Fat Ham by James Ijames, is a riotous pairing of modern life and Shakespearian notions of tragedy. More specifically, it is a very loose retelling of Hamlet set in a backyard Barbeque with most of the characters (all of whom are African-American with many of them also Queer) yearning to be someone else. The action begins with a despondent Juicy (Trumane Alston) hanging with his best friend Tio (Victor Musoni). Juicy we learn is still mourning the recent death of his incarcerated father. Juicy also is trying to make sense of his mother’s recent marriage to his uncle which is soon to be celebrated in his backyard. Despite this though everything mostly seems OK until Pap (Ronald L. Conner who also plays the sinister uncle) arrives as a ghost asking for his murder to be avenged.
From this point the plot diverges greatly from its classic source material. For starters, Juicy would never be mistaken for the Prince of Denmark. Rather he is a sad sack kind of a guy taking online college courses in hopes of someday having a career in Human Resources. Juicy is also more than a little reluctant to take on this avenging business in large part due to the strained relationship he had with his father. Pap, we quickly learn, never accepted his son’s sexuality. Pap also is a complicated figure; a murderer whose plight is perhaps the direct result of family trauma stemming from generation after generation being either imprisoned or enslaved.
The party begins and soon we meet several family members each of whom are fated to play a role in Juicy’s slow awakening of self. Foremost among them are his cousins Opal (Ireon Roach) and Larry (Sheldon D. Brown) with whom he has a mutual attraction toward. There is also Opal and Larry’s overbearing mom Rabby (E. Faye Butler) as well as Juicy’s mom (Anji White). Without exception this is a very talented and energetic cast with E. Faye Butler especially effective as the over-the-top Aunt. Director Tyrone Phillips keeps everything on stage loose to the point where I cannot remember laughing as much as I did here. A few of the more poignant onstage moments also land well with Trumane Alston’s performance of Radio Head’s “Creep” memorable for its frank expression of vulnerability.
Alas though not everything on stage works as well. This is a very ambitious play and at times character development appears sacrificed in order to tackle the family’s many, many slings of outrageous fortune. It also seems at time that the framing of this story as a partial retelling of Hamlet restricts the play more than it enhances (ay, there’s the rub). Regardless, this is a very clever, often insightful and also very funny drama that is likely to give some pause to these coming dark times. Noel Schecter
Fat Ham is recommended and is playing now through March 2 at the Goodman Theatre (170 North Dearborn). Tickets are $25-$85 and can be purchased here or by calling (312) 443-3800.
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