This is the world we live in now

that is such a classic play!!! pox on all their houses!!! (those who would censor)

contrast to 50 yrs ago.. I had an english teacher who taught deliberately the dirty parts in romeo and juliet. I love her with all my heart.

you are right!! my memory is going bad. that same teacher taught us the wasteland by ts eliot. her late husband was a famous drama professor at the local university. I also remember her telling me I had to read sons and lovers.. never have. maybe it is time.

she was a legend to our class. we were blessed with several very very outstanding english teachers.

I’m sorry but any reference to nooses is offensive (to me) as it represents lynching. We have such a horrific history of lynching literally thousands of people, mostly Blacks in this country.

You also need to realize that “these people” who are offended by references to lynchings (seriously, how clueless can you be?) are probably on the opposite end of the political spectrum than the ones who want to censor material in the library.

If you can’t see the differences between those two and understand the historical and political connotations of the word “noose,” I’m not sure you should be in public education.

I think many go right to.. lynching, whereas the play looks like a satire of murder mysteries of the english variety. so maybe the title does not offend in england, as it can here in the us.

I agree with this 10,000%.

Also, could you clarify who exactly are “these people” you reference in your OP?

[bold is mine] I despise the us vs. them mentality that seems pervasive in our society. I'm disappointed the school received only two complaints about the blatantly offensive/inappropriate name of the play & saddened an administration that approved of this play may also allow racially insensitive material in its library. 

ETA:
Ditto!

I don’t want to put words in your mouth, but every possible translation I can think of for this statement is unflattering. What exactly ‘do’ you mean by this?

So, here's the thing. I am on my high school's theatre team, one of the directors. We have very serious and thoughtful conversations about our play selection and its impact on our students, their families, and our community.

There are SO MANY options when it comes to murder mystery/play-within-a-play types of shows that I can't see a way to where our team would select a play like this with a title (and likely promotional imagery) that could be perceived as harmful to students and families (especially our Black students and families). While we can't predict each individual's response to such imagery or the title, we would consider how it could be interpreted, ESPECIALLY because the title's play on words depends on prior knowledge of the show "Noises Off," which unless you're a theatre nerd you might not even realize.

I haven't read the show, so I can't speak to the content within. There are just many, many plays to be performed out there that I know we would probably not have made this choice, as it's likely not very special literature that would offer something other shows can't.

That said, getting two complaints that the title is offensive affords your school's production team to engage in good conversation with the folks who contacted them. They have the opportunity to explain the title and the show, which may allay some fears and concerns.

Regarding the library challenges, we are ALSO seeing challenges and FOIAs regarding materials and curriculum. It's tiresome, because much of that is borne out of political action and urging from far-right organizations, not from true community concern or understanding of any of the materials being questioned.

When my kids did HS theater they loved the part before production even started rehearsing, when they were choosing plays, talking about them, talking about potential controversies about them, deciding what to change, what to add or delete.

Thanks for being a part of that discussion that they loved.

I very much appreciate your reconsideration here. I understand the frustration. Acknowledging our gaps in understanding and our biases helps us do better moving forward.