By Barbara Smith, Contributing Writer
Consider what your life would be like if you chose pleasure over harm. This is just one of the deep thoughts to chew on in “Fat Ham,” James Ijames 5 Tony-nominated play, now showing at the Old Globe’s Shiley Stage. Murder, betrayal, family strife are all served up in this modern-day take on “Hamlet,” which, in the hands of director Sideeq Heard and a compelling 8-character cast, is at once mesmerizing, haunting, and hilarious.
The play opens as a collection of folks in the South gathers for a backyard BBQ. Juicy (Ṣọla
Fadiran), a Black queer man, is preparing to celebrate the marriage of his recently widowed
mother Tedra (Felicia Boswell) to his uncle Rev (Ethan Henry), when he is visited by his father’s ghost (also Ethan Henry), who demands that he avenge his death.
Hmm, if this plotline suggests a Shakespeare-ish set-up, you are right on track. But in the hands of Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Ijames, the classic “Hamlet” is ingeniously contemporized, moving it to a Black community with each of the characters dealing with secrets, issues of identity and how to navigate their way within their family and the world.
“The genius of Shakespeare is you take the beautiful plot structure and context that he developed and set it anywhere, and suddenly it becomes fresh and new over and over again,” offers director Heard.
Fresh, new, and over-the-top just begins to describe the wild romp that ensues. Juicy tries to maintain some equilibrium and entertain, while each of the party guests bring their own brand of dramedy to the party. We learn Juicy’s father Pap, a thug, has been killed in prison. Now his widow Tedra is ready to get her groove back on, marrying Pap’s brother Rev, a player out for his own pleasure and profit. More guests arrive to the backyard fete: Rabby (Yvette Cason), decked out in flamboyant purple church attire and hat; her daughter Opal (m), unhappily wearing a dress since she prefers pants; her son Larry (Tian Richards), in starched Marine uniform, stiff and somber; and clownish and hugely entertaining Tio (Xaviar Pacheco), who enjoys partaking in mind-altering substances.
It’s an afternoon filled with small talk, deep revelations, games, karaoke, the best dying scene ever (don’t ask, I won’t tell who) and culminating in an absurdly joyful disco party that had the audience on their feet.
Acting in this play is stellar. Characters riff off each other in a terrific balance of dramatic tension and comical farce. Ṣọla Fadiran’s Juicy was stellar. He was at once tender and when the moment called for it, assertive with just the right amount of power drawn from a growing sense of his own identity. Felicia Boswell as Tedra, be-lipsticked and outfitted in form-fitting sequined denim, takes the stage by storm. Ethan Henry’s skillful portrayal of the loud, coarse and unforgivingly cruel Rev, through whom we learn of the devastating generational cycle of violence that haunts their family, is riveting. Henry’s double role as Pap’s ghost, emerging then disappearing in a puff of smoke, is impressive. M’s Opal is by turns endearing and off-putting, convincingly conflicted as she struggles with her own sexual identity. Yvette Cason, Tian Richards, and Xaviar Pacheco all fill their characters with spectacular energy. Special kudos to Maruti Evans (Scenic Design), Dominique Fawn Hill (Costume Design), and Bradley King (Lighting Design) for magical séance-inspired
scenes that transport.
“Fat Ham” is satisfying, energizing, uplifting, even celebratory. It innovatingly turns a lens on intersections of Black identity, queer love, and church culture with new perspectives that may foster understanding and acceptance in the Black community and the world at large. So much is packed into the hour and fifty minutes, one might yearn to see it again to absorb the many levels of truth beneath the entertaining comedy. And who could argue with Tio’s simple summing up: “See if you can find a place to be happy for yourself. Build a new world.” For ticket information, visit www.theoldglobe.org.
