Last year, barebones productions presented Stephen Adly Guirgis’ Jesus Hopped the ‘A’ Train, and the show knocked my socks off. Guirgis’ explosive writing was so passionate, and his vision so singular, I couldn’t wait to see his then-new Broadway show The Motherfucker with the Hat.
It wasn’t a long wait, as barebones now presents Motherfucker. This time we hop-skip around New York City with Jackie, a recently paroled drug-dealer now working on his AA sobriety … 12 steps that his substance-abusing girlfriend, Veronica, is not inclined to take. A suspicion she may have cheated on him leads Jackie to enlist the help of his AA sponsor, Ralph D. … and a few other assorted characters.
As directed by Rich Keitel, and opening with a scene of lethal toxicity thanks to Ruth Gamble (as Veronica) and Patrick Jordan (as Jackie), this barebones production starts with an H-bomb bang. Corrosive, profane, darkly funny — this was the writing I first heard in Jesus.
But then the play begins to change. The intensity drops, the radioactive personalities of the characters soften and lots of plot starts bubbling up. None of that’s bad. But where we end up is completely different from where we began.
As it turns out, Guirgis is a sentimentalist obsessed with love. And when you strip away the dirty words and ratty milieu, the play reveals itself to be a melodrama; all the villain needs is a mustache to twirl. Again, not a bad thing, but a little surprising from something titled The Motherfucker With the Hat.
On Douglas McDermott’s very clever set, Leandro Cano finds lots of humor and honesty in the role of Jackie’s cousin, Julio. Edwin Lee Gibson’s decision to underplay Ralph is perfect for the first half of the show, but comes up a little short in the payoff. Playing Ralph’s wife, Daina Michelle Griffith is, as usual, a fascinating actress — here handling a role which is Guirgis’ weakest device.
The irony of the show is that the people who would most appreciate Guirgis’ somewhat mawkish story will be the least likely to see it.
This article appears in Nov 27 – Dec 3, 2013.
I cannot BELIEVE that they used the title to this article the way they did! You should have come up with a better way to bring attention to what you were talking about instead of using this poor title to this broadway show!!! I am disgusted with the fact that nothing is censored anymore. Nothing. It never used to be this way and the country as a whole was a heck of a lot more proper. Now we desensitize people to manners and no one seems to care about the fact that kids are rude and aggressive. Remember when video games were simple? Like Donkey Kong and Mario brothers? They didn’t have prostitutes and murder. They didn’t swear on TV. It’s sick. I can’t stand this country anymore.
Some guy with a stick up his ass who can’t get past semantics. Could you ask for a better endorsement? I’m even more excited to see this Sunday!
I thought the show was a lot better than the review and the last comment allude to. The last guy either lives under a rock, or refuses to believe that his donkey kong utopia no longer exists. People no longer play with Stretch Armstrong and pretend their parents don’t have sex. Don’t come to the show with that mentality. Open your eyes to someone elses reality, and take it for what it’s worth. The show was excellent, the actors completely committed, and the set wonderfully designed.