Laughter and Drama to Be Found in the “Hat”

Having completed his two-year jail sentence, a strapping and reformed Jackie (Tim C. Moan ’14) finally returns home to his longtime lover and fellow drug user, Veronica (Ema H. Horvath ’16). The couple—central to Stephen A. Guirgis’s “The Motherf**cker with the Hat”—is as loud and crass as the New York City neighborhood that they inhabit and as exhilarating and volatile as their substance-induced highs. But Jackie, now two years sober and a resolute adherent to his AA sponsor, Ralph (Dylan J. Peterson ’17), hopes to settle down with Veronica and chart a new course for their relationship.

Jackie’s return, however, is not the only surprise to face the couple. As Jackie discovers an unfamiliar hat in Veronica’s apartment, the worth of his reformation is cast into doubt when he assumes that she has cheated on him, and the ex-convict sets out to discover the truth about his relationship and find meaning in the world. At its heart “the play addresses the notion that loving someone doesn’t necessarily mean they should be in your life, and just because someone is in your life, that doesn’t mean you must love them,” director Simone E. Polanen ’14 says.

Horvath believes that aside from the entertaining aspects of her character and Jackie’s relationship, there is something substantial beneath their feverish, borderline-abusive, dynamic. “One of my acting teachers once told me that hate is the closest thing to love,” Horvath says. “It’s passionate in a way that most prim and proper relationships can’t be. It is cathartic for me, and I think it’ll be for the audience as well.”

But as the presence of Chris Rock in the play’s original cast might suggest, the production’s humor is no less significant than its drama. “I really just try not to think about it. Ralph is a bit of queer guy and says a lot of strange things, which are naturally pretty funny,” Peterson says, the role previously occupied by Rock.

Beyond the production’s rich plot and acting, Polanen delights in the play’s technical artistic accomplishments. “The set is pretty exciting,” Polanen says. “It’s comprised of three apartments, which are shown through three different platforms. And the space between the platforms features some graffiti and street art that’s quite colorful and creative.”

Though the realities of parole, drug addiction, and life in New York City slums may seem distant for many Harvard students, Moan trusts that it should not pose a problem. “The setting is something we may not be used to,” Moan says. “But the emotions…those are common to all of us.”

“The Motherf**cker with the Hat” will show in the Loeb Experimental Theater from March 7 to 14.