THE MOTHERF**KER WITH THE HAT
by Stephen Adly Guirgis
(May 23 - June 16)
Struggles with addiction, friendship, love, and the challenges of adulthood are at the center of the story. Jackie, a petty drug dealer, is just out of prison and trying to stay clean. He’s also still in love with his coke-addicted childhood sweetheart, Veronica. Ralph D. is Jackie’s too-smooth, slightly slippery sponsor. He’s married to the bitter and disaffected Victoria, who, by the way, has the hots for Jackie. And then there’s Julio, Jackie’s cousin…a stand-up, “stand by me” kind of guy.
"Guirgis, a brilliant comedic talent…also has an original and knowing take on class… Guirgis’ characters are strivers who lack the language to 'pass’ in a white-collar world; they’re frustrated by limitations that they’re only half aware of, and that frustration provides much of the painful hilarity in their dialogue, which piles miscommunication on top of misunderstanding.”
— New York Times
“It’s a tight, smart and splendidly well-made, a tough-minded, unromantically romantic comedy that keeps you laughing, then sends you home thinking.”
— Wall Street Journal
“Funny indeed—not to mention surprising, disturbing and poignant…dark, rich comedy…By not putting characters or their dilemmas in neat boxes, Guirgis gives us, in HAT, a slice of hard life that’s as provocative as it is absorbing.”
— USA Today