By Jenn McKee
Brian Marable, Vanessa Sawson, Travis Reiff, Amy Probst, and Sean Rodriquez Sharpe in the Michigan premiere of Stephen Adly Guirgis' high-octane play, The Motherfucker with the Hat at The Ringwald Theatre. Photo: Brandy Joe Plambeck.
In the opening scene of The Ringwald Theater's production of Stephen Adly Guirgis' "The Motherfucker with the Hat," we see Veronica (Amy Probst) on the phone with her mother, saying, "You shouldn't drink so much" just before she crouches down to snort a line of cocaine.
Yes, the contradictions that inhabit "Hat"'s five working-class characters are as blunt as the play's title. But what is far more subtle is the way Guirgis' self-deluding, vulnerable, desperate, striving people still manage to get under your skin, despite their constant posturing and bluster.
The story begins with Veronica and her recovering addict boyfriend Jackie (Travis Reiff) – on parole after serving two years in jail – celebrating Jackie's new job. When Jackie stumbles upon a man's hat under the bed, he confronts Veronica, who denies that she's cheated on him. Jackie goes to his AA sponsor, Ralph (Sean Rodriguez Sharpe), for support and a place to stay, but Ralph's embittered wife, Victoria (Vanessa Sawson), has her own story to tell, as does Jackie's fey cousin Julio (Brian Marable), whom Jackie only seeks out when he needs a favor.
This is the third Guirgis play I've seen, and for me, "Hat" is the most fully realized and satisfying. For all the expletives and tough talk and self-justifications being tossed around – I don't really need to mention that there are a lot of four letter words, do I? – Guirgis makes each flawed character sympathetic, so that no matter how much we may want a villain to blame, we don't really get one. Instead, we see men and women in tough circumstances, making poor decisions and trying to justify, to themselves and others, what they've said and done.
Indeed, in spite of the play's word-feasting density, the characters often appear to be spinning their wheels in an attempt to articulate their motives and feelings. Language thus seems both useless and our only hope at working toward meaning.
Director Jamie Warrow deftly handles the script's moments of humor, and more generally, The Ringwald's engrossing, nearly two-hour production of "Hat" keeps you rooting for Veronica and Jackie to work things out, despite the not-so-flattering things we learn about both of them in the course of the play.
This is largely due to Reiff's and Probst's impressive performances. Both roles could easily slip into caricature, but in these actors' hands, they never do. Reiff and Probst get laughs, but never at the expense of Jackie and Veronica; and the last scene between them is heart-wrenching.
In contrast to Veronica and Jackie, a loving couple whose pride and bad choices keep them apart, there's Ralph and Victoria, who've worked out a chilly marital routine, despite the love having soured long before. Sharpe and Sawson make each character, and their relationship, feel lived-in and (painfully) true.
Finally, Marable, in the play's smallest role, makes an outsized impact, powerfully confronting Jackie about his own culpability in the life he's lived while also subtly suggesting contradictions within Julio's own character.
Costume designer Bailey Boudreau plays a key role in creating "Hat"'s world, including Probst's cheap lingerie and Marable's neat, pressed, neutral-toned, buttoned up wardrobe. Scenic designer/artist Alexander Carr presents a low-rent interior that, after a couple of cosmetic changes (provided by props master Alexander Trice), alternates between being Jackie and Veronica's place and Ralph and Victoria's place; plus, off to one side, Julio's meticulously furnished porch provides a sharp contrast to the main space, mirroring the way Julio himself stands apart. Phill Harmer affectingly choreographs the fights that break out late in the show, while Dan Morrison's lighting design, and Reiff's sound (which fittingly blares hard-edged tunes) round out "Hat"'s atmospheric vision.
Despite a compelling twist – namely, whom the hat belongs to – you might wonder, at some points, where the play is going, and how it will wrap up. I won't reveal that here, of course. And because of its fierce, in-your-face style, this "Hat" won't fit all. But to those not put off by the play's title, the play's humor, heart and human truth will likely feel like a revelation.
REVIEW:
'The Motherfucker with the Hat'
The Ringwald Theatre, 22742 Woodward Ave., Ferndale. 8 p.m. Friday, Saturday & Monday, and 3 p.m. Sunday through April 14. $10-20. 248-545-5545. http://www.theringwald.com
