‘Fat Ham’ - Done to Perfection

Apr 14

Rick Karlin for OUTSFL

For the first time, Island City Stage, Brevo Theatre, and Gable Stage have collaborated to bring the Pulitzer Prize-winning and multiple Tony-nominated play “Fat Ham” for a South Florida premiere.

Normally, it is a case of too many cooks spoil the broth, but in this case, the “Fat Ham” in question is done to perfection. The cast — not a weak performance in the bunch — sizzles with electricity, the deceptively simple set has a few tricks up its sleeve, and even the set pieces are exceptional.

Set at a South Carolina backyard BBQ/wedding reception, the play is a loose adaptation of Shakespeare’s Hamlet. By loose, I mean very loose. A lot of the sub-plots are missing, and they aren’t missed, as the show flies by in a little over an hour and a half without intermission. Juicy is a queer Black man, standing in for Hamlet, whose mother Tedra has just married his Uncle Rev, who most likely set up the murder of his Pap (in prison for slicing a man’s throat because he had bad breath).

READ THE ENTIER REVIEW HERE https://outsfl.com/theater/fat-ham-done-to-perfection