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| Fat Ham Last Night | |
| Posted by: BillEadie 10:16 am EDT 06/03/23 | |
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| I loved Fat Ham, James IJames’ smart and very funny satire of middle class Black life, as told by appropriating Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Set in “a house in North Carolina - could also be Virginia, or Maryland or Tennessee. It is not in Mississippi or Alabama or Florida. That’s a different thing altogether.” I have a New York friend who grew up in Alabama. He thought that description was very funny and telling. Mr. IJames also uses the phrase, “liminal space” to describe life in the South. Anyone who can do that is A-OK in my book. It’s a barbecue, and the family has been invited. The outsider who interprets what’s going on for the audience is named Juicy and is played with style and class by Marcel Spears. The other family members (Nikki Crawford, Chris Herbie Holland, Billy Eugene Jones, Adrianna Mitchell, Calvin Leon Smith, and Benja Kay Thomas) gather in the backyard and pretend to enjoy each other’s company. Of course, when you’re pretending, things come undone fairly easily. Nevertheless, “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf” it’s not. 100 minutes fly by until we hit the big finale, which, indeed, is very big. I won’t say anything to spoil it. Not a lot of time left before it closes at the American Airlines Theatre. See it if at all possible. Bill Eadie |
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| re: Fat Ham Last Night | |
| Posted by: den 08:45 pm EDT 06/03/23 | |
| In reply to: Fat Ham Last Night - BillEadie 10:16 am EDT 06/03/23 | |
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| I’m glad you liked it but the “big finale” you refer to kind of ruined what had been for me, up to then, a clever and enjoyable show. It took me out of the play I had just been watching and seemed to me a desperate move by a playwright who didn’t really know how to end the play he had written. | |
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| re: Fat Ham Last Night | |
| Posted by: BillEadie 07:49 am EDT 06/04/23 | |
| In reply to: re: Fat Ham Last Night - den 08:45 pm EDT 06/03/23 | |
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| I understand what you’re saying, but for me the finale summed up, in over-the-top Broadway style, the argument that was underlying the rest of the play. Bill Eadie |
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| re: Fat Ham Last Night (minor SPOILERS in my post) | |
| Posted by: DistantDrumming 11:30 am EDT 06/04/23 | |
| In reply to: re: Fat Ham Last Night - BillEadie 07:49 am EDT 06/04/23 | |
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| I agree with you, Bill. I understand why some people may not have enjoyed this approach to ending the show. But I don't think it was a cop out from someone who didn't know how to end us his play. Yes, that 'finale' occurs rather abruptly, but I think it has to do so to have the intended effect and be a sort of coup de theatre (an overused phrase, I know.) It's a moment of fantasy that suddenly bursts forth seemingly out of nowhere offering relief from the pain that the central characters experience. And with its very specific style of fantasy, it is a celebration of Black queer joy and liberation. I loved it and I left the theatre on a high. |
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| re: Fat Ham TDF Tickets | |
| Posted by: Jackson 07:55 pm EDT 06/03/23 | |
| In reply to: Fat Ham Last Night - BillEadie 10:16 am EDT 06/03/23 | |
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| Where have the TDF tickets to "Fat Ham" been located? Thanks! J |
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| I wish it had found a bigger audience on Broadway | |
| Posted by: DistantDrumming 07:44 pm EDT 06/03/23 | |
| In reply to: Fat Ham Last Night - BillEadie 10:16 am EDT 06/03/23 | |
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| I saw it at The Public, so I don't know how much it changed in its transfer, but at the Public it ended up being one of the most thoroughly entertaining nights I've had in the theatre. I imagine it will get some strong regional productions after this Broadway run, though. Looking forward to seeing more of James Ijames' work. Shame Marcel Spears didn't score a tony nom; his Juicy was fantastic. |
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| re: Fat Ham Last Night | |
| Posted by: lordofspeech 01:31 pm EDT 06/03/23 | |
| In reply to: Fat Ham Last Night - BillEadie 10:16 am EDT 06/03/23 | |
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| I said it before, and I’ll say it again and again. It is a BEAUTIFUL play. The entire cast is marvelous. The Shakespeare soliloquies are beautifully spoken. I would also say that FAT HAM is at least as good as Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead. Better, I’d say. But here we have a piece (FAT HAM) that seeks to reimagine the context of tragedy itself ‘competing’ against conventional story-telling (LEOPOLDSTADT). I hope FAT HAM gets the prize. |
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| re: Fat Ham Last Night | |
| Posted by: lowwriter 12:49 pm EDT 06/03/23 | |
| In reply to: Fat Ham Last Night - BillEadie 10:16 am EDT 06/03/23 | |
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| I know Leopolstadt is probably going to win best play but it would be a nice surprise if Fat Ham won instead. | |
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| re: Fat Ham Last Night | |
| Posted by: writerkev 11:18 am EDT 06/03/23 | |
| In reply to: Fat Ham Last Night - BillEadie 10:16 am EDT 06/03/23 | |
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| Agree 100%. I saw it a Thursday night, and Marcel Spears was out. (I have pretty bad luck catching the cast onstage.) Understudy was okay, probably weaker than Spears. But the play was a joy. So life-affirming, theatrical, and thoroughly engaging. I would be very happy if Nikki Crawford wins the Tony. She’s a hoot. | |
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| James IJames | |
| Posted by: TheHarveyBoy 10:52 am EDT 06/03/23 | |
| In reply to: Fat Ham Last Night - BillEadie 10:16 am EDT 06/03/23 | |
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| Will someone tell whoever presents the Best Play Tony how to pronounce James IJames or is that "writing"? How do you pronounce it? |
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| James Ijames | |
| Posted by: BroadwayTonyJ 11:01 am EDT 06/03/23 | |
| In reply to: James IJames - TheHarveyBoy 10:52 am EDT 06/03/23 | |
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| In his surname, which is spelled Ijames, the "j" and "a" are silent. So the pronuciation is as if his surname were spelled I'mes, which rhymes with words like "chimes" and "times". | |
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| re: James Ijames | |
| Posted by: Guillaume 08:54 pm EDT 06/05/23 | |
| In reply to: James Ijames - BroadwayTonyJ 11:01 am EDT 06/03/23 | |
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| Were his parents named Ijames or is that something he created for himself? | |
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