I already know what you're thinking. Especially if you're a family member or someone I once went to church with. WHAT IN THE WORLD IS THAT TITLE ABOUT?
Well, let me start by saying that this play would have turned you off. It had a lot of swearing, sex, and drug use. Literally, within the first 5 minutes the main female character (Veronica, played by Elizabeth Rodriguez) did a line off of a CD case. But if you can stomach adult themes/language, then dive in with me into a little review of this 8 time Tony-Nominated play.
The Story follows a brief period of the life of Jackie (played by Bobby Cannavale, Tony nominated and VERY deserved). He has just served two years in prison for dealing Meth and weed out of the apartment he shares with his girlfriend, Veronica, and comes in looking to turn things around for the better. Out on probation, he's found a job with the city and is going to get him and his girl a refrigirator and everything else they've ever dreamed of. He climbs into bed while Veronica primps in the bathroom, only to notice a hat sitting on the table. It's not his hate.
After a rage-filled screaming match, Jackie gathers his things and leaves to go and stay with his sponser, Ralph (Played by Chris Rock. Yes, THAT Chris Rock). We learn that Ralph is a bit of a douche, but someone who has gotten clean and is looking to help Jackie stay on track. Ralph's wife hates him, but its only revealed later just why. Jackie later decides to buy a gun, and threaten the man he believes is sleeping with his girlfriend. There is always one guy in the building who dresses real nice, talks real smooth, and looks around with shifty eyes: The motherfucker with the hat. So Jackie knocks on the door, knocks the man's hat to the floor, then shoots it.
Smooth right? Well, Jackie now goes to his cousin Julio who agrees to help Jackie and Ralph hide the gun, despite telling Jackie the inflated self image he has is dead wrong, and that "You're just not a very good person." Now living with Ralph, Jackie finds himself drinking and getting high with Ralph's wife one night while Ralph is out. After coming close to having it out, Victoria (Played by Anabella Sciorra) reveals that it's Ralph who has been sleeping with Veronica, and has been since he became Jackie's sponser while Jackie was in jail. Girded by his cousin, Jackie goes to confront Ralph. The two engage in a fight that ends quickly (Despite the fact that Chris Rock yeilds 100 pounds and what looks like several feet to mr. Cannavale) in a draw, leaving both men to converse in gasps on the floor. In the best moment of the play (in my opinion), Ralph reaches out to Jackie in a moment of true vulnerability, saying that aside from Jackie and his wife, Ralph doesnt have anyone who really knows him or considers him a friend. Ralph hopes that things can be okay, and admits that being sober has simply given him better means to take advantage of people. Jackie, however, rises triumphantly and says "I didn't get sober to live like that."
Jackie has to go back to jail for shooting the Motherfucker's hat (gun possesion violated his parole; who'dve guessed?), but before his vacation to Rikers he pays one last visit to Veronica to apologize. The play ends with her calling after him to no response.
So what did I think about all that? There was a nice article I read online about this show and the difficulties it faced in marketing. Well DUH. Broadway is, for the most part, a family-friendly attraction, and titles with the word "Fuck" aren't gonna fly on cable or in Newspapers. So understandably this show has not done all that well. Personally, I thought the plot development was a little spotty; there were scenes that needed more and scenes that needed less. It was a good story, but a little disjointed and overlong in places. How this got the nod for best play escapes me.
The acting was mostly good. I was invested in the story and pulling for the characters to succeed. But in the scenes that dragged it was seldom the text and more often the actors that let my interest wain. Julio (played by Yul Vazquez) did very little that was interesting vocally, and his one passionate monologue read like it was from a teleprompter. Bobby's work as Jackie shone out every time he was on stage, and brought out the best in the heated moments from both Chris and Elizabeth. My biggest technical concern were the voices. This show demanded a lot of screaming, and poor Elizabeth's neck looked like it was ready to explode every time. It must be the voice nerd in me, but I wanted to hang out by the stage door and beg them all to steam and Stemple after the show. Except Chris rock. Surprisingly his vocal presence sounded the healthiest and the most consistent, even if it wasn't always varied and interesting.
All in all, it was a good show, and anything with that many Tony nominations is worth seeing to form your own opinion. It was a decently written and performed show about the triumph of the human spirit over some pretty extreme odds, so in my book it gets *** out of *****. See it, but only if you get half priced booth tickets.
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