Vortex gets that Motherf**ker with the hat

Photo Provided By: The Vortex Theatre

The gleefully foul-mouthed play, “The Motherf**ker with the Hat,” is coming to Albuquerque for the first time later this month.

“Motherf**ker” will open on March 22 at the Vortex theatre and run for three weekends.

“The play is a chal­lenging, well-writ­ten and very funny examination of the choices we make about love. In many ways a coming of age story, the play is raw, yet deeply familiar and human,” Director Leslee Richards said.

The play is set in a blue-collar Puerto Rican community in New York City and is an intense verbal cage match about love, fidelity and a mis­placed hat, she said.

Elliot Stenzel, who plays antagonist Ralph, said the life-like char­acters struggle with problems that are familiar to most people.

“We all have flaws in our personality and how you manage those throughout life can dictate how well you do,” he said.

The off-putting title and the show itself is a reflection of modern American life, he said.

Efrain Villa, who plays supporting char­acter Julio, said the play will strike a differ­ent chord for everyone because it touches on many topics like fear, loneliness and addiction.

“In many ways this play is about how people can get stuck in really bad cycles and how difficult it is to pull yourself out of that cycle, he said.

The 2011 play was written by Stephen Adly Guirgis and was nominated for six Tony awards. It centers on Jackie, a former drug dealer out on parole, and his relationship with his long-time girlfriend Veronica. When Jackie finds another man’s hat in his girl­friend’s apartment, he is convinced she has been cheating and swears to find the motherf**ker who owns the hat.

There is a content advisory for the per­formance, which is for ages 18 and over.

“The Motherf**ker with the Hat”

Scheduled to run

• March 22 to April 14,
• 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays
• 2 p.m. on Sundays.

General admission | $18

Student rush tickets five minutes before the curtain if seats are available | $10

Pay-What-You-Will | Sunday, March 24.

Audience Talkback | Sunday, April 7.