Juicy and grilled 'Fat Ham' at Cincy Shakes

By Noah Moore

The fog that puffed out of the impressively huge grill onstage wasn't mere fog--it was a warning. Whenever the grill ignites, things are about to heat up. Cincinnati Shakespeare Company's Fat Ham is grilled to perfection as a modern retelling of Hamlet with glitz, chaos, and plenty of karaoke. This Pulitzer Prize-winning play delivers a punch stronger than barbecue and funnier than any of these ham puns I keep forcing.

Fat Ham by James Ijames premiered in 2022 and eventually opened on Broadway as a retelling of Shakespeare's Hamlet but set at a backyard barbecue in the South. Featuring an all-African-American ensemble, the story is specific yet universal, and among the funniest shows premiering this season. Shakespeare devotees will find it an even greater treat, as the sharp script features a litany of references to the original work.

Juicy, our version of the titular Hamlet, is the queer and fabulous son of Tedra, our version of Gertrude, is setting up for a wedding shower for Tedra and her new husband, Rev...who's also his uncle. When Juicy receives a visit from his deceased father's ghost imploring him to murder his step-dad, things spiral. The mother and son relationship, played by Je'Shaun Jackson and Marva Williams-Parker respectively, is the true heart of the show, however devastating; they also have the two karaoke numbers, which truly bring the house down (no iteration of Creep will ever come close!).

But like any good barbecue, the extended family make an appearance--the prickly aunt Rabby, played by Cincinnati favorite Burgess Byrd, her secretly-queer daughter, Opal, played by Jasimine Bouldin, and her son Larry, who's in the Navy and also suppressing something, played solemnly by Malik Smith. As everyone's internal conflicts come to a head, their performances only get funnier and sharper. Perhaps the best moment of all this coming to a head is in Tio, Juicy's friend, played by Geoffrey Warren Barnes II, tells a story about gingerbread that...goes off the rails.

Such spontaneity and chaos intersperse nicely into scenes of longing, identity, and hope, which make for a poignant production. Director Darnell Pierre Benjamin has a clear and keen sense of the show's characters and relationships, and created a fully-baked and lived-in production. The ending, which I cannot spoil, is bold and brash and perfect in every way. Having seen the Broadway production in 2022, I can say this was as lively and spirited as that show was--and somehow, it felt every bit as new.

I have never left a theatre with more of a hunkering for a barbecue plate, but also emotionally-fulfilled by a story that elevates Hamlet through a queer and BIPOC lens. Cincinnati Shakespeare continues their already-impressive season with this regional premiere, and I assure you, it will rock your socks off even when the story spirals. Check it out at CSC, running through September 22. Tickets are available at https://cincyshakes.com/on-stage/fat-ham.