- By AC Remler
Fat Ham, a play that won the Pulitzer Prize for its comedic take on Hamlet, is making its West Coast Premiere at the Geffen Playhouse March 27-April 28.
Tragedy still takes center stage in this imaginative production by playwright James Ijames, which takes many pages from Shakespeare’s Hamlet but ventures even further in its commentary on trauma, violence, black masculinity, and queerness.
Fat Ham takes place at a backyard Southern barbecue wedding reception at which Juicy, a young, gay black man (our Hamlet character), is confronted by his father’s ghost, Pap, demanding that Juicy avenge his death.
We come to understand this family’s generational trauma: Juicy’s father killed a man for having bad breath, and his uncle killed his father to marry his mother. Pap tells Juicy, “I want you to catch that hog brother of mine by the snout and gut that mother&^er.”
Juicy represents a break in this cycle of violence: a real softy at his core who tries to convince his family to stop the madness and overcome their demons.
Fat Ham, which the New York Times called “a hilarious yet profound tragedy smothered in comedy,” first premiered in 2022 at The Public Theater as a co-production between National Black Theatre and The Public Theater. Of note, the Tony-nominated Broadway play won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama after only being seen via streaming because of the pandemic.
For tickets and more, click here.
