Fat Ham at the Shakes

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Fat Ham is a serious yet humorous one two punch based loosely on Shakespeare’s Hamlet. The play is set at a barbecue in the backyard of a southern suburban home. Juicy is visited by the ghost of his dead father. This visitation reveals that Juicy’s father was murdered by The Rev who is Juicy’s uncle and now set dad. After the murder the Rev made his move to win his brother’s widow Tedra.

Juicy’s friend Rabby was the first to see the ghost. The ghost rose from the beer cooler set at the front of the stage. The ghost had a mission which was to convince his son Juicy to avenge his murder. Juicy however resists this long history of violence in the family. He wants to find happiness while embracing his queerness. His identity isn’t found by throwing a good punch but by accepting the flaws of the family around him and finding where he belongs.

Others at the back yard BBQ also are coming to terms with their queerness. It turns out that Opal likes woman and Larry who arrives to the BBQ in a marine uniform wants deep a heart to be softer than the soldier he was trained to be. Each must find their way despite family expectations.

When I started this sketch, I thought a lighting tech or sound person might be working the board at house right. No one ever set up a that station. All the cues must have been locked in place. The set looked very much like the others sets I had seen for Fat Ham. In an interview I saw, James IJames the show’s author said that the set was very much like the backyard where he grew up. It is an unassuming setting where very heated family dynamics play out.

Unlike Hamlet where almost everyone dies, the  ending of this play celebrates acceptance and joy found despite the arrogant pigeonholing of gender. Larry the marine is seen resplendent like a phoenix rising from the ashes. The family finds joy in their imperfect world. I left the theater feeling a creative spirit can still bloom in this jaded and imperfect world.

Fat Ham is being performed live at the Shakespeare Theater through March 29, 20206. Trust me this is a show you do not want to miss.

Fat Ham Final Poster

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The final pass at the Fat Ham poster features the “to be or not to be” moment from Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Granted there is no mirrored skull or crown in Fat Ham, but it allows for anyone to know that the play is an homage to Hamlet. I switched from depicting the glamorous lighting of the finale of the play and instead focused on depicting the back yard barbecue.

Juicy (Je’Shaun Jackson) fills in for Hamlet who is visited by the ghost of his dead father and tasked with killing his father’s brother who is the one who murdered his dad. Juicy however, has a pleasant disposition an couldn’t hurt a fly.

Juicy performing Karaoke fills in for the famous To be or not to be monologue. Juicy sings Creep by Radiohead. IT starts off awkwardly but the slips into a dream sequence in which Juicy fells completely in control of the world around him.  It is at first humorous and then gloriously empowering.  It shows a creative and expressive individual embracing his uniqueness and taking flight.

The final poster had to embrace lightness rather than the dark to be more successful. There are so many moments of absolute joy and humor in the play and that had to overpower the dark themes. The photo taken for the theater program slipped back towards the darkness of reflecting on mortality. Juicy wears a black turban head wrap in the Orlando Shakespeare Theater production and it is an awesome replacement for the crown. I wish I had thought of it when I was working on the poster.

Costuming was by Jos N. Banks who also played Larry in the production. Larry shows up to the barbecue in uniform. This crisp militaristic uniform defines how he is seen by everyone. The Rev (Essex O’Brian) respects a man who has killed others. When Larry is alone with Juicy, he expresses a desire to be more soft and caring.

By the end of Hamlet almost everyone has died including the protagonist Hamlet. Fat Ham turns that ending on it’s head, deciding to celebrate acceptance and inclusion with a rousing and glamorous musical number. Chandeliers drop down from the ceiling and the lighting turns hot and exotic. Queerness is celebrated like a phoenix rising from the ashes.

Fat Ham runs through March 29, 2026 at the Orlando Shakespeare Theater (812 E. Rollins St., Orlando, FL 32803). Ticket prices range from $70 for the A signature series seats to $48 for the C signature series seats. You don’t want to miss Fat Ham.

Fat Ham Theater Poster First Pass

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When I did this first pass at the Fat Ham theater poster, I had not read the entire script yet. I did see a few YouTube clips from the Broadway production, and I was intrigued by the fabulous and exotic ending to the show. Now that I have seen the show at the Orlando Shakespeare Theater (812 E Rollins St, Orlando, FL 32803), I know that there is no crown in the production. Juicy (Je’Shaun Jackson) the main character in the show, isn’t a prince and he doesn’t see himself that way. He just wants to get a job in Human resources which is a normal everyday ambition. The show deals with queer black identity and juicy doesn’t try to hide who he is deep inside.

Like in Hamlet. Juicy does meet his recently murdered father’s ghost. Through this meeting Juicy learns that, his uncle and strep father had his father murdered with a shiv in prison. The Rev (Essex O’Brian) then immediately hooked up with the widow of the man he had murdered, Juicy’s mom, the beautiful Tedra, (Patrece Bloomfield). Tedra would marry anyone to keep from being alone. She needs chaos in her life rather than time to reflect and feel lonely. Her mantra is that if you keep a man fed, he will always be happy. The Rev, however, is bullying and aggressive, particularly towards her son Juicy. She turns a blind eye when the Rev sucker punches her son in the stomach. I suspect that after honeymoon period, the Rev’s aggression would turn towards her as well.

The show follows Juicy’s self discovery as he navigates a family barbecue where he doesn’t feel like he belongs. The original Shakespeare production of Hamlet is a definite tragedy but Fat ham is is more of a celebration of embracing differences. Tedra, Juicy’s mom exuberantly embraces her son’s unique qualities. Where as the Rev despised those same qualities. The barbecue is staged to celebrate the marriage of the Rev to Tendra and their differing world views become glaringly obvious.

The barbecue in the production is from Pig Floyd’s Urban Barbako which is right down the street on Mills Avenue from the Theater (1326 N Mills Ave, Orlando, FL 32803). Seeing how much the cast was enjoying the BBQ makes me want to stop by Pig Floyd’s to have a taste for myself.

Gertrude and Claudius at the Shakes

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Gertrude and Claudius based on the novel written by John Updike and adapted by Mark St. Germain, acts as a prequel to Hamlet. I had just sketched Hamlet the earlier in the month. The set remained the same, being a royal castle in Denmark. This play began with a royal wedding between King Amieth (Kenny Babel) and Gertrude (Paige Lindsey White). The king was a man with unsubtle tastes and ways but a true love for his queen. On their wedding night be fell fast asleep as the queen got ready for bed.

There was trouble in paradise as the queen felt she lost her identity with her royal responsibilities and she was actually frightened of her son, Hamlet (Junior Nyong’ o). In this play, Hamlet had a very small part to play. This play was about the queen and how she was seduced by the king’s brother, Claudius (Gene Gillette). As the queen felt more confined, the brothers letters from far away lands helped her imagine a life of freedom.

The infamous couple serve as the villains in Shakespeare’s work, but
are offered a new exposition in this tale of good intentions and family
dysfunction. With ominous hints at the familiar story to come, Gertrude and Claudius is a play that shakes up what you thought you knew about the royal couple. It is a classic tale of guilt and revenge.

This was a more modern production as well, without the flowery language of Shakespeare. There were also many moments of levity, acting as a stark contrast to the brooding Hamlet that would follow. Though Hamlet is a classic, this play is far easier to digest. If you have a chance to see both plays, go and see Gertrude and Claudius first and follow that on another night with Hamlet.

Remaining show times are:

Thursday, February 28, 2019 – 7:30 PM

Friday, March 1, 2019 – 7:30 PM

Wednesday, March 6, 2019 – 2:00 PM

Wednesday, March 6, 2019 – 7:30 PM

Saturday, March 9, 2019 – 7:30 PM

Sunday, March 10, 2019 – 2:00 PM – Talk back Performance

Wednesday, March 13, 2019 – 2:00 PM

Friday, March 15, 2019 – 7:30 PM

Saturday, March 16, 2019 – 2:00 PM

Friday, March 22, 2019 – 7:30 PM

Saturday, March 23, 2019 – 2:00 PM

Tickets are $30 to $53

Hamlet

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I went to the opening night performance of Hamlet by William Shakespeare at The  Orlando Shakes, (812 E Rollins St, Orlando, FL 32803). My memory of the play was limited to the notion that at some point, Hamlet talks to a skull. The plot is rather simple. The ghost of Hamlet’s father appears to Hamlet and demands revenge against the uncle who killed him. Hamlet talks endlessly about revenging his father’s death, and then follows through. His every monologue conveys how unhinged he is about the need to avenge his father’s death. I was a bit frustrated that Hamlet had a perfect chance to revenge his father and decided it was too easy so he waited. So many passages have become a part of popular culture.

This play was one of Shakespeare’s most popular works during his lifetime, and still ranks among his most performed. It is also Shakespeare’s longest play with this production running three hours with a 15 minute intermission. I completed most of the sketch in the first act and did most of the watercolor washes during the intermission. This production had actors rushing off and on the stage in quick succession. The cast was on the large side with 17 actors. A huge puff of stage smoke engulfed the audience where I sat when Hamlets ghost appeared.

The play was produced in the round with extra bleachers added to the Margeson Theater. I sat in the added bleachers and unfortunately that meant most of the actors faced away from me directing their performance the audience opposite my position. Junior Nyong’O from Nairobi  performed the title role. He brought a frenetic energy to the production focusing on Hamlet’s more twisted, disturbed and sinister motives. Ophelia (Susan Maris) also became completely unhinged when experiencing grief. A pestle with poison, sword play and misfortune plague everyone in the final act. Tragedy wiped the stage clean.