Fat Ham
by James Ijames

Name: Fat Ham
Brand: James Ijames
SKU: 9780573710384
Rating: 4.04 (22 reviews)

Off-Broadway

Highlights

Female

Male

90 mins Present Day Role(s) for Black Actor(s) Exterior Set Contemporary Costumes/Street Clothes Comedy

Awards & Recognition

Obie Award Outer Critics Circle Pulitzer Prize Tony Award

Winner! 2022 Pulitzer Prize for Drama Winner! 2023 Obie Awards Special Citation Winner! 2023 Outer Critics Circle's John Gassner Award for New American Play Nominee: Five 2023 Tony Awards, including Best Play

Synopsis

Fat Ham; Winner of the 2022 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, James Ijames' play reinvents Shakespeare's Hamlet in startling and hilarious ways amidst the backdrop of a family barbecue in the American South.

Staged by the RSC in 2025.

Press Reviews

"The funniest and most invigorating new show on Broadway."
— Variety

"A delicious and irresistible piece of work... Sweet, saucy, and very funny, Fat Ham has enough good-time disco sparkle to win over all but the grumpiest of spirits."
— Deadline

"Delicious, funny and piercingly moving, Fat Ham is a celebration that’s as thoughtful as it is irreverent."
— Daily Beast

"Stunning... James Ijames’s outstanding transformation of Shakespeare’s tragedy into a play about Black masculinity and queerness both echoes Hamlet and finds a language beyond it."
— The New York Times

"★★★★★ “Cheeky, clever... Newly minted Pulitzer Prize winner James Ijames turns the revenge play on its proverbial ear."
— New York Stage Review

Characters

Character	Gender	Age	Description
JUICY is thicc. 20-21, Black. He’s beautiful. He is lonely. He is smart. A kind of Hamlet.	male	20	is thicc. 20-21, Black. He’s beautiful. He is lonely. He is smart. A kind of Hamlet.
TEDRA is Juicy’s mother. 45-50, Black. She is a good mother. A kind of Gertrude.	female	50	is Juicy’s mother. 45-50, Black. She is a good mother. A kind of Gertrude.
REV (Tedra's husband) is Tedra's husband. 45-50, Black. Her dead ex-husband’s brother. Pigfarmer and pitmaster. Electric. A kind of Claudius. Same actor as PAP.	female	50	is Tedra's husband. 45-50, Black. Her dead ex-husband’s brother. Pigfarmer and pitmaster. Electric. A kind of Claudius. Same actor as PAP.
OPAL is one of Juicy’s only friends. 19-20. Black. She loves Ham and worries about him. A kind of Ophelia.	female	20	is one of Juicy’s only friends. 19-20. Black. She loves Ham and worries about him. A kind of Ophelia.
LARRY is a boy that is attracted to Juicy. 21-23. Black. A marine. Trying to heal from PTSD. Has a secret. Awkward. A kind of Laertes.	male	21-23	is a boy that is attracted to Juicy. 21-23. Black. A marine. Trying to heal from PTSD. Has a secret. Awkward. A kind of Laertes.
RABBY is Larry and Opal’s mother. 40-45. Black. Tedra’s friend. Semi-churchy but honestly she just wanna drink and praise the Lord. A kind of Polonius.	female	40	is Larry and Opal’s mother. 40-45. Black. Tedra’s friend. Semi-churchy but honestly she just wanna drink and praise the Lord. A kind of Polonius.
PAP (Hamlet's Father) is the Ghost of Juicy’s father. Appears 45ish. Black. Was in prison for killing someone cause their breath stank, til he got shanked on the way to dinner. A kind of Hamlet's Father. Same actor as REV.	male	—	is the Ghost of Juicy’s father. Appears 45ish. Black. Was in prison for killing someone cause their breath stank, til he got shanked on the way to dinner. A kind of Hamlet's Father. Same actor as REV.
TIO is clever. 20-40. Black or Afro-Latinx. Juicy’s cousin. Oldest friend. A kind of Horatio.	—	20	is clever. 20-40. Black or Afro-Latinx. Juicy’s cousin. Oldest friend. A kind of Horatio.