One of the many reasons that Shakespeare’s plays are still with us both as literature and dramatic production is that they carry universal themes that seem to exist happily outside of their original context. That is the case with River and Rail Theatre Company’s next production, Fat Ham. The play by James Ijames is loosely based on the bard’s Hamlet, although its originality and divergences earned it the 2022 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.
First seeing life as a filmed production in 2021 for the Wilma Theatre in Philadelphia, Fat Ham’s New York debut followed at The Public Theatre. Its Broadway run last season in 2023 garnered five Tony Award nominations, including “Best Play.”
Juicy (“A kind of Hamlet”) is a gay, southern college student, confronted and challenged with his own crisis of identity. Trouble deepens in this comic tragedy when the ghost of his father shows up in their backyard, demanding that Juicy avenge his murder. Recognizing where this inevitably leads, Juicy seeks to avoid the pitfalls of Hamlet and break the cycles of violence that mean a tragic ending.
“What’s so beautiful about this play,” offers Fat Ham director Mychael Chinn, “is that while a knowledge of Shakespeare is definitely a plus, if you have never seen one of the Bard’s plays, you won’t miss a thing. That’s the beauty of Shakespearean tales.”
Chinn, a television development executive with MTV Studios directing his first production at River & Rail, promises a fresh approach, despite the success and accolades heaped on the original productions.
“Fat Ham is a new American classic. It’s a story about family. About decision. About deciding who you want to be, and what does that cost. These are themes that every single human on this planet is contending with, and can relate to. The cast that we’ve assembled, the lens through which we are telling this story, I would venture to say is nothing like anything that’s hit Knoxville before …This is the first time that this play [has been produced] in the South, the setting of the play.”
Audiences will find some familiar faces in the cast…and some new ones.
Tedra (“A kind of Gurtrude”) — Jaquai Wade Pearson
Rev/Pap (“A Kind of Claudius/Hamlet’s father”) — Kenneth Herring
Rabby (“A kind of Polonius”) — Brandiss Seward
Tio (“A kind of Horatio”) — LoRen Seagrave
Juicy (“A kind of Hamlet”) — Marshall W. Mabry IV
Opal (“A kind of Ophelia”) — Neveah Daniel
Larry (“A kind of Laertes”) — Matty Draughter
Fat Ham by James Ijames
River & Rail Theatre Company
Old City Performing Arts Center, 111 State Street, Downtown Knoxville
Thursday – Saturdays at 7:30 PM; Sundays at 2:30 PM
February 8 – 25, 2024
Tickets
