There's a play that's made quite a splash in the theater world in the past year. It's been produced on Broadway, with a cast that included famous comedian Chris Rock. It's been nominated for just about every major theater award. It's garnered some very positive reviews. And now it's playing at Kansas City's Unicorn Theatre, one of the city's artistic institutions.
But the play has a built-in problem: Its title. In The Star, it's been referred to as "The Mother(expletive) With the Hat." The expletive is exactly what you think it is.
The New York Times didn't go even that far, simply referring to it as "The ____________ With the Hat."
Some readers don't think The Star has done enough to protect certain eyes from the word, both in news coverage and in the ads for the show that it's run. The ads replace some letters with asterisks, as opposed to the newsroom's solution.
That "doesn't change the meaning of the word or hide the actual word," noted one emailer.
I don't think there's a single solution that would please everyone here, as I'm sure there are those readers who think if it's the title, it's the title and it should be printed as well. I can respect a wide range of opinions on this one.
(expletive)?
In 1964, a play by LeRoi Jones was produced in New York, titled "The Toilet". Similar concerns were voiced about that play, and in at least one TV interview, the word was blanked out. I predict that the Mother(expletive) with the Hat will be produced at Starlight Theatre by the summer of 2050, with the word intact.