Torn between seeing The Producers or Mousetrap. We are a family with kids ages 12-17 and will only be able to see one show while in London. Any advice is appreciated.Thanks.

Saw the Producers in NY and while it's geared towards adults (typical Mel Brooks but with a slight edge), I found nothing too out of line for kids 12-17. Some language but nothing too bad.

The only thing that might bother you, as a parent, is that the "F" word is used once.
The kids will enjoy the show.

Howard,
Have you walked through the halls of a middle or high school lately and listened to the F's and S's flying around?

Kids that age will find the Producers to be tame, even with an F or 2

took my 14 yr-old last year and he loved it- i don't remember anything that made me uncomfortable.

J62, I totally agree. I was just pointing it out in case Nancy 45 is not of the same frame of mind!

Unless you have a smart kid that you can explain things to I would avoid it. In a time when so many kids are ignorant of history I'm uncomfortable with anyting that implies Nazi's were in any way funny.

Of course your child is probably smarter than average.

mm

I'm not much of a Mel Brooks fan, so take that into account, I find his humor generally vulgar without being that funny, but that's me.
I saw the show in NYC with two young teens, and they loved it. They like Mel Brooks movies. They ARE well-educated about the Nazi horrors (have even visited a concentration camp) and made the distinction between that reality and this farce. (They also laugh at the Seinfeld 'Soup Nazi.')

I agree with Elaine. If you don't really like Mel Brooks then you may be better off seeing another show.

I can tolerate and even enjoy Mel Brooks in 1hr increments but anything more seems to get old.

If The Producers is not your cup of tea, the fine duo of Bialystock & Bloom have a few plays including Katz, Maim and Death of a Salesman on Ice. Not to mention Funny Boy 2.

By the way, The Producers is one of the funniest plays I have ever seen three times (not to mention the movie dozens of times).

Check the 1/2 price TKTS booth in Leichester square to see if you can get more bang for your theater buck (or is that pound). We got 1/2 price tickets to Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and loved it. We paid full price for Lion King and were not sorry about making the investment. It was awesome.

My teenagers both LOVE The Producers. Probably *because* of the vulgar humor! They also love everything else Mel Brooks has ever done. My daughter liked Mousetrap, too, but if she had to choose, I'm sure she'd go for The Producers...she has every word memorized, I think. And yes, they get it that the Nazi bit "funny," only because it is completely absurd.

mm, interesting comment. I never see the Nazis as being funny -- I see MAKING FUN OF THE NAZIS as being funny.

Exactly, Patrick.

The show is obviously OK for a 17 year old - and I would think for the average 12 year old too.

As for the Nazi issue - the show doesn;t make the Nazis funny - it makes fun of them. And perhaps could lead to a family discussion about the seriousness of the issue - something a lot of young people don;t seem to get - based on the recent behavior of Young Windsor.

I think so. Much will go right over their heads. Many "show stopper" numbers. Very, very entertaining.

And, I would agree that poking fun of the Nazis is hilarious. The entire plot, within the plot, is deliberately putting on a show, so stupid and ridiculous, NO ONE would care to attend.

Thanks everyone for the replies! You have put my fears to rest. Can you get tickets to The Producers at the half price booth and can you get 6 tickets? I thought I read somewhere on this forum that the max was 4 tickets. Thanks!

This London theater site lists the shows that are available at the 1/2 price ticket booth each day:

http://www.officiallondontheatre.co.uk/tkts/today

However, The Producers is rarely available there. As you'll see on today's listing, it's on there, but at full price.