Stage and Cinema
- Somewhat Recommended
"...With heightened and relentless dialog, Stephen Adly Guirgis's The Motherfucker with the Hat follows Jackie, a recently paroled ex-con and recovering addict whose fragile new life teeters when he finds an unfamiliar hat in his girlfriend Veronica's apartment. The discovery ignites suspicions of betrayal that ripple through his relationships-with Veronica, his AA sponsor Ralph, and his flamboyant cousin Julio. As lies pile on lies, the play becomes a study in trust, temptation, and the near-impossible task of keeping the past from poisoning the present."
LA Splash
- Highly Recommended
"...Written by acclaimed Stephen Adly Guirgis, THE MOTHERF**KER WITH THE HAT premiered on Broadway in 2011 starring Chris Rock in his Broadway debut as Ralph. To quote the author, "When you're young, your friends really matter. They're like your tribe; then when you get older things become more complicated, and the rules we're taught as children don't necessarily carry forth into adulthood. You might have a friend who is totally loyal to you, but is a scumbag to women. We don't necessarily all fit into a tidy package, and the play is a story about finding a morality or a manner of being that works for you." In 2011, the play earned the Drama Desk Award for outstanding actor in a play and the Outer Critics Circle Award for the best featured actress in a play."
LA Theatrix
- Recommended
"...The acting is strong across the board, with Desert as Ralph delivering the most grounded and heartfelt performance of the show. His dynamic with Collins as Jackie stands out, giving the audience both the warmth of their bromance and the sting of heartbreak when trust is eroded. Marinov as Veronica, Oliver as Victoria and Carlos Moreno, Jr. as Cousin Julio add comic relief, keeping the energy alive and audience engaged."
Hollywood Progressive
- Highly Recommended
"...Although the entire cast turns in high caliber performances, Moreno Jr. is the best, the most offbeat and fun to observe, whenever Julio graces the stage with his presence in this five-hander. Moreno Jr. plays Julio as being quite effeminate, and when he meets Ralph, it seems as if Cousin Julio is coming on to him. But it turns out that, according to the dialogue, Julio is actually married to a woman (an offscreen presence), so who knows exactly what his sexual preference - or preferences (plural) - are?"
Stage Raw
- Somewhat Recommended
"...It doesn't help that director Jolie Oliver's logy pacing stretches things out to almost two and a half hours, instead of the 90 or so minutes it should actually run. The dialogue should be frantic and staccato, delivered at a breakneck pace, instead of being mulled over with deliberation. Also, the staging includes mind-bogglingly interruptive scene changes. A large team hustles the between-scenes shifts, much to their credit. But the set itself, which includes a lot of folderol, from side tables to bed sheets to makeup tables, could and should have been streamlined. Instead of the complete and frequent shifts between scenes, a more minimal, flexible design could have sufficed to suggest the different locales."
Broadway World
- Recommended
"...So in life, there are the people you love, the people you trust and the people you use. And you move through your existence, scraping together a living, trying to stay clean (or not), celebrating the peaks, and clawing your way out of the valleys, keeping on keeping on...until you spot...that...hat. The hat that, because it does not belong to you, must belong to someone else, and therefore should not be sitting, misplaced, on your kitchen table. Yes, existence can be just funny/complicated/seriously messed up in that way."
