Fat Ham review: The juiciest parts of Hamlet smothered in comedy and pathos
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Beethoven's "Symphony No. 5" is considered one of the most recognizable and influential pieces of music created in history.
In 1976, Walter Murphy and the Big Apple Band scored a No. 1 hit with "A Fifth of Beethoven," off the blockbuster Saturday Night Fever soundtrack. Murphy adapted the first movement of "Symphony No. 5" (you know, the duh-duh-duh-DUUUUUH), threw some disco bells and whistles behind it, and brought a 168-year-old composition squarely into the 20th century, reflecting the exact moment in time of its release. The Saturday Night Fever soundtrack is in the National Recording Registry of the Library of Congress for its cultural significance.
Fat Ham is like A Fifth of Shakespeare. James Ijames' Pulitzer Prize-winning play takes Hamlet — one of the Bard's most quoted, performed, and adapted plays — and brings it squarely into the now, reflecting the exact moment we're in, for better or for worse. The Broadway production, directed by Saheem Ali, premieres April 12 at the American Airlines Theater in NYC.
Joan Marcus Nikki Crawford, Billy Eugene Jones, Benja Kay Thomas, Marcel Spears, Adrianna Mitchell, and Calvin Leon Smith in 'Fat Ham'
Fat Ham isn't a line-for-line recreation of Hamlet, which is also Shakespeare's longest play. Instead, we get 95 minutes, no intermission, chockablock with allusions to the tragedy of the Danish prince and with the general structure of the story, but through the eyes of Juicy (Marcel Spears), described as a young, "thicc, "beautiful," and "lonely" queer Black man living in the middle of nowhere trying to imagine a life somewhere — anywhere but under the oppressive gaze of his Uncle Rev (Billy Eugene Jones), who has just replaced the oppressive gaze of his father Pap (also Jones) by marrying Juicy's mother Tedra (Nikki Crawford).
Fat Ham has all the reckless, pointless violence of Hamlet — Pap is imprisoned for cutting a man's throat because his breath stank, and Pap is in turn shanked on his way to lunch. It perhaps lacks the poeticism of some poison in the ear, but who's out here murdering their siblings like that anymore? Whereas Hamlet idolized his father, Juicy feared his; Pap couldn't accept how "soft" Juicy was, both in terms of his appearance and his demeanor. Even as a ghost, Pap tries to beat his only son, but there are corporeal rules against that sort of thing.
Joan Marcus Marcel Spears and Billy Eugene Jones in 'Fat Ham'
This dynamic turns Fat Ham into a meditation on masculinity and generational trauma. Juicy feels no need to live up to his father, but he does want to avoid becoming like him. When Pap's ghost demands Juicy avenge his murder — orchestrated by Rev — by killing his uncle, Juicy basically tells him, "You got the wrong gurl, sir." Still, he spends the rest of the play contemplating murder, because Pap was his father and the bonds between a gay son and his straight father run deep and ragged.
Of course, Juicy is no prince and Pap was no king; he owned a barbecue restaurant. They're not poor, more like lower middle class. Pap pawned Tedra's wedding ring to buy a freezer for the restaurant. Tedra and Rev depleted Juicy's college fund to redo their bathroom, forcing him to drop out of the University of Phoenix. Yeah, the online one. Juicy, Rev, Pap, and Tedra, theirs is the American Dream deferred. When Juicy asks Tedra if she's happy, she asks "What's happy?"
Joan Marcus
She went from her father's house to her husband's house, and she married Rev because what else was she supposed to do? Juicy hopes to be happy, even if that means studying human resources at the University of Phoenix. Online.
Reducing the scale of Hamlet to a backyard barbecue over the course of one afternoon strips the tragedy of a lot of the nuance — but the tragedy remains. The Great American Tragedy is slavery and its lasting effects, which can still be felt in every corner of society — particularly in class structure — and can still be weaponized in the battle against equity and progress, and can still negatively affect multiple generations. Juicy's family is a product of the society in which they live, but Juicy strives to be something else while remaining utterly himself.
Joan Marcus Marcel Spears and Calvin Leon Smith in 'Fat Ham'
His softness is his saving grace. Larry (Calvin Leon Smith), the Laertes of this play, tells him as much. He's a square-jawed, straight-laced Marine suffering from PTSD and he wishes he could be soft like Juicy, wishes he could possess him to make him feel whole. Juicy rejects the American tragedies of toxic masculinity, our never-ending cycle of violence, the limited expectations placed on him by his race and class.
Oh, and it's a comedy.
That's the rub. Hamlet is an orgy of sadness and death — (400-year-old spoiler!) literally every major character, except Horatio, dies at the end. Ijames infuses comedy, songs, and visual gags into Fat Ham, which is probably the most delightful the story of the Danish prince has ever been. The characters are vibrant. The cast is uniformly great, particularly Nikki Crawford's electric Tedra and Benja Kay Thomas' Rabby, a liquor-loving woman of God who's a stand-in for the much less-fun Polonius.
Joan Marcus Adrianna Mitchell and Benja Kay Thomas in 'Fat Ham'
Crawford brings a lively desperation to the would-be queen of this backyard barbecue and thanks to a karaoke machine (of course, there's a karaoke machine), she gets to do a number: Crystal Waters' immortal '90s house bop "100% (Pure Love)." Spears, in turn, gets a shot at the spotlight, performing Radiohead's classic "Creep." For the duration of the song, the entire play turns into a Hulu series where a character gets to emote their feelings through karaoke (why is it always karaoke?).
That's always been one of my least favorite storytelling devices, a character revealing their innermost thoughts while also revealing themselves to be, won't you know it, an amazing singer. This is Broadway, so it feels more natural in Fat Ham. Though I can't help thinking it also felt a little lazy. And the ending seemed a bit tacked on to me. Still, I left the theater thoroughly entertained. It ends on such a high note, I couldn't help but be in a good mood, even if something felt amiss.
Marc J. Franklin 'Fat Ham' on Broadway
Some of the jokes felt forced, particularly with the character Tio (Chris Herbie Holland). Holland has some good moments — he's great, and at times necessary, comic relief — but the surprisingly astute stoner schtick felt tired at times, even in Ijames' capable hands. And at 95 minutes, the brisk pace of the play keeps things moving smoothly, but I wonder if that also keeps the audience from thoroughly engaging with the characters.
Fat Ham also employs some Shakespearean techniques — Juicy loves an aside and the characters frequently break the fourth wall — even employing at times language from Hamlet in Juicy's monologues, to varying degrees of success. Which is all to say, I really like this play, even though I kept thinking, This is a Hamlet for the streaming age. For the attention span, in the language of, and with the energetic flair of a Netflix or Amazon or Hulu series… but on Broadway. That's not necessarily a bad thing — unless you hate streaming shows.
Joan Marcus Adrianna Mitchell, Chris Herbie Holland and, Marcel Spears in 'Fat Ham'
Though Fat Ham is a retelling of Hamlet, it stands on its own merit. You don't have to go in knowing anything about the 400-year-old play — I certainly didn't. I know, I know. Sacrilege. There have been so many iterations of Hamlet over the past four centuries, how could I have missed it? Well, the thing is, Hamlet is so ingrained in our culture that everyone feels like they've seen it, even if they haven't. "To be or not to be" (which Fat Ham wisely avoids repeating). "Alas, poor Yorick." "To thine own self be true." It's like the greatest hits of English literature all in one play.
Which is why Fat Ham feels so fresh and clever. Ijames could have easily transposed Hamlet beat by beat, or pulled a Baz Luhrmann and have his modern-day characters speak in Iambic pentameter (a couple of monologues notwithstanding). But Ijames' characters are as American as pulled pork and baby back ribs, which emphasizes the universality of Shakespeare's work. The credo of Fat Ham is that famous quote about being true to thine own self. That advice was given to Laertes, not Hamlet, who probably could've used it. Juicy, however, follows it to a tee.
To take one of the most definitive and hallowed works in English literature and retell it as a comedy about a young, thicc, queer Black boy in the South is revolutionary in its own way, but like "A Fifth of Beethoven," there's a bit of a novelty to Fat Ham, which may say more about the culture in which we live than the play itself. B+
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