. What makes it so terrible? Glad you asked!If the title wasn't enough of a giveaway, this is a show filled with gratuitous profanity. Don't get me wrong, I am not some sort of prude or anti-cursing zealot. The problem with all of the cursing in The Motherf**ker With The Hat is that it is totally gratuitous. Much of the cursing and dialogue in general only serves to draw attention to the playwright, Stephen Adly Guirgis, who clearly considers himself to be both shocking and clever. I was more inclined to label what I saw on stage as amateurish and predictable. I am guessing I am not alone in my disappointment with the show since there was a blow-in in the Playbill announcing that the performance would be played without the scheduled 15 minute intermission. I suspect this is a move aimed at preventing a half-empty house for Act II. I certainly would have fled given the opportunity.
The Motherf**ker With The Hat begins and ends with yelling. There are no real emotional or vocal dynamics in the show. I am surprised the cast can still speak since it felt like they were just screaming and yelling at each other for the entire two hours. As you might imagine, this gets to be very tiring. It also defeats the purpose of yelling since there is no softer speech to contrast it with. It is like Will Ferrell's character on Saturday Night Live that suffered from voice immodulation. I am not sure if this constant screaming was an acting choice, the result of bad sound design, or a consequence of some of the actors' inexperience on the stage. Whatever the cause, it served primarily to underline the flaws in the script and the show's lack of a true emotional center.
Not that there isn't supposed to be an emotional center. At the heart of the show is the tempestuous and toxic relationship between Jackie (Cannavale) an ex-con in AA and his addict girlfriend, Veronica (played by Elizabeth Rodriguez). We are told these two are in love, but all we see is an unrelenting series of betrayals and hate-filled rants. This is not a relationship to root for, making the dramatic stakes pretty low. Was I supposed to wonder if things would work out for them? I kept hoping one would kill the other so the house lights could come up. I never felt even a tiny bit invested in this story emotionally which makes for a pretty hollow evening of theatre.
Rock and Sciorra play Jackie's sponsor Ralph and his wife Victoria. As you might expect, they are also tangled up in the toxic Jackie / Veronica relationship. This leads to a "fight" between Cannavale and Rock that must be the single worst piece of fight choreography I have ever seen on Broadway. The two tumbled and threw themselves around the stage so ridiculously and unbelievably that I burst out laughing. Maybe it could have worked with cameras, a Foley artist, and a really skilled editor, but it did not work at all on stage. Rock is much smaller than Cannavale and yet pushed him down and across the room by poking him with two fingers. Totally ridiculous. It was just one more amateurish element in this half-baked production.
The Motherf**ker With The Hat is still in previews, so there is still time for them to work out some of the kinks, tighten up the fight, and find more nuance in their characters. Still, I just don't think it will be enough to overcome the truly lackluster script.
Want to see for yourself? Click here for tickets.
THE MOTHERF**KER WITH THE HAT from The Motherf**ker with the Hat on Vimeo.
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