Anna D. Shapiro to Helm Public's THE MOTHERF**KER WITH THE HAT, Spring '11

The Public Theater (Artistic Director Oskar Eustis; Executive Director Andrew D. Hamingson) and LAByrinth Theater Company (Artistic Directors Stephen Adly Guirgis, Mimi O'Donnell, Yul Vázquez; Managing Director Danny Feldman) announced today that Tony Award winner Anna D. Shapiro (August: Osage County) will direct the world premiere of Stephen Adly Guirgis' THE MOTHERF**KER WITH THE HAT, scheduled to begin performances Spring 2011.

A new high-octane, verbal cage match about love, fidelity, and misplaced haberdashery from Stephen Adly Guirgis (Little Flower of East Orange; The Last Days of Judas Iscariot). Jackie and Veronica have been in love since the 8th grade. But now, Jackie is on parole and living clean and sober under the guidance of his sponsor, Ralph D, while still living and loving with his volatile soul mate Veronica who is fiercely loving, but far from sober. Still, their love is pure. And true. Nothing can come between them -- except a hat. Guirgis, as always, provides an eclectic and lively cast of characters seeking to "put away their childish things," and their collective quest -- and missteps -- result in one of Guirgis' most open-hearted, laugh-out-loud and poignant plays to date.

Stephen Adly Guirgis (Playwright) is the Co-Artistic Director of LAByrinth Theater Company, where all of his plays have world premiered. The Motherf**ker with the Hat marks his 3rd world premiere co-production with The Public Theater alongside The Little Flower of East Orange (2008), and The Last Days of Judas Iscariot (2005). His other plays include Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train, Our Lady of 121st Street, In Arabia, We'd All Be Kings, Den of Thieves, the one-act Dominca:The Fat Ugly Ho (E.S.T. Marathon 2006), and others.

Anna D. Shapiro (Director) won a Tony Award for her first Broadway production, Tracy Letts' Pulitzer Prize-winning August: Osage County. She is an ensemble member at Steppenwolf, where her directing credits include A Parallelogram by Bruce Norris, The Unmentionables by Bruce Norris (also at Yale Rep), the world premiere of Bruce Norris' The Pain and the Itch (also in New York), Robert Anderson's I Never Sang for My Father, the world premiere of Tracy Letts' Man from Nebraska, and others.

LAByrinth Theater Company (Artistic Directors Stephen Adly Guirgis, Mimi O'Donnell, Yul Vázquez; Managing Director Danny Feldman) was founded in 1992 by a group of actors who wanted to push their artistic limits and create new work that truly reflected their experiences in New York. LAByrinth continues to support multidisciplinary growth and exploration in the creation of vibrant new work that celebrates the diversity of our home city, and the inclusive ensemble now comprises 115 emerging and established theater artists from a wide array of cultural perspectives. LAByrinth and the Sydney Theatre Company are Associate Companies of London's Trafalgar Studios (Ambassador Theatre Group). Over 18 years, LAByrinth has developed hundreds of original works and has premiered 53 new American plays here in New York. www.LABtheater.org

The Public Theater (Oskar Eustis, Artistic Director; Andrew D. Hamingson, Executive Director) was founded by Joseph Papp in 1954 and is now one of the nation's preeminent cultural institutions, producing new plays, musicals, and productions of classics at its downtown headquarters and at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park. The Public's mandate to create a theater for all New Yorkers continues to this day onstage and through extensive outreach and education programs. Each year, over 250,000 people attend Public Theater-related productions and events at six downtown stages, including Joe's Pub, and Shakespeare in the Park. The Public has won 42 Tony Awards, 151 Obies, 41 Drama Desk Awards and four Pulitzer Prizes. The Public has brought 53 shows to Broadway, including Sticks and Bones; That Championship Season; A Chorus Line; The Pirates of Penzance; The Tempest; Bring In ‘Da Noise, Bring In ‘Da Funk; On the Town; The Ride Down Mt. Morgan; Topdog/Underdog; Elaine Stritch at Liberty; Take Me Out; Caroline, or Change; Well; Passing Strange; the Tony Award-winning revival of Hair; and, most recently, the rock musical Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson. www.publictheater.org

To post a comment, you must register and login.