Fairfax's professional Hub Theatre continues to delve into delightfully complicated aspects of love by playwrights often new to the D.C. area. Now the Hub is bringing on Lauren Yee's play described as a "klezmer-inspired love triangle between a man, his wife and a hat."

Yee has received playwriting awards including the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival’s Paula Vogel award.

The Hub is always on the lookout for fresh ways to view "the complex and beautiful relationships we have with family, friends, and lovers,” said Helen Pafumi, Hub Theater artistic director." The narrative of the story ... is very magical and fantastical." There is original music to emphasize its sensibilities.

Veteran Director Shirley Serotsky (Hub's "Birds of a Feather") described "A Man, His Wife, and His Hat" as "charming and funny and surprising, and will make you think about the people you love, and how you love them."

Yet this play is far from a traditional love story. "The play defies expectations, and that’s a wonderful thing!" added Serotsky. It is a compelling play, with a squinted -eye look at love.

A key to the production is the original music composed by Eric Shimenolis. He indicated that the "playwright specifies the Klezmer inspired sounds of a clarinet, so there will certainly be that. There will also be beauty and romance, ugliness and quirk, and some accordion.

"It is hard to tell sometimes whether someone is laughing or crying—they can be such similar expressions on the outside. Klezmer music, like love, can blur the distinction between the two, and thus it is possible to be happy and sad in the exact same moment. This play explores that fine line."

Sasha Olinick is the man with the hat. While reading the script, "I simply couldn't stop laughing. With every scene the play gets funnier and weirder and more delightful. I'd call it a truly magical story that tells a magical truth—a truth about the human need for love, affection and appreciation."

"The playwright, Lauren Yee, seems to fully embrace the philosophy that in the theater, anything is possible," said Olinick.

Kristen Garaffo (Hub's "Big Love") is another key cast member ("Voice"). For Garaffo this is a play with heart and humor that can "make your heart your heart skip a beat." With its "world of talking walls, hats that make beautiful music, and memories in jars. Who wouldn't want to dive in?"