The Motherfucker with the Hat: A Spoonful of Sugar Helps the Medicine Go Down

Broadway has a little secret. I couldn't tell you why it's a secret, but they've been keeping it under wraps for weeks. The Motherfucker With the Hat is really fucking good. The writing is the best part. Playwright, Stephen Adly Guirgis, one of the artistic directors of LAByrinth Theater Company, makes his Broadway debut with a play about addicts, recovery and infidelity. The cast consists of two couples and a quirky cousin. It takes place in present day New York City. Addiction is, of course, depressing, but  Guirgis threw in many gut busting lines, that the actors deliver deadpan, while the audience is full of laughter.

LAByrinth has a history of writing and producing plays about struggling New Yorkers, and The Motherfucker With the Hat falls into that genre. The show opens with an argument between Jackie (Bobby Cannavale) and his girlfriend, Veronica (Elizabeth Rodriguez) about suspected cheating. Jackie is sober and Veronica is still using. It's one of those really great stage arguments, where they're leaping around the space, on the bed, sweating and swearing in tough NYC accents. It's evident that both characters are trying to overcome their own demons, a task made more challenging with their fiery tempers.

Cannavale is the stand out star of this production. He had the audience eating out of his hand, totally on his side the whole time. When Jackie was angry, we were angry. When he talked like prison time is no big deal, we believed him. Rodriguez held her own, and matched him beat for beat. Yul Vazquez, as Cousin Julio, provided much of the comic relief with brilliant delivery. Annabella Sciorra and Chris Rock round out the cast as the second, only slightly more stable, couple.

I attended a matinee and the older patrons sitting near me were laughing at the vulgarities and insults being strewn on stage. I think having "motherfucker" in the title weeded out the potential audience members who grumble (or leave) from excessive cursing. This audience gave an immediate, enthusiastic standing ovation.

I'm tired of plays that make me feel terrible, even if they're good; I could find cheaper ways to ruin my day. The Motherfucker With the Hat is a serious play, but the humor makes the sadness easier to take. The combination of good writing and acting makes for excellent story telling.