Fat Ham

 B+

 

James Ijames’ very free riff on Hamlet has the distinction of winning the Pulitzer Prize for Drama before it was ever seen by a live audience. Because of the pandemic, it only existed as a filmed performance by Philadelphia’s Wilma Theater. Now it is in previews at the Anspacher Theater in a completely recast co-production of The Public Theater and the National Black Theatre. All the characters are contemporary Black Southerners celebrating a recent wedding at a barbecue. The Hamlet role is given to Juicy (Marcel Spears), a chubby, soft-spoken young gay man who is pursuing an online degree in human resources. The barbecue celebrates the wedding of his mother Tedra (Nikki Crawford) and her late husband’s brother Rev, only one week after Pap’s death. Pap’s ghost appears, first to Juicy’s friend Tio (as in Horatio; Chris Herbie Holland) and then to Juicy, whom he tells that Rev arranged his death, which Juicy must avenge by killing Rev. In a nice touch, the same actor (Billy Eugene Jones) plays both Rev and Pap. The other arriving guests include Rabby (Benia Kay Thomas), an old family friend, and her daughter Opal (Adrianna Mitchell) and son Larry (Calvin Leon Smith) as in Ophelia and Laertes. As the party progresses, we are treated to a sexy song by the voluptuous Tedra, a karaoke concert, a game of charades, and a lively dance number. It is hard to classify the play; I have settled on comedy with a few tragic overtones. Unlike Hamlet, the laughs are many and the body count is much lower. While there are underlying themes such as searching for one’s authentic self and living with joy rather than anger, the action is too lively to allow much time to ponder them. The production is first-rate -- the actors, scenic design by Maruti Evans, costumes by Dominique Fawn Hill, lighting by Stacey Derosier, and sound by Mikaal Sulaiman are all excellent, as is Saheem Ali’s direction. The audience was enthusiastic – at times too enthusiastic, drowning out some of the lines. My suggestion is just to sit back and enjoy the fun without worrying about verisimilitude or coherence. You won’t be bored. Running time: 100 minutes without intermission.