Head Over Heels – Content

Head Over Heels is a unique and energetic musical that explores themes of family, love, identity, and acceptance. The central plot of the musical revolves around the Arcadian royal family’s quest to save their kingdom from extinction. Along the way, the characters find true love and learn the transformative effect that love can have on their lives. The musical advocates for self-discovery and being true to one’s unique self. If you want to read more about the content of this musical so that you can make an informed decision about whether it is a good fit for you and your family, please continue reading.

Please note that some of the content of the show has been edited with permission from Broadway Licensing. Explicit sexual language has been removed. Unlike other productions you may read about online, in our production there is no explicit staging of sexual intimacy.

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SPOILER

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The following points may be of interest to parents trying to determine if their child should attend our production of Head Over Heels:

  • Throughout the show, there are some instances of innuendo in speech, but especially given that the style is presented in Shakespearean-style verse, these may largely go unnoticed by our younger audience members.
  • The younger princess’s one true love is a shepherd that is well beneath her royal station. When all men are barred from entering the royal family’s encampment (to prevent a prophecy from being fulfilled), the shepherd dresses as a female Amazonian warrior to gain entry and be with his one true love, the princess. This type of plot pays homage to the farcical Elizabethan storylines of mistaken identity on which the musical is based.
  • The king (who believes the Amazonian to be a woman) and the queen (who knows the Amazonian is hiding a secret and is actually a man) each make advances at the “her.” The king and queen each set out to meet the Amazonian for a secret rendezvous, and end up meeting each other.
  • Throughout the course of the play, the older princess realizes she is in love with her handmaiden (another woman), and this love is reciprocated.
  • The oracle of Delphi takes on human form as a non-binary character, and this gender identity is explicitly referenced.