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FAT HAM
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CRITIC’S PICK: Fat Ham, Alliance Theatre — Playwright James Ijames has given Shakespeare’s Hamlet a modern twist in what The New York Times called “a hilarious yet profound tragedy smothered in comedy.” The play, directed by Stevie-Walker-Webb, garnered the 2022 Pulitzer Prize for Drama as well as five Tony Award nominations. The cast features James T. Alfred, Thomika Marie Bridwell, David J. Castillo, Ebony Marshall-Oliver, Victoria Omoregie, Laurie Roach, and Atlanta native Marshall Mabry. Walker-Webb says the story is full of surprises “but ultimately takes you on a journey of celebration and victory as you watch characters become their truest selves.” The production team advises that the play contains considerable explicit language and addresses topics such as death, violence and sexuality, so leave the kids at home. — Kevin C. Madigan
$60+ The Hertz Stage at Alliance Theatre, Woodruff Arts Center, Memorial Arts Building, 1280 Peachtree Street, Atlanta 30309. 404-733-4600 allianceinfo at alliancetheatre.org
Alliance Theatre
From the venue:
The Pulitzer-Prize winning new play reinventing Shakespeare’s Hamlet.
By James Ijames
Directed by Stevie Walker-Webb
Fat Ham, the deliciously funny, Pulitzer Prize-winning new play, makes its Atlanta debut at Alliance Theatre following its critically acclaimed Broadway run. Playwright James Ijames has reinvented Shakespeare’s masterpiece, Hamlet, creating what The New York Times calls âa hilarious yet profound tragedy smothered in comedy.
Juicy is a queer, Southern college kid, already grappling with some serious questions of identity, when the ghost of his father shows up at their backyard barbecue, 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, loss, masculinity, pain and joy.
Produced in association with Huntington Theatre Company and Front Porch Arts Collective