use of the so-called "R" rated vulgarity. The language includes "Jesus" or "Jesus Christ" (seven times), "shit" (four times), "bullshit" (several times), "damn" and "bastards" (once each) and "fuck" or "fucking" (a dozen times).

SMOKING AND DRINKING: Drinks are served.

SEX: None, although there are discussions of sexual morality that involve the use of the language noted above.

VIOLENCE: None.

FOR WHICH AUDIENCES?: The Vertical Hour is suitable for adult audiences for whom strong language is not offensive. Conservative audience members will likely be offended by the language. High school students should attend at a parent's discretion. The play is inappropriate for pre-teens.

RATING: If it were a movie, The Vertical Hour would be rated "R" for strong language.

A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM

SYNOPSIS: Shakespeare's great comedy begins with a feuding royal husband and wife and ends with marriages. In between, a large cast of characters find themselves magically transformed when they enter an enchanted wood on a beautiful midsummer night.

LANGUAGE: Shakespeare's usual puns and double-entendres, and a few exclamatory oaths.

SMOKING AND DRINKING: Some characters may imbibe strong spirits.

VIOLENCE: None, beyond several comic fights between lovers.

SEX: The play is about lovers and should be sexy without any overt sexual activity.

FOR WHICH AUDIENCES?: A Midsummer Night's Dream is suitable for all general audiences, including children aged 10 and older. Younger children might be bored by it.

RATING: If it were a movie, A Midsummer Night's Dream would be rated "PG."

THE HEIRESS

SYNOPSIS: Catherine Sloper, gentle and painfully shy, lives with her widowed father in the wealthy Washington Square neighborhood of New York City. When she is courted by handsome, dashing, but penniless Morris Townsend, her father becomes convinced that Morris is only after her money. The plot turns on the question of whether Catherine will find true happiness with Morris or whether, as her father suspects, he is merely an opportunistic fortune hunter.

LANGUAGE: None.

SMOKING AND DRINKING: Drinks are served, and one scene involves cigar smoking.

SEX: None.

VIOLENCE: None.

FOR WHICH AUDIENCES?: The Heiress is suitable for all audiences, including children 10 and older. Children aged 5-9 would likely be bored by it.

RATING: If it were a movie, The Heiress would be rated "G" or "PG."

THE PRODUCERS

SYNPOSIS: Max Bialystock and Leopold Bloom have discovered a surefire way to make a fortune on Broadway: raise millions from love-starved little old ladies willing to invest in a play in return for a little affection, produce the worst play in the long history of flops, and then run off with the money when the play closes on opening night.

LANGUAGE: The Producers is a gleefully vulgar play that makes politically incorrect fun of everyone from Hitler and the Nazis to love-starved little old ladies to homosexuals and the theatre world. The play includes no profanity, but does include a fair amount of vulgar language. The language includes "shit," tits," "ass," "well-hung," "asshole," "getting laid," "banging," and one use of "fuck."

SMOKING AND DRINKING: There is no drinking. One or more characters may smoke in certain scenes.

SEX: Max caters to the fantasies of the little old ladies, but those scenes are played purely for comic effect. Everyone in the play (and in the audience) ogles Ulla, the gorgeous Swedish showgirl who goes to work for Max and Leo.

VIOLENCE: None.

FOR WHICH AUDIENCES?: The Producers is suitable for general audiences, although conservative audience members may be offended by its vulgarity. Children aged ten and older should attend at a parent's discretion. The musical is not appropriate for children under 10.

RATING: The movie version of The Producers, which was faithful to the stage version, was rated "PG-13."

Season Ticket Exchanges

As is PTC's policy, season ticket patrons who do not wish to attend The Vertical Hour or The Producers because of the strong language may exchange their tickets for another play. This offer is limited to these two productions. Because of the extreme demand, tickets may NOT be exchanged for either of the two musicals, Paint Your Wagon or The Producers. Season ticket holders may take advantage of this offer up to 48 hours before their scheduled performances. Please contact the Box Office for more information.

Banner picture is PTC's 2006 production of Chicago. Kelly Sullivan as Roxie Hart.