The Motherfucker with the Hat

Playwright:  Stephen Adly Guirgis

Company:  The Edge Theater Company

Venue:  The Edge Theater, 1560 Teller Street, Lakewood, CO.

Running Time:  1 hour 35 minutes (no intermission).

Date of Performance:  Saturday, February 7, 2015.  

First things first.  Let’s dispense with our feelings about the title:  The Motherfucker with the Hat.   According to Rick Yaconis, Executive/Artistic Director at The Edge, that title brought him a surprise:  his first ever hate mail. Really.  Hate mail.

YES.  It’s vulgar.  YES.  It’s offensive to some…maybe many.  And YES.  It is an “in your face” statement.  It’s unlikely that those who are put off by the title bought a ticket.  Thus, one could argue (and I do), that the title is actually a piece of truth in advertising, a caveat emptor, that helps ticket buyers know what to expect.  If you were offended by the title, but still bought a ticket, I hope you enjoyed the show.  If not, I think you had fair warning. 

More than that, though, is the absolute truth told in that title.  It is an apt description of exactly what the audience will see.  A motherfucker’s hat.  The story is based on the drama associated with the discovery of that hat.  

I have a rule of thumb about titles.  If the wording of the title doesn’t appear somewhere in the script, I lower my expectations for the entire show.  In most cases, disconnecting the title from the script is a missed opportunity.  Mr Guirgis did not waste his opportunity.  I lost count of how many times I heard the title in this script.  You are never in doubt about why Guirgis called his play The Motherfucker with the Hat (hereafter shortened to “Motherfucker”).   

A provocative title, however, is not enough; a script needs a coherent story with credible characters.  Guirgis covers those bases, and much more.  The “hat” of the title belongs to a guy who definitely does not belong in Veronica’s (Karen Slack) bedroom.  She’s a drug addict whose boyfriend Jackie (Kent Randell) has recently gotten out of prison.  Jackie is turning his life around and would like Veronica to be a permanent part of that new life.  Until, that is, he finds the hat.

Jackie goes on a quest to find the motherfucker with the hat, and he encounters some surprising twists and turns.  Oddly, given the gritty circumstances, Motherfucker is much funnier than one would expect.  Guirgis has a comedic gift; his script is simultaneously hopelessly bleak and screwy, witty, and side splitting.  This show is not funny in the smile and giggle way.  Rather, it’s a laugh out loud knee-slapper.  

Kent Randell’s Jackie is a wisecracking Puerto Rican macho thug in rehab.  The rehab part is sincere; Randell totally convinces the audience that he’s done with screwing up.  Except that he’s not.  Jackie’s part of the script may not be as difficult to memorize as one would think; at least half the lines seem to include the title of the show.  Randell delivers each of those lines with an emotional punch and a comedic twist.  Jackie is the central character in Motherfucker, and casting Randell was a stroke of genius.  He has melted into his character, blended his own smile and his own attitude with Jackie’s, to marvelous effect.

Kent Rendell, Karen Slack.

Karen Slack (Veronica) has a decidedly unglamorous role here, and she owns it.  She’s a drug addicted, two timing woman with a vocabulary fit for the title.  She uses Jackie, and she uses her boyfriend for her own selfish purposes, and she shows as little emotion for them both as she would a dildo.  Slack has an incredible acting range, and her Veronica is a stunning experience for those of us who have seen her in more dignified roles.

Rick Yaconis is a regular on The Edge stage, and for Motherfucker, he has the role of

Rick Yaconis.

mentor, sponsor, lover, husband, and amoral opportunist.  Yaconis does them all with relish.  He doesn’t justify his bad boy behavior; he just believes that it doesn’t really matter.  He even offers his wife Victoria (Patty Ionoff) to Jackie, as long as Jackie is gone by the time Ralph gets home.  Yaconis seems to slip easily into the moral morass where right and wrong are useless concepts.  Where Jackie has a moral code (although his “man code” is hardly a strict one), Ralph has none.  Yaconis personifies the amorality perfectly with straight lines and a straight face.

Patty Ionoff, Kent Randell.

Patty Ionoff’s Victoria may have the amorality of Ralph, but it doesn’t fit her quite as well.  Ionoff plays the good wife and the bad wife with equal determination.  She tries but fails to seduce Jackie.  This is not the first time she had to seduce a guy on stage (she was Mrs. Robinson in The Graduate), and she’s got it down.  When she turns up the heat, no one is as seductive as Ionoff.

While the entire cast is talented, it is Jude Moran as Julio

Jude Moran.

who steals the show.  Moran lights up the stage as Jackie’s gay cousin.  It matters little who else is on the stage.  Moran smiles, laughs, and charms the audience in each of his scenes.

Director Josh Hartwell has a marvelously talented cast, and he makes full use of each actor.  His pace for Motherfucker is breathtaking; there’s not a wasted moment in the entire production.    His touch is obvious in the fight scene; the punches look real and we are left to wonder if both actors are ok when it is over.  His direction of the seduction scene between Jackie and Victoria is tasteful and respectful, for which Hartwell deserves immense credit.  Given the overall tone of the script, it could have come off as sleazy.  It doesn’t.

Set designer Christopher Waller has done something I never expected to see in a space as small as The Edge.  He created three apartment sets, each 120 degrees wide on a turntable.  It’s very effective, and highly functional for a small room like The Edge.

Motherfucker has a point:  moral relativity and/or obscurity is not conducive to healthy relationships.  Neither are drugs, guns, and prison.  Jackie tries hard to change his life, and Guirgis has beautifully demonstrated the difficulty and perhaps the futility of that change.  That said, though, one does not have to take away a profound message from Motherfucker.  Rather, this is a show at which you should sit back, relax, and cut loose.  Laugh at it, because it is very funny.  Enjoy it, because it is very well done.  And marvel at it, because these actors will engage you at every level and at every turn.  The title will deter some from seeing what is a rewarding theater experience.  It’s their loss.  For the rest of us, it’s a feast for the eyes, the ears, and the mind.

Jude Moran, Patty Ionoff, Karen Slack, Rick Yaconis.  Front:  Kent Randell

NOTES:

This show is not suitable for all ages.  The script contains adult language, adult situations, drug use, and mild violence.  The Edge advises that no one under 17 will be admitted without parental consent.

I wasn’t sure if the noun “motherfucker” is supposed to be one word or two.  I use it as one word in this post, as that is how it appears in the title.  That I’m not sure of the spelling is an indication of how seldom I use it in my personal vocabulary.  I hope I haven’t offended anyone who feels strongly that it should be two words.  (The irony is intentional.)

I'm going to get on my soapbox briefly here, so if that doesn't interest you, skip the next two  paragraphs.  

Not to make a huge fuss about the "hate mail" The Edge received about the title, but we were all outraged about the vicious hate delivered to the Charlie Hebdo office in Paris.  And yet, some among us are are compelled to call out one of the best theaters in Colorado over a vulgar title.  

For my part, I hope The Edge and every other artistic endeavor in this country will always have the freedom to push the envelope, even if it's offensive to some.  Pushing the envelope takes a lot more courage now than it used to.  The Edge is properly named.  They push the limits to "the edge."  The Edge will not surrender its artistic integrity to please everyone...or anyone.  And that is one of the reasons it's one of the best theaters in Colorado.

There is ample free parking in the lot at the theater and at the shopping center across the street. 

This production closes on February 15, 2015.  

Pre or Post Show Dining Suggestion:

GB Fish and Chips at 2175 N. Sheridan, Denver, is a short, 5-10 minute drive to the theater.  It’s across the street from Sloan’s Lake, so you get a view as well as some fine fish & chips.  Aside from the fish, they also serve some traditional UK cuisine, including bangers, shepherd’s pie, and sausage rolls.  NOTE:  the full order of fish & chips is very generous.  I always get the half order, and it’s plenty for me.

PHOTO CREDITS:  The Edge Theater Company, RDG, Rachel Graham.

TICKETS HERE:  

CREATIVE TEAM:

Director:  Josh Hartwell

Scenic Deisgn:  Christopher Waller

Sound Design:  Kenny Storms

Lighting Design:  Stevie Caldarola

Costumes:  Caroline Smith

Production Coordinator:  Lara Maerz

Stage Manager:  Katie Espinoza

CAST:

Jackie:  Kent Randell

Veronica:  Karen Slack

Ralph D.:  Rick Yaconis

Victoria:  Patty Ionoff

Cousin Julio:  Jude Moran