While the title alone draws you in, “The Motherf**ker with the Hat,” the first installment in the Binghamton University theatre department’s Mainstage season, doesn’t stop with that. As each twisted character struggles with their equally twisted lives, this sharp, profane and passionate story holds its own from the first line until curtain call.

Beginning with the first scene of the play, you get the sense that “The Motherf**ker with the Hat” is not your typical stage production. In a shabby apartment, Jackie is fresh out of jail and exuberant over seeing his longtime coked-up girl, Veronica. As Jackie struggles with addiction, anger, temptation and the motherf**ker with the hat, he turns to his squeaky clean, smoothie-loving, Bible-hugging Alcoholics Anonymous sponsor and outlandish cousin to cope.

The show takes dark twists and turns, spiraling down Jackie’s life path led by his intense jealousy, addiction and heavy baggage from his tumultuous past. Over the course of the show, he unloads these on his equally destructive company, characters with immense depth. Their lives come unraveled, spilling out onto the stage of Studio A in the Fine Arts Building as each of the characters tries their best to wriggle away from the grip of their vices and each of their addictive personalities pinning them to more than just their substances.

One audience member, Desborne Villaruel, a senior majoring in business administration, was drawn in by the show’s title.

“I was just like, ‘Oh my god, like this sounds interesting, this sounds different from what you would usually think of a scene play,’” Villaruel said. “I was like, ‘You know what, let me give this a chance because this sounds … “in.”’”

The script is by far the biggest star of the show, with the harsh language granting the show a sense of unmatched authenticity. Each line and each silence lingers in the air, pushing forward the story of the five characters and their relationships with each other and their vices. Every scene comes packed with punchlines and quick, dark wit, yet simultaneously addresses societal and interpersonal issues through each interaction.

The show’s director, Carol Hanscom, an adjunct lecturer in the theatre department, was initially drawn to the show because of the title, but it was the language that kept her engaged,

“I was immediately struck by the extraordinary beauty of the way [playwright] Guirgis puts language together,” she said. “[He] strings words together into language that is almost poetic — although profane, yes — but poetic too. He has things like when Victoria says, ‘Let’s fuck like mad dogs chasing heartache,’ and the imagery in that line along with the flow of the sounds of the line just is so striking to me and so beautiful.”

The delivery from the actors in this performance combined with a whip-smart, inquisitive script opens a window into the lives of young addicts and makes for an uncommon take on relevant issues with growing up, love and life. The show’s relevance transcends generations, making it a must-see in its last week.

“I think the play is about so many things that touch everybody’s lives,” Hanscom said. “I think everybody is touched by addiction, whether it be a friend or a parent or a family member or whatever, all of our lives are touched by that and affected by it. It’s dark, certainly, but it’s a very, very funny play. So, I think students should come and see it because it’s something they’re not going to expect at all when they walk through the door.”

“The Motherf**ker with the Hat” has its remaining performances on October 19, 20, 21, 22 at 8 p.m. and October 22 and 23 at 2 p.m. in Studio A of the Fine Arts Building. Tickets are available at the box office located in the Anderson Center for the Performing Arts and online.