[NEohioPAL] Now on Brava! -- "The Motherf**ker with the Hat" at Dobama a Grippingly Realistic Drama with Humor

[Marjorie Preston]

“The Motherf**ker with the Hat” at Dobama a Grippingly Realistic Drama With
Humor

By Marjorie Preston

Brava!

*www.marjoriepreston.com/brava <http://Www.marjoriepreston.com/brava>*


 Dobama Theatre's current production, “The Motherf**ker with the Hat” by
Stephen Adly Guirgis, is a well-written, well-acted, contemporary urban
drama with humor.


 Stern, tough Jackie (Jeremy Kendall) has recently lost his mother and
completed a prison sentence. But things are looking up for him as he has
begun to date his fiery, passionate Puerto Rican-born girlfriend Veronica
(Anjanette Hall) again, though she, like seemingly everyone in the play, is
an addict. The two of them have been in love since they were just teenagers
growing up in New York City, where the play is set. He has gotten sober
through Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and just got hired as a superintendent.
But when he discovers another man's hat in her apartment (“the bed smells
like Aquavelva and dick”), he begins to unravel.


 Jackie's AA sponsor, Ralph (Charles Kartali) allows Jackie to move in with
him and his frustrated wife, Victoria (Bernadette Clemens), ostensibly to
prevent Jackie from getting a gun and doing something regrettable. Victoria
informs Jackie that Ralph is actually a weaselly philanderer and that he
doesn't know Ralph as well as he thinks. Jackie learns that Ralph and
Victoria's marriage is not a fulfilling one for either of the partners. But
then the characters in “The Motherf**ker with the Hat” are all flawed in
some way.


 Despite Ralph's preaching to Jackie about acceptance and change, Jackie
still purchases a gun and pursues the man he thinks slept with his
girlfriend. Jackie confronts the man, but afterward, gets nervous and the
two of them go to Jackie's cousin Julio's house to hide the gun. Jackie's
Cousin Julio (Jimmie Woody) is Mercutio to Jackie's Romeo, a
super-thoughtful, though over-the-top affected gay man who is fiercely
loyal to Jackie out of loyalty to Jackie's late mother.


 Kendall is wonderful as the ex-con who seems the most naïve and honorable
of the bunch of characters. He is blunt and still poetic in his own way.
Kartali and Kendall both have great moments where the lines are delivered
so quickly – in typical NYC fashion refreshing to those who love the city –
that it heightens the honesty and humor. These two characters seem the most
fleshed out in the piece, as we follow their quest for happiness.


 Director Dianne Boduszek has helped the actors to give emphasis to
colorful expressions, hurried the dialogue to the appropriately realistic
whiz-bang NYC speed, and kept us intrigued by the flawed characters. The
direction was letter perfect, including a well-choreographed fight scene
done by Fight Choreographer Larry Nehring.


 Scenic Designer Connie Hecker has done a lot with the space, creating a
fussy sitting room for Julio, a slob's dark studio apartment in purple and
brown for Veronica and a contemporary den for Ralph. The result is a great
reflection of their personalities. The playwright leaves us wondering what
Jackie's place looks like, as we never see it. “The Motherf**ker with the
Hat” is a very good show which is, at its core, about things that aren't
what they seem, and deciding which of our faults we're willing to live with.


 “The Motherf**ker with the Hat” plays at Dobama Theatre, 2340 Lee Road in
the West Wing of the Cleveland Heights Main Library, Thursdays at 7:30
p.m., Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m., and Sundays at 2:30 p.m. through
October 7. Tickets are available at *www.dobama.org* or by calling (216)
932-3396. The play contains adult situations, language, use of weapons and
violence.


Best,
mp

Marjorie Preston, President*
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