The Artistic and Stage Life of the Cast of "The Motherf**ker with the Hat"

Larry Bates, Elisa Bocanegra, Cristina Frias, Tony Sancho and Christian Barillas.

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The characters in The Motherf**ker with the Hat have relationships and connections that are deeply rooted in their shared past, which led them to the circumstances of the play. Jackie and Veronica, friends since eighth grade and lovers since high school, have their mutual trust put to the test when Jackie discovers another man’s hat in Veronica’s apartment. He turns to Ralph D, his AA sponsor, for help, but Jackie finds something out that he can’t forgive. Even Ralph D’s wife, Victoria, has had it with Ralph, so she tries to drag Jackie into the couple’s relationship problems. And Jackie turns to his Cousin Julio for help. The complex and riveting characters created by playwright Stephen Adly Guirgis are one reason that The Motherf**ker with the Hat has earned praise.

The show’s cast has past connections as well that tie them together. Christian Barillas, who plays the role of Cousin Julio, just appeared as Young Ebenezer in SCR’s production of A Christmas Carol. He also originated the role of Alvaro in Octavio Solis’ Lydia at Denver Center Theater Company. Coincidentally, actor Tony Sancho—who plays Jackie in The Motherf**ker with the Hat—appeared in Lydia at Center Theatre Group’s Mark Taper Forum in 2009.

Tony has a deep history with the role of Jackie in The Motherf**ker with the Hat: he read the role at the 2009 Ojai Playwrights Conference. At SCR, he’s working again with director Michael John Garcés, who directed Tony in a production of Need Theatre’s The Web. Tony isn’t the only actor to have worked with this show’s director. Garcés also directed Cristina Frias—who plays Ralph D’s wife Victoria—in a production of Placas: The Most Dangerous Tattoo at the San Francisco International Arts Festival in last September.

Speaking of Ralph D, he’s portrayed by longtime SCR actor Larry Bates. His most recent performances at SCR include the co-production with Pasadena Playhouse of August Wilson’s Jitney, Suzan-Lori Parks’ Topdog/Underdog, and the 2010 revival of Sideways Stories from Wayside School. This last production, for SCR’s Theatre for Young Audiences program in 2004, featured actress Elisa Bocanegra, who plays Jackie’s girlfriend Veronica in The Motherf**ker with the Hat.

Learn more about The Motherf**ker with the Hat and see this cast on the Julianne Argyros Stage, starting Jan. 6, 2013