The Wall Street Journal's review wrote, "What makes "Hat" more than just a foul-mouthed, fast-moving farce is that Mr. Guirgis's real subject turns out to be moral relativism.
The impeccably sober Ralph D., who has swapped booze for fluorescent-colored nutritional beverages, preaches the gospel of AA with a convert's fervor, yet it doesn't stop him from doing whatever he wants to whomever he wants. Jackie, by contrast, has yet to master his self-destructive impulses, but at least he knows that the point of getting sober is not to become more efficient at taking advantage of other people: "Your—whaddyacallit—your world view? It ain't mine. And the day it is, that's the day I shoot myself in the head. I didn't get clean to live like that."... Don't let the stupid title put you off. If you do, you'll miss one of the best new plays to come to Broadway in ages."
Ben Brantley of The New York Times said, "The play that dare not speak its name turns out to have a lot to say. Stephen Adly Guirgis’s vibrant and surprisingly serious new comedy opened on Monday night at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theater under a title that cannot be printed in most daily newspapers or mentioned on network television. This is vexing for those of us who would like to extol the virtues of “The ___________ With the Hat,” at least in public. (The title also seems to have created problems for the people trying to publicize the play.) This is by far the most accomplished and affecting work from the gifted Mr. Guirgis, a prolific and erratic chronicler of marginal lives."
The New York Post gave mixed reactions: "In his Broadway debut, Chris Rock plays Ralph D., the AA sponsor of Bobby Cannavale's Jackie. They share some heavy scenes -- red-blooded, profanity-laden bouts -- but Rock is a lightweight: The more experienced, more assured Cannavale knocks him out without even trying. This is a big problem because Stephen Adly Guirgis' new dark comedy, "The Motherf**ker with the Hat," pivots on the evolving relationship between the two. Rock's tentative performance creates an imbalance that throws the show out of whack."
In reviewing the production, Marilyn Stasio (Variety) wrote, "... Anna D. Shapiro [is] an entirely worthy helmer, [but] doesn't seem to speak the same theatrical language as the [cast]." Scott Brown in New York gave a negative review, saying, "But the play really doesn’t have the heft to earn the death of hope, nor does it have the stones or the seriousness to declare hope officially dead. Motherf**ker mainly concerns itself with a lot of big, mordant laughs ... yet overall, the play feels jumpy and scant.
I give up--I submit..the dumbing down of America is in full throttle.. now this will help me with marketing..knowing that we need to "speak down" to get attention. I guess this is an "oh, well" --and am going to see the play!
Posted By: Marta Fernandez
Monday, April 25th 2011 at 9:17AM
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