Fat Ham at Geffen Playhouse

Fat Ham

Geffen Playhouse
10886 Le Conte Avenue Los Angeles

Meet Juicy, a young, queer Black man with a Shakespearean-sized dilemma. When the ghost of his dead father shows up at his family's BBQ wedding reception demanding his murder be avenged, does the poetic and sensitive Juicy have it in him to do the deed, or will he "to thine own self be true?" See what the New York Times calls "a hilarious yet profound tragedy smothered in comedy," in this Pulitzer Prize-winning take on Hamlet, direct from Broadway to L.A.

Thru - Apr 28, 2024

Sat, Apr 27: 2:00pm & 8:00pm

Sun, Apr 28: 2:00pm & 7:00pm

Show Type: Drama

Box Office: 310-208-5454

www.geffenplayhouse.com

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Fat Ham at Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles

Fat Ham Reviews

Average Rating based on 8 reviews

Highly Recommended
Recommended
Somewhat Recommended
Not Recommended

Los Angeles Times - Highly Recommended

"...Take my word for it: You're going to want seconds. A comedy with serious tragic business on its mind, "Fat Ham" is the most gripping theatrical offering at the Geffen Playhouse since Matthew López's epic gay drama "The Inheritance" and the most boisterously outrageous since Robert O'Hara's "Barbecue.""

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- Charles McNulty

Broadway World - Highly Recommended

"...FAT HAM is a modern, reimagining of Shakespeare’s HAMLET set on the porch of a Black family’s cookout in North Carolina. Ijames has eliminated several characters, streamlined the plot to run 100 minutes and filtered the proceedings through the gaze of a queer hero whose agenda is to figure stuff out and bump off his uncle."

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- Evan Henerson

Stage and Cinema - Highly Recommended

"...Fat Ham by James Ijames — who received a Pulitzer for his play — is an unbridled, entertaining, and funny take on Shakespeare’s Hamlet, outrageously turned on its ear. Elsinore castle is transported to a lovely house in a suburb of 2022 Atlanta (impressive scenic design by Maruti Evans). This home belongs to an upscale Black family. The basic conversion is this: Young Juicy (Hamlet) is not happy. He and his cousin Tio (Horatio) are putting the final touches on the set-up for a backyard wedding reception. His father Pap (King Hamlet), the heir of the family’s successful BBQ business, had been murdered in prison just a week before. Now, his mother Tedra (Gertrude) and Pap’s brother Uncle Rev (Claudius) have just been married."

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- Lawrence Lucero

LA Splash - Highly Recommended

"...Skillfully helmed by Siddeeq Heard, FAT HAM is also blessed with a terrific cast who make this group of party-goers come alive. Be prepared to laugh your way through the circuitous paths each of the folks take – and be prepared for some fascinating changes in the narrative as Juicy tried to break the family cycle of trauma, aggression, and secrets. FAT HAM is a must-see production which is entertaining, funny, and sometimes even profound. You’ll love the ending!"

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- Elaine Mura

Stage Scene LA - Highly Recommended

"...Risk-taking, rule-breaking, exuberant joie de playwriting won James Ijames the Pulitzer Prize for his contemporary comedic queer African-American take on Hamlet, Fat Ham, now blowing audiences’ minds at the Geffen Playhouse."

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- Steven Stanley

Stage Raw - Recommended

"...Notwithstanding the reservations mentioned prior, the ensemble mines Ijames’s dialogue with craft, creating a sense of community and warmth, and an aliveness that in moments may have you thinking that you, too, might have a seat at this table."

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- Deborah Klugman

Ticket Holders LA - Highly Recommended

"...Fat Ham is the best thing to hit LA stages running this year and maybe for a few years. Without a doubt, Ijames’ meditation on toxic masculinity and how one African American gay man chooses to rise above it and find value in himself despite some overpowering odds is absolutely scintillating. I’ll bet ol’ Will himself would be thrilled."

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- Travis Michael Holder

Larchmont Buzz - Highly Recommended

"...Set in the American South, Fat Ham follows Juicy, a young, queer, Black man, over the course of a backyard barbecue celebrating the recent wedding of his mother, Tedra, to his uncle, the dangerously deceptive Rev. When Juicy is visited by the ghost of his recently deceased father, he is left with a question of Shakespearian proportions–to kill his uncle or not to kill his uncle. Directed by Sideeq Heard, The West Coast premiere of Fat Ham is full of spectacle and celebration, running 100 minutes without intermission."

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- Sika Lonner

Fat Ham at Geffen Playhouse

Fat Ham

Fat Ham Reviews

Los Angeles Times - Highly Recommended

Broadway World - Highly Recommended

Stage and Cinema - Highly Recommended

LA Splash - Highly Recommended

Stage Scene LA - Highly Recommended

Stage Raw - Recommended

Ticket Holders LA - Highly Recommended

Larchmont Buzz - Highly Recommended

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