happytrailstoyou

Trust your gut on this.

There are other options. I would take them to "Next to Normal"--a great musical, wonderfully performed, with a poignant message about mother love.

Judyrem

Thanks I am going to see it the second Sat in November, can't wait. I love the music, always have!

scarboroughmom

Thank for your opinions. I bought the front row seats for "Hair". One of the 12 year-olds does not want to see any naked people, (he tells me this after I bought the tickets). I told him that I would go wait in the hall with him until it was over. It's still 4 months away. He might change his mind by the time it gets here. We have front row mezzanine seats for "Memphis". I graduated from HS in 1970, hubby graduated in 1958 and is still a 50's R&R fan. So we can see some of my 60's stuff, some of his 50's stuff, and spend the rest of the trip talking with our children about sex, drugs, and rock & roll. Sounds like fun, don't it.

doug_stallings

I think you misunderstand how the nudity in Hair comes about. It's the culmination of a rather emotional scene and not something you're going to be able to walk out on since it's in the middle of the show and sort of happens organically. Especially from the front row. Not only is that disrespectful to the cast, but it's also distracting. If the 12 year old can't handle this, then he shouldn't go. Sell the ticket to someone else.

scarboroughmom

Even if we are sitting on the aisle and just quietly walk out?

BudgetQueen

How are you going to know when to exit anyway. And yes, even sitting on the aisle, it's rude and disruptive to get up and leave during a show.

mclaurie

It would be incredibly rude and frankly pretty selfish for the other audience members if you walked out. Had you done even a simple search online you would have read enough to have been able to make a decision on your own. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hair_(musical) Notice that it says about the current production:

<red>"If you're seated on the aisle, count on [the cast] to be in your face or your lap or... braiding your tresses."</red> I suggest if you do take the boys, you have them read this wikipedia write up so they at least know what they're looking at. This was made into a movie which you could also rent.

I saw Memphis and thought it was terrific, but I'm not sure the boys will find much to relate to in that either.

nytraveler

If your 12 year old is uncomfortable with people being naked then I would definitely return the tickets and go to a show he would enjoy. The nudity is not incidental, it is important to the show - and it sounds like he might be too young to appreciate a lot of the lyrics, attitudes and issues discussed. This is a very political - very antiwar - show, that talks about the need of youth to change the world. It sound like he's just too immature for these themes, not just the nudity and language.

azzure

I was seated about 10 rows back, and found that the backlighting used during the nude scene rendered most of the cast as silhouettes...not all that shocking. The disrobing takes place on stage...I suppose you could have your kids close their eyes when clothing begins to be removed, as it's obvious people will soon be naked. At the end of the show, the entire audience is invited to come up on stage and join in the dance...seems that your kids would love this experience.

Judyrem

BTW, we have aisle tkts. I am not going to tell my DH about the "audience participation". Hmmm, is anyone nekkid when they come down the aisles? Maybe I WILL sit in the end seat! ;-)

HowardR

No, no one is naked when they come down the aisle. The nudity is not that big a deal! The easiest solution would be for the 12-year-older to simply close his eyes during that segment. You'll definitely know when the nudity is about to happen, so you'll be prepared.

doug_stallings

It's not really audience participation, but the actors do run through the aisles and stroke the hair and sometimes lean over people on the aisle. We were near the back and the actor playing Berger even stopped by us. So it's not just people on the front row, though the cast is pretty large.

azzure

Yup, I definitely got my hair mussed. It was fun.

scarboroughmom

Thanks for all of your answers. We aren’t going until 2/2010. I’ll reassess the whole thing after Christmas. I should be able to sell the tickets if I decide it is not going to be enjoyable for all of us. I don’t think the nudity is a big deal. My original concern really had to do with the drug use portrayal. I was 15 when the original opened on Broadway. I know the words to the original album by heart. I get the issues, political and cultural. We will give the kids some background so they can understand the context. I also didn’t think that sneaking out for a few minutes was a big deal either, but maybe I’m wrong about that. Eating a bag of potato chips during the performance may be incredibly rude. Bringing my baby with the ear infection would be pretty selfish. Quietly leaving for a few minutes seems, at worst, mildly annoying.
Thanks for the input on Memphis. I think my kids will find some things to enjoy in it. They should like the music, and they thought the story sounded interesting. I was surprised that they enjoyed In the Heights as much as they did.

takemealong

I think that it would be rude to walk out of a show. It would be even ruder if you are in the front row.

You already know that the show has nudity (although, it is tastefully done), drug references, and language that you might find objectionable. If you have doubts about whether the show is appropriate for your children, then sell your tickets and go to a different show.

Skiergirl

I loved Hair! I was in the 2nd row so we got a lot of attention when the actors ran all over the place. At first I was a little embarrassed but then you get used to it. The nudity was dimly lit and for only a few seconds. A 13 year old girl was sitting next to me and she covered her eyes during that part. I leaned over and told her it was "safe" to look now! At the end you can go up on stage and dance with the cast. I didn't do that but now I regret it. I think I was in shock most of the night because my nephew was born about 20 minutes before show time and he was 2.5 weeks early!

nytraveler

Leaving during a performance is not mildly annoying - it's very rude. At some opera and ballets - and some shows - people who come late are not allowed to be seated after the start of the show until there is a "break" in the action. And you woulnd;t be bringng an infant with an ear infection into a show - typically kids under athe age of 5 aren;t allowed at all. And I can;t imagine anyone who would spend $100 to buy an infant a ticket to a show.

And anyone crackling a bag of chips would get glares, hisses - and would stop eating. (Recently actors in a couple of shows have actually broken character when morons in the audience left their cell phones on and they rang during a performance.)

Actors - and audiences - are becoming less tolerance of those spoiling the event they've aid so much to see.

scarboroughmom

Sheesh! I know you can't bring babies to Broadway shows, and I wouldn't think of munching chips. I wuz only kidding. Like I said, I'll look at it again after Christmas and decide if we should go or sell the tickets. But thank you to all who took the time to comment.

sf7307

Is "Hair" any good? I haven't seen it since the 70s, but the revival is opening in San Francisco next week, and I'm wondering whether we'll be disappointed (seats are half-price, but we got half-price seats to Blue Man Group, and were bored to tears).

starrs

I was bored at Blue Man Group and I was pretty much bored with Hair on Broadway. 1/2 price tix would be the right price.