Show Guidelines | Alabama Shakespeare Festival
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Show Guidelines

As a beloved arts institution, Alabama Shakespeare Festival broadens the cultural identity of the South by producing the classics, Shakespeare, contemporary plays, musicals, and exciting new works.

Per our agreements with theatrical licensing agencies, we are unable to alter scripts and agree to perform them as written.

We make every effort to inform our audience of any adult content or language contained in our productions; however, we recommend reviewing the following guidelines before selecting theatrical experiences for your family.

We value each and every one of our patrons and want to ensure each experience is a great one!

The following guidelines list any language, violence, drug/alcohol use, and mature content of each show in detail.

While age recommendations are provided, we respect the discretion of parents and educators in determining if material is appropriate for audiences younger than the recommended age. ASF is happy to review show guidelines with patrons as they make any determinations.

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE'S A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM

A Midsummer Night’s Dream

This show is recommended for grades 5+ 

LANGUAGE

Tawny Tartar

O hell, to choose love by another’s eyes!

SEXUAL INNUENDO

-Bride-bed

-Lysander wants to sleep close to Hermia but she holds her ground, since they are not married

-Titania says the goddess of virginity, Diana, has forbidden characters from having sex

DRUGS AND ALCOHOL

None

VIOLENCE

-Muffled sounds of a fight

-Egeus proclaims that his daughter, Hermia, must marry the man of his choosing or she will be put to death: As she is mine, I may dispose of her:/Which shall be either to this gentleman,/Or to her death, according to our law/Immediately provided in that case.

-Two characters stab themselves 

-Mention of whipping

-Mention of murder

I’d rather give his carcass to my hounds

MATURE CONTENT

Supernatural characters—fairies, gods, goddesses, changeling

Reference to the death of a mother

Mention of suicide

A CHRISTMAS CAROL

A Christmas Carol

This show is recommended for grades 3+ 

LANGUAGE

I’ll see you in hell first.

SEXUAL INNUENDO

None

VIOLENCE

Hand grabs Scrooge by the collar

ALCOHOL AND DRUGS

None

MATURE CONTENT

-Direct references to death and funerals, specifically the death of a young child (Tiny Tim) and the death of a mother

-Shrouded dead body

-Themes of death and poverty

-Appearance of ghosts/spirits

-Ghost of Christmas Future is a phantom– It is shrouded in a deep black garment, which conceals its head, its face, its form, and leaves nothing of it visible, save one outstretched hand. But for this, it would have been difficult to detach its figure from the night and separate it from the darkness by which it was surrounded.

BLUES IN THE NIGHT

Blues in the Night

This show is recommended for grades 7+ 

LANGUAGE

Asses; Shit; Jigs

SEXUAL INNUENDO

Direct and indirect references to sex throughout:

-We are going to cuddle close, turn out the light/do just what you did last night

Hear two sweethearts spoon underneath the silv’ry moon

Good loving

Oh Daddy take all of me

Oh papa you really something when you work that clutch/Don’t you put your breaks on ‘cause I like it too much

I’m satisfied when you shake it/and you shift it/when you shake it and you shift it/and make those gears grind/when you curve me/when you swerve me/when you curve me and you swerve me/all across that center line/oh you really work that throttle

I go to bed with a prayer that you’ll make love to me

When I eat his doughnut all I leave is the hole/anytime he wants to, why he can use my sugar bowl/oh his bologna’s really worth a try/never fails to satisfy/I can’t do without my kitchen man

But those filthy words would just get my action up/There wasn’t nothing too dirty for my man to do

I want him to grab me and tear off all my clothes just to let me know who’s boss 

DRUGS AND ALCOHOL

Direct references to drinking: Leapin’ and rollin’ drunk; I don’t want no guy who’s go to get pepped up on gin; Buying bootleg liquor, champagne and wine 

VIOLENCE

None

MATURE CONTENT

Three women’s relationship to a deceiving man

Themes of sex, lost love, affairs, duplicitous love

Reference to a man tryin’ to have his way with everybody

Reference to a man having women everywhere 

Woman compares a man to a dog in how he treats her

BASKERVILLE: A SHERLOCK HOLMES MYSTERY

Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery

This show is recommended for grades 4+

LANGUAGE

Wench; Bleedin’; Piss Pot; Toff; Bollocks; Bleedin’ Bastard; Naked Mistress; Bosom; Piss

SEXUAL INNUENDO

-Men make a joke about a woman’s bosom

-Male and female characters passionately kiss

-Reference to a married man offering to marry unwed woman

DRUGS AND ALCHOHOL

-Reference to purchasing tobacco

-Pipe smoking

-Joke about smoking being good for one’s health

VIOLENCE

-Snarling, tearing sounds of a beast

-Reference to the abduction of a woman

-Reference to a man striking a woman

-Reference and snarling sounds of a beast tearing out the throat of a person

-The moment in the opera Tosca when a woman is brutalized and stabs the perpetrator

-Killing/Murder

-Revolvers/pistols are drawn, twirled, pointed, and fired

– Character strikes another character on the head with a rock

-Dead bodies

-Death

-Character mentions another character forces his wife to pretend she is his sister

-Female character is half-naked, gagged, and lashed to a ceiling beam

-Female character mentions her mind and soul being tortured and defiled

-Attacks by a gigantic mastiff, hidden, painted, and starved to kill

-Character is sucked into Mire (mud)

-Character has a knife stuck in his back

-An explosion

MATURE CONTENT

-See above section on violence

-Reference to three school boys dying from an epidemic

ZELDA IN THE BACKYARD

Zelda in the Backyard

This show is recommended for grades 7+

LANGUAGE

Oh my God, that’s so gay; He’s such a fag; butch; assholes; baby-shit brown Pinto; fuck

SEXUAL INNUENDO

Reference to sexual intercourse: The doctors said it would never happen because of my daddy’s low sperm count and my mother’s frigid womb. But then one night at the Lady Love Motel outside Richmond, VA the magic happened, and here I am.

DRUGS AND ALCOHOL

-Multiple direct references to family growing, selling, and smoking marijuana.

-Direct references to individuals consuming a lot of beer.

-Direct reference to Alcoholics Anonymous.

VIOLENCE

None

MATURE CONTENT

Direct references to the following:

-Sexual orientations, specifically gays and lesbians

-Gay marriage

-AIDS

-Crossdressing

-A condom

-Playboy Club; nightclubs; and bath houses

-Stripper pole

-Death of parents

-Parents having sexual intercourse

JOSEPH AND THE AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat

This show is recommended for grades 3+

LANGUAGE

None

SEXUAL INNUENDO

The song Potiphar has references to a female character being sexually aggressive and adulterous

DRUGS AND ALCOHOL

A scene contains a group of men smoking and drinking

VIOLENCE

The jealous Brothers fake Joseph’s death by smearing his coat in blood, implying he is dead.  They sell him into slavery.

MATURE CONTENT

Themes of seduction and adultery