A very impressive en semble cast has come together for Stephen Adly Guirgis‘ new play “The Motherf – – – er With the Hat” — hereafter known, for obvious reasons, as “Hat.”
Bobby Cannavale, Elizabeth Rodriguez, the gorgeous Annabella Sciorra and Yul Vazquez will star in this ferocious play about love and addiction, which opens April 11 at the Schoenfeld Theatre.
Wait a minute: I’ve left somebody out. Also in the cast is one Chris Rock, a comedian, I believe, who’s also had some success in the movies. He’ll be making his Broadway debut.
I hear Rock delivered impressive performances in secret readings of the play this summer, and once theatergoers discover him, box-office sales should be somewhere in the neighborhood of “Fences” with Denzel Washington – i.e., the stratosphere.
Anna D. Shapiro is directing. She won the Tony a few years ago for her brilliant production of “August: Osage County.”
The producer is Scott Rudin, who’s cornered the market on fine plays with big stars. He picked up a Tony last season for the “Fences” revival. This season, he’s lined up Ben Stiller for a revival of John Guare‘s “The House of Blue Leaves”; next year, he’s producing “Death of a Salesman,” with Philip Seymour Hoffman and “Sweet Bird of Youth” with Nicole Kidman.
Like MGM in the ’40s, Rudin has “more stars than there are in the heavens.”
His co-producers on “Hat” are the Public Theater, the LAByrinth Theater Company and Stuart Thompson.
“Hat” is about a couple — Jackie (Cannavale) and Veronica (Rodriguez) — who’ve been in love with each other since the eighth grade. After years of struggling with drugs and alcohol, Jackie has gotten sober with the help of his AA sponsor, Ralph D. (Rock). Veronica, however, is still in the throes of addiction.
This makes for a volatile relationship — and a play that crackles with fiery, brutal dialogue.
A source who attended one of the readings of “Hat” says: “It’s high-octane, a real barrage of invective. The funny role is really Cannavale’s, not Rock’s. He’ll get laughs, I’m sure, but it’s a role for a real actor, and it will be interesting to see him creating a character that is not himself.”
“Hat” came together when Rock told Rudin (they’ve been friends for years) he wanted to do a play in New York. He attended the opening of “Fences” and was, says a source, knocked out by the play and the cast.
But Rock was adamant about one thing: He wanted his show to be an ensemble production, not a star vehicle.
“Chris does not want to be singled out as ‘the star,’ ” says a source. “He wanted a good part, and he wanted to work with good actors. Scott delivered on both fronts.”
“Hat,” which begins previews March 22, will play a limited run of just 14 weeks.
The police barricades are already going up by the stage door of the Schoenfeld.
QUICK hits:
* Elaine Stritch, looking a little babushka-ish with a Hermes scarf covering her curlers, is in fine form tonight on “Theater Talk,” the show I co-host with Susan Haskins on WNET/PBS. She talks about starring in “A Little Night Music” and explains why, unlike other actors in her age range, she refuses to be fed lines through an earpiece.
“The day I do that is the day I get out of the bleep bleep business!”
* Donny and Marie Osmond are coming to Broadway in a Christmas show. Eve Plumb is starring in “Miss Abigail’s Guide to Dating, Mating, and Marriage.” And now comes word that the great Charo is joining the cast of “Girl Talk.”
The Love Boat must be in town!