Juicy is a queer, Southern college kid, already grappling with some serious questions of identity, when the ghost of his father shows up in their backyard, demanding that Juicy avenge his murder. But here’s the rub! Revenge doesn’t come easy to Juicy, a sensitive and self-aware young Black man in search of his own happiness and liberation. From an uproarious family cookout emerges a compelling examination of love and loss, pain and joy. The deliciously funny, Pulitzer Prize-winning play from James Ijames and director Saheem Ali reinvents Shakespeare’s masterpiece.
The play is a compact 95 minutes, but it’s as dense and thoughtful as it is light on its feet and irreverent. Tio (Chris Herbie Holland), a modern-day echo of Horatio, begins the play by trying to figure out if the world of porn is for him, and later delivers an extremely passionate soliloquy-when-high about the sexual pleasures of getting down with gingerbread men.
Excellently performed by the entire cast, Fat Ham is cleverly transferred to Broadway by director Saheem Ali from the smaller Off Broadway Public Theater space (the play originated in a Covid-era filmed presentation at the Wilma Theater in Philadelphia). By turns sweet and saucy (and very funny), the play stays just close enough to Hamlet to keep us off-balance. Although there will be blood (well, a little) and death, along with a fine rendition of Radiohead’s “Creep” and recitations of at least some of Hamlet‘s greatest hits – no To Be or Not To Be, though, as Juicy’s self-doubts are of a less existential sort – Ijames’ play resolves on an exhilarating, life-affirming note. Or, to be more precise, notes, as in song, and dance, and enough good-time gender-bending disco sparkle to win over all but the grumpiest of spirits.
Digital Rush
Price: $39
Where: On the Today Tix app.
When: Released on a first-come, first-served basis every performance day at 9 AM.
Limit: Two per customer
Information: Subject to availability.
2022 | Off-Broadway |
Public Theater Off-Broadway Premiere Production Off-Broadway |
2023 | Broadway |
Original Broadway Production Broadway |
Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominee |
---|---|---|---|
2023 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Play | James Ijames |
2023 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Sound Design of a Play | Mikaal Sulaiman |
2023 | Drama League Awards | Outstanding Production of a Play | Fat Ham |
2023 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | John Gassner Award for New American Play | James Ijames |
2023 | Tony Awards | Best Costume Design of a Play | Dominique Fawn Hill |
2023 | Tony Awards | Best Direction of a Play | Saheem Ali |
2023 | Tony Awards | Best Lighting Design of a Play | Bradley King |
2023 | Tony Awards | Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play | Nikki Crawford |
2023 | Tony Awards | Best Play | Fat Ham |
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