THE STORY: 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.
“Stephen Adly Guirgis is our new reigning poet of the obscene…He’s a master when it comes to creating cranky New Yorkers whose uninhibited talking jags reveal far more about them than they ever intended; more than any other contemporary playwright, his dialogue crackles with profane comedy that, no matter how stylized, seems absolutely true of his characters…Focusing on the challenges of recovery from addiction and what he sees as a fundamental disconnect between men and women, Guirgis spins a comic tragedy out of a situation that would almost certainly be described by one of his characters as totally f-ked up.” —Lighting and Sound America.
“Guirgis, a brilliant comedic talent…also has an original and knowing take on class, particularly as it plays out among the bottom-of-the-barrel working-class poor, who are virtually invisible to the wealthier men and women around them. 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.” —The New Yorker.
“It’s 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.
