Review: David Cote ’92 Writes “Fat Ham Is a Well Done Pulitzer-Winning BBQ-Infused Interpretation of Hamlet”
Billy Eugene Jones and Marcel Spears in the New York premiere production of Pulitzer Prize Winner Fat Ham, written by James Ijames, co-produced by National Black Theatre and The Public Theater. Photo by Joan Marcus
Theater critic and writer David Cote ’92 reviews the New York premiere of Fat Ham, playwright James Ijames’s Pulitzer Prize–winning adaptation of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, for the Observer. Fat Ham follows the drama of a family-owned BBQ restaurant in North Carolina with Juicy, a college-aged son whose mother marries his uncle, as the contemporary Hamlet. The play premiered in April 2021 as a video performance directed by Morgan Green ’12. “Director Morgan Green and a wonderful ‘Covid bubble’ cast brought the saucy, unpredictable tale to vibrant life, and it was one of best things I saw all lockdown,” writes Cote. “Watching Fat Ham live at the Public Theater (co-produced by the National Black Theatre) with an equally spirited ensemble, I felt a similar reacquaintance with hope . . . Tragedy is supposed to induce catharsis, a purgation of the emotions (especially pity and fear). But comedy is just as purifying. As Juicy and his extended family celebrate their lives, their flesh, and their food, they reject the silence and embrace the noise.”
Post Date: 06-01-2022
Post Date: 06-01-2022