THE VERDICT

Reviews: What Did Critics Think of Pulitzer-

Winning Fat Ham at Off-Broadway's Public
Theater?
The National Black Theatre and Public co-production of James Ijames' take
on Hamlet opened May 26.
BY
LEAH PUTNAM 



MAY 27, 2022

Marcel Spears (Joan Marcus)

Reviews are in for the New York premiere of James Ijames' 2022 Pulitzer Prize-winning Fat
Ham at Off-Broadway's The Public Theater. Co-produced with National Black Theatre, the show
officially opened May 26 in the Anspacher Theater. Previews began May 12 with performances
extended through July 3. 

In a reinvention of Shakespeare's Hamlet, Ijames' Fat Ham takes place at a Southern cookout. The
comic tragedy follows Juicy, a queer college kid, as he grapples with identity questions, the ghost
of his father, a supernatural demand for vengeance, and the choice of breaking or continuing
cycles of trauma and violence.

PAID ADVERTISEMENT

Marcel Spears stars as Juicy, Nikki Crawford as Tedra, Chris Herbie Holland as Tio, Billy Eugene
Jones as Rev and Pap, Adrianna Mitchell as Opal, Calvin Leon Smith as Larry, and Benja Kay
Thomas as Rabby.

Read the reviews here.

Citi Tour (Brian Scott Lipton)

The Daily Beast (Tim Teeman)

Exeunt NYC (Loren Noveck)

Into More (Juan Michael Porter II)

New York Stage Review (Melissa Rose Bernardo)

New York Sun (Grace Bydalek)

New York Theater (Jonathan Mandell)

New York Theatre Guide (Joe Dziemianowicz)

New York Times (Maya Phillips)

Observer (David Cote)

Talkin' Broadway (Howard Miller)

Theatrely (Juan A. Ramirez)

Vulture (Helen Shaw)

Wall Street Journal (Charles Isherwood)

Washington Post (Peter Marks)

The Wrap (Thom Geier)

Playbill will continue to update this list as reviews come in.

The announcement of Fat Ham winning the 2022 Pulitzer Prize for Drama was made May 9, three
days prior to the beginning of previews.

 READ: Marcel Spears Talks Shakespeare and Southern Cookouts

Understudies include RJ Foster for Rev and Papp; Tanesha Gary for Tedra and Rabby; Marquis D.
Gibson for Juicy, Larry, and Tio; Alexandria Brienne Lewis for Opal; and Matthew Elijah Webb for
Juicy, Larry, and Tio.

SEE: Fat Ham Shows Off-Broadway How to Party

The Public's Associate Artistic Director and Resident Director Saheem Ali directs the production,
which also features scenic design by Maruti Evans, costume design by Dominique Fawn Hill,
lighting design by Stacey Derosier, sound design by 2022 Tony nominee Mikaal Sulaiman, hair
and wig design by Earon Chew Nealey, fight direction by Lisa Kopitsky, and choreography by
Darrell Moultrie. Props are by Claire M. Kavanah, and illusions are by Skylar Fox. Jereme Kyle
serves as production stage manager, and Ryan Kane serves as stage manager.

Visit PublicTheater.org.

CHECK OUT NEW PHOTOS OF FAT HAM AT THE PUBLIC THEATER

Check Out New

Photos of Fat Ham...
12 PHOTOS

 
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