“Fat Ham” is a compact 95 minutes, but it’s as dense and thoughtful as it is light on its feet and irreverent.
The flight of the checkered tablecloth is the first shock. It’s as if a diaphanous paper plane has suddenly shot across the stage.
Of the setting, Ijames writes in the Playbill: “We are in a house in North Carolina. Could also be Virginia, or Maryland, or Tennessee. It is not Mississippi, or Alabama, or Florida. That’s a different thing altogether.” As for the time, he adds: “The American South, to me, exists in a kind of liminal space between the past and the present with an aspirational relationship to the future that is contingent to your history living in the South.
The other characters include Opal as a stand-in for Ophelia, and Larry for Laertes. Their mother Rabby watches the riotous proceedings balefully, but after both Opal and Larry, a soldier, have their own secrets to reveal, a rush to maternal judgment doesn’t happen as maybe expected, but rather she matches them with a revelation of her own.
The play is both very funny and piercingly moving. As we watch Rev’s mistreatment of Juicy we also sense Juicy is going to be fine. He is not having a bar of anyone’s rejection, yet still yearns for warmth and a sense of grounding. He is the best kind of prickly; he is even mocked for taking online University of Phoenix courses to study . As his mother, Crawford plays a woman emerging from grief into what she insists—despite all the tensions around her—will be the best time of her life.
Canada Latest News, Canada Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
‘Fat Ham’ Broadway review: Backyard BBQ ‘Hamlet’ needs more meatMore characters come out of the closet — or get high — in this zany spin on the tragedy than violently perish.
Read more »
Kimmel Cultural Campus announces 2023-24 Broadway season lineupThe season kicks off with 'Mean Girls,' and includes favorites like 'Wicked,' 'Mamma Mia!,' 'Hadestown,' and more.
Read more »
Broadway musicals 'Frozen,' 'Book of Mormon,' more coming to Jacksonville in 2024Season tickets go on sale Tuesday for the new FSCJ Artist Series 2023-24 season, which includes 'Frozen' and others. Here's what you need to know.
Read more »
Fire Damages Syrian Family's Perfume and Gift Shop on Broadway in El CajonA Syrian family that recently emigrated to El Cajon is trying to put its business back together after a fire forced it to close.
Read more »
'Wicked', 'Mean Girls' and 'Frozen' highlights Kimmel Cultural Campus' 2023-24 Broadway SeriesThe season features a bit of something for everyone, with 12 captivating shows boasting a combined 19 Tony® Awards!
Read more »