Fat Ham: an exuberant Hamlet with barbecue and karaoke
22 Feb 2025 - Photos by Dahlia Katz

Hamlet is seemingly infinitely mutable. It has been, in my limited experience, performed as a ballet, a rock concert, in sign language, and of course in traditional dress, all of which worked and each of which brought something new to a familiar and complicated text. But Fat Ham has to be the most exuberant production yet. While a play in its own right—there are significant deviations from the Shakespearean template—Fat Ham doesn't just wink at being based on Hamlet, it brazenly announces that it is and functions as a commentary, critique and ribald update. There are jokes when famous quotes pop up in conversation, twisting the meaning sometimes as merely comic references, and the bard himself is invoked and dissed. But most of all the fourth wall is broken and Juicy, Peter Fernandes (The Bidding War, Kelly v Kelly, Fifteen Dogs, Rose, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Romeo and Juliet, Love and Information, King Lear, Onegin) in the Hamlet role, is aware of the structure and its seeming inevitable conclusion. He stands center stage, spot lit while the rest fades to murkiness, and delivers chunks of the famous monologues with style. That they may be in a different context or altered does not matter—the "what a piece of work is man" monologue in particular is an extraordinary plumbing of text while building on a subtext—Juicy is Hamlet and Fernandes does Shakespeare proud.

The setting is a backyard barbecue to celebrate the wedding of Juicy's mother Tedra (Raven Dauda) to his uncle Rev (David Alan Anderson). From there the plot closely matches the plot of Hamlet, including the requisite ghost and a delirious sexual spin on the gravedigger, until the climax which is an euphoric surprise despite the broad and wistful subtext. The barbecue feast looks, and smells, wonderful—the audience salivates beyond the theatrical treats on view—and the party atmosphere frays around the edges. Dauda, who is a sexy hurricane constantly threatening a wardrobe malfunction, performs a roof-raising karaoke number that serves as set-up for a star turn by Fernandes, who is tired of a life of "pig guts and bad choices." Starting sotto voce he builds a karaoke rendition of Radiohead's "Creep" into not only a showstopper, but also a mini-summation of the darker themes of Hamlet and a comprehensive deep dive into the character of Hamlet. It is a tour de force epic barely contained by a pop song. He is ably assisted, but not distracted by or upstaged by, a volatile and athletically inspired electric dance performance by Opal, Virgilia Griffith (Rosmersholm, Queen Goneril, King Lear, Betrayal, Iphigenia and the Furies, Harlem Duet, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, The Wedding Party, They Say He Fell).

While the twists and adaptations, the music and the comedy, make for what seems like an upbeat riff on the tragedy, Fat Ham twists on itself and the tragedy becomes piercing. Not only is a family in shambles, but so is an entire society struggling to survive. Setting Hamlet within a family almost crushed by the economy and racial barriers instead of royalty, gives a  resonance and identification that pulls the audience in. A lot of this is due to Fernandes who dampens his usual charisma and buoyancy to present a Hamlet who is depressed and conflicted. Yes, that is the typical portrayal of the Dane, but this Hamlet has bite and when Fernandes snaps it stings. Yet even in repose, side stage sprawled in angst, he still manages to hold not only focus, but the production together. And he has remarkable performances spinning around him. Dauda is hilarious, sensual, and there is a big heart barely hidden by her tacky exterior. Anderson is continually coiled and occasionally vicious. And makes an uproarious undead '70s throwback, menace lurking under Jheri curl. Nehassalu deGannes as Rabby may be morally upright but when she bends it is an indelible comic moment. Jesus is repeatedly thanked in a farcical grace before dining, but playwright James Ijames is more intrigued with the crimes of the heart done in the name of Jesus.

Tony Ofori (A Public Reading of an Unproduced Screenplay About the Death of Walt Disney, Wildwoman, Fall On Your Knees, Copy That, Bunny) as Tio is a stoner porn-obsessed Horatio and his physical comedy skills get a workout as he emulates, "I'm limber," sex work. But he also has a stunning and uproarious monologue that takes video games and blow jobs, to a bizarrely erotically comic level. The monologue is also an important clue to a subtext that is not often explored, certainly not so emphatically, in productions of Hamlet. It is never clear what role Tio plays in his sexual mimicry, many contortions are explicitly bottomish, but his taste for gingerbread swings in a surprising direction. Opal wearing a dress and announces that "I like girls." Tawiah M'Carthy (Sankofa: The Soldier's Tale Retold, Here Lies Henry, Sizwe Banzi is Dead, Maanomaa My Brother, Obaaberima, Black Boys) as Larry, initially plays vapid as a sexual fantasy army cadet who then shares a tender and heartbreakingly beautiful moment with Juicy. The chemistry sizzles with regret. Tedra asks Juicy about his orientation and his ambiguity as Hamlet is reflected in his responses. Director Philip Akin (Heroes of the Fourth Turning, Maanomaa, My Brother, Pass Over) makes the subtext clear but never overplays his hand, making the finale something beyond cathartic. The tragedy remains but it has been transformed into exuberance. A tragedy but also and explosion of hope.