James Ijames’s 2022 Pulitzer Prize-winning FAT HAM is an uproariously funny reinvention of HAMLET. In Ijames’s version, the Prince of Denmark becomes Juicy, an early twenties queer Black man living somewhere in the American South (the script notes “a house in North Carolina” or that it could be Maryland, Tennessee, or Virginia, but that it’s definitely not Alabama, Florida, or Mississippi — “That’s a different thing altogether.”) Juicy (Trumane Alston) wants to be left in peace so he can come to terms with his father’s untimely death and earn an online degree in Human Resources from the University of Phoenix. But no such luck — the play finds Juicy forced to throw together a wedding celebration for his mother Tedra (Anji White) and his uncle/brand-new stepfather Rev (who looks a lot like Juicy’s father, Pap, both hilariously played by Ronald L. Conner).

Ijames’s storytelling borrows heavily, of course, from his Shakespearean source material but also evokes a variety of theatrical styles. Luckily, the play is consistently hilarious, but the narrative approach has a real “everything but the kitchen sink” style. Like in HAMLET, the play opens with Juicy’s father Pap haunting him and asking for vengeance — but Pap first appears in a white sheet for maximum spook potential. It’s a fantastic moment between Alston’s Juicy, who has a groundedness and healthy sense of cynicism but a real warmth to him, and Conner, who clearly lives for playing the villain in both his roles. Some of FAT HAM’s scenes are grounded in realism, but others are wild fever dreams. As in Shakespeare plays, some of the characters (usually Juicy himself) directly address the audience in seemingly off-the-cuff monologues that involve clear breaks in the action. The entire play has a delightful sense of metatheatricality; the characters have moments when they clearly know they’re telling a story to the audience. And while all of Ijames’s elements don’t cohere — the play’s ending, while joyous, explicitly leaves much up to the production’s direction (Tyrone Phillips here at the Goodman) and takes a sharp stylistic turn. But other sequences are downright dreamy. If the idea of spontaneous backyard BBQ karaoke at a wedding party seems like fun, well, FAT HAM nails that sequence in spades. 

The Goodman’s cast is game to take on all the play’s stylistic challenges, and they land all the humorous beats. Alston nails Juicy’s utterly droll sense of humor and approach to life; he’s both deeply sarcastic and entirely winsome, making him a likable hero. Victor Musoni is particularly hilarious as Juicy’s good friend, Tio. He has a wildly exaggerated accent and deliciously embodies Tio’s no-filter approach to life. White understands how to make Tedra both a loving mother and an oblivious figure who’s eager to cater to her new husband’s whims. E. Faye Butler puts her signature shriek on grand display as Rabby, mother of Juicy’s good friends Opal (Ireon Roach, equal parts energetic and exasperated) and Larry (Sheldon D. Brown). Butler goes big, and her facial expressions and extremely vocal reactions to the event proceedings are magnificent. Brown brings his signature calming energy to Larry, who’s just returned from a Marines tour. He makes clear that Larry provides metaphorical calm in the storm for Juicy, who longs to be accepted and understood and find a way through his family trauma. 

FAT HAM is a hilariously good time. Ijames has made an iconic Shakespearean tragedy into a contemporary, timely comedy with plenty of laughs.

FAT HAM plays the Owen Theatre at Goodman Theatre, 170 North Dearborn, through March 2, 2025. Tickets are $25-$85 (subject to change). 

Visit GoodmanTheatre.org/Ham for tickets.

Photo Credit: Liz Lauren

• Review