Play Suitability Suggestions and Study Guides for Schools

Suitability suggestions provide details about play content and are available for each of the season's productions.

Each school and community is unique, so please read carefully to determine what is appropriate for your students.

Be aware that suitability suggestions are often made before rehearsals begin, and decisions are occasionally made before a show opens that change the suitability of a production. In this event, we will publish updates to our website and make every effort contact group leaders.

For additional content warnings regarding violence or graphic depictions that may be upsetting to some audience members, please see our Content Warnings page (may contain spoilers).

By William Shakespeare

Shakespeare’s exquisite, perfectly balanced comedy is suitable for the entire family. There is some sexual innuendo that may be physicalized. This play can be an excellent way to introduce new viewers to Shakespeare. Preface recommended.

For additional content warnings regarding violence or graphic depictions that may be upsetting to some audience members, please see our Content Warnings page (may contain spoilers).

Book, music, and lyrics by Irene Sankoff and David Hein

Student groups will want to see this Tony-award-nominated musical, which is a heartfelt snapshot of the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks. There are a few instances of profanity. Suitable for most audiences, this show portrays a community that rallies to help others in a dark and fearful time.

For additional content warnings regarding violence or graphic depictions that may be upsetting to some audience members, please see our Content Warnings page (may contain spoilers).

By Lorraine Hansberry

This is a truly great and deeply moving play, a classic of the American theatre and the first play written by a Black woman to be produced on Broadway. There is some mild profanity, and one character uses a homophobic term as an insult towards a straight character. One of the characters considers having an abortion, but it is only discussed euphemistically. The “n-word” is used once by a Black character to another. Suitable for most; student groups are strongly encouraged to make this play a part of their visit this season. Preface recommended.

For additional content warnings regarding violence or graphic depictions that may be upsetting to some audience members, please see our Content Warnings page (may contain spoilers).

By David Henry Hwang

This theatre industry–centered comedy is a satiric look at race and racism in the theatre. There is mild profanity, a euphemistic mention of pornography and sex toys, and comically racist language used by those stereotyped. This play is best suited for students who are prepared for the quick-moving dialogue related to people and events from 1988 to the present. Preface recommended.

For additional content warnings regarding violence or graphic depictions that may be upsetting to some audience members, please see our Content Warnings page (may contain spoilers).

By Keiko Green

This funny, sweet, life-affirming story is narrated by M, a non-binary aspiring performer who is processing their father’s cancer diagnosis and the journey that follows. Containing some profanity, this dramedy is recommended for students who can handle the content.

For additional content warnings regarding violence or graphic depictions that may be upsetting to some audience members, please see our Content Warnings page (may contain spoilers).

By August Wilson

Written by two-time Pulitzer Prize winner August Wilson, this play provides a gritty but poetic and language-driven look into Pittsburgh in the 1980s. Dialogue contains strong profanity, discussion of abortion, potentially blasphemous language, vivid descriptions of sexuality, and onstage violence. The “n-word” is used familiarly by Black characters to one another. Due to the mature content, this play is best suited to well-prepared students who can handle the material. Preface recommended.

For additional content warnings regarding violence or graphic depictions that may be upsetting to some audience members, please see our Content Warnings page (may contain spoilers).

Created and performed by Rodney Gardiner

This humorous, poignant piece about loss and growing up as a Caribbean Black immigrant contains profanity, sexual references, remembrances of being beaten as a child, and a comedic look at growing up in a very religious family. This play will be best suited for prepared students who are able to handle the content.

For additional content warnings regarding violence or graphic depictions that may be upsetting to some audience members, please see our Content Warnings page (may contain spoilers).

By William Shakespeare

Shakespeare’s lively comedy has some sexual innuendo that is likely to be comically physicalized onstage. The play is best suited for audiences who are able to handle the sexuality inherent in Shakespeare’s text. Preface recommended.

For additional content warnings regarding violence or graphic depictions that may be upsetting to some audience members, please see our Content Warnings page (may contain spoilers).

By William Shakespeare

Shakespeare’s funniest history play contains humorous bawdy language that may be physicalized, along with comic depictions of drinking, petty theft, and debauchery. It is suitable for well-prepared students able to handle these elements, the historical context, and the heightened language. Preface recommended.

For additional content warnings regarding violence or graphic depictions that may be upsetting to some audience members, please see our Content Warnings page (may contain spoilers).

By Kate Hamill 

This adaptation is an energetic romp through Jane Austen’s classic comedy-romance featuring intelligent and feisty young women, the men who love them, and the men they come to love. The play includes a mention of drinking and mild profanity. Though it is a language-driven piece, the wit and pace of the production should make it accessible to students prepared for the content. Preface recommended.

For additional content warnings regarding violence or graphic depictions that may be upsetting to some audience members, please see our Content Warnings page (may contain spoilers).

Study Guides are created for every play in the current season. Study guides offer resources to use in preparation for reading, streaming, or attending a play. These materials also offer teaching suggestions, discussion questions, research topics, related websites, and additional resources for each production.

Due to the constantly evolving nature of the production process, study guides may not be available until after a production has opened. We will post them as soon as possible.

All downloads are in PDF format and require Adobe Reader to view and print.

A Raisin in the Sun 
Smote This, A Comedy About God... and Other Serious $H*T 
A Midsummer's Nights Dream 
The Taming of the Shrew 

All's Well That Ends Well
As You Like It
Antony and Cleopatra
The Comedy of Errors
Coriolanus
Cymbeline
Hamlet
Henry IV, Part One
Henry IV, Part Two
Henry V
Henry VI, Part One
Henry VI, Part Two
Henry VI, Part Three
Henry VIII
Julius Caesar
King John
King Lear
Love's Labor's Lost
Macbeth
Measure for Measure 
The Merchant of Venice
The Merry Wives of Windsor
A Midsummer Nights Dream
Much Ado About Nothing
Othello
Pericles, Prince of Tyre
Richard II
Richard III
Romeo and Juliet
The Taming of the Shrew
The Tempest
Timon of Athens
Titus Andronicus
Troilus and Cressida
Twelfth Night
The Tempest
The Two Gentlemen of Verona
The Two Noble Kinsmen
The Winter's Tale