The Motherfucker With the Hat cast does a grittily great job, controversy aside

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      By Stephen Adly Guirgis. A Firehall Arts Centre production, presented in association with Haberdashery Theatre Company. At the Firehall Arts Centre on Thursday, January 21. Continues until January 30

      The language is spectacular and so is the acting.

      In The Motherfucker With the Hat, playwright Stephen Adly Guirgis’s dialogue flows like a waterfall—full of startling images, equally startling humour, and crazy, pounding rhythms.

      Jackie, a dealer, has just gotten out of jail and he’s clean. Jackie’s nuts about his girlfriend, Veronica, but in the opening scene he goes on a rampage in their apartment, sniffing a man’s hat that has mysteriously appeared, then the sheets. Veronica denies his accusations of infidelity, but Jackie demands, “Why the bed smell like Aqua Velva and dick?” The wildly defensive Veronica says that she would rather “kick a three-legged kitten down a flight of fuckin’ stairs” than tell Jackie that she loves him, but she insists, “You’re so far out of line you’re in Zimbabwe or some shit.”

      Jackie’s 12-step sponsor, Ralph D, is pushing the program, but he’s also pushing yoga, tofu, and the protein drinks he peddles. The great thing about The Motherfucker With the Hat is that nobody is as simple as they appear to be. As you watch it, your sympathies constantly shift. Is Veronica, who is actively using, better for Jackie than Ralph D with his nihilistic pragmatism?

      There has been some controversy about the casting of this production: in the end, only one of the three Latino characters is being played by a Latino actor. Clearly, representation of and employment for racial and ethnic minorities is important, and the discussion about Motherfucker has helped to raise awareness of these issues, which is great. And the cast that’s in place here does terrific work.

      Kyra Zagorsky’s Veronica is a creature of terrifying beauty. Veronica’s language is so brutal you start to think she’s got metal teeth, but Zagorsky’s complicated performance makes you believe Jackie when he says, “Her heart, it like goes to infinity.” There’s a scene between these two that will make you weep, and throughout, Stephen Lobo’s Jackie is a wonder of boyish and dangerous, gun-toting innocence.

      Ralph D, the sponsor, is the most complicated character in the script and John Cassini makes deep sense of his contradictions. Lori Triolo is strong as Ralph D’s wife, the furious Victoria. And Francisco Trujillo does decent work as Jackie’s gay Cousin Julio, who has the funniest line in the play. Listing his professional skills to Ralph D, he says that he offers rolfing and Brazilians, and “I’m also a notary public.” Performance-wise, there’s more humour and pathos to the character than Trujillo finds, though.

      Lauchlin Johnston’s graffiti-spattered set is perfect. And director Brian Markinson’s decision to ask percussionist Eric Banerd to rocket us through the transitions was inspired.

      Vivacious script. Acting shmacting. Go see this one.  

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