Fat Ham

Fat Ham is a Pulitzer Prize-winning one-act play by playwright James Ijames that premiered in 2021. It recounts tensions in a Black Southern family through its protagonist Juicy, a young queer man who struggles with his identity and life purpose. In a reinterpretation of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Juicy is ordered by the ghost of his late father to kill his mother’s new husband (Juicy’s uncle and his deceased father’s brother). Each of the play’s seven characters parallels a character in Hamlet. The play addresses issues of Southern identity, as well as what it means to be Black and an LGBTQIA+ person in the 21st century. It explores family bonds and expectations while raising questions about the obligations of family loyalty.

James Ijames is an actor, director, and playwright who has received numerous accolades. An associate professor of theater at Villanova, he holds a BA in drama and an MFA in acting. His numerous plays, which include The Most Spectacularly Lamentable Trial of Miz Martha Washington; White, Welcome Table; Media/Medea; and Passion of Osiris, have been produced in numerous cities, including New York, Chicago, and Philadelphia.

Fat Ham was awarded the 2022 Pulitzer Prize in Drama and was a 2023 Tony nominee for Best Play. Ijames has received numerous awards, including the F. Otto Haas Award for an Emerging Artist; the Barrymore Award for Outstanding Direction of a Play; the Terrance McNally New Play Award; the Whiting Award; the Kesselring Prize; and the Steinberg Prize.

This guide references the 2023 paperback by Theatre Communications Group.

Content Warning: The source text and this guide include references to assault, murder, racism, and anti-gay bias. In addition, the source text uses offensive terms for mental health conditions, replicated in this guide only in quotes.

Plot Summary

The play, a modern retelling of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, is set in the American South in the 21st century. Juicy, a 20-year-old queer Black man, and his cousin, Tio, are decorating for a barbecue. The party is a celebration of Juicy’s mother’s marriage to Rev. Rev is the brother of Pap, Juicy’s late father, who was recently killed in prison. Tio comments that Juicy’s mother is remarrying very soon after Pap’s death.

When Juicy ducks into the house to grab some Christmas lights, Pap’s ghost appears to Tio, saying nothing. Tio, panicked, quickly describes the event to Juicy when he returns. Nervous, Tio runs inside the house to use the restroom.

While Tio is gone, Pap reappears and speaks to Juicy. Pap was cruel to Juicy throughout his life, and Juicy does not feel love for him. Pap orders Juicy to kill Rev, insisting that he was responsible for his death. Pap explains how the inmate who killed him revealed that Rev ordered him to do so. Now that Pap is dead, Rev has swiftly taken steps to possess all that Pap owns, including his barbecue restaurant.

Just as Pap’s ghost leaves, Juicy’s mother, Tedra, enters, excited from the wedding. She gives Tio money to buy beer and sets about preparing the food for the party. Rev enters and tends to the meat smoker. He brags about his skills as both a butcher and a chef and berates Juicy for his unmanliness and downcast mood. He orders Juicy to change out of the black mourning clothing he wears into something festive for the party.

Larry, the son of a family friend, arrives for the party. He is dressed in his Marine uniform, which Juicy finds strange. Rev applauds Larry’s masculinity, then takes him inside to see the remodeling work, leaving Juicy and Tedra alone outside. Juicy is bothered by Tedra’s lack of sadness over Pap’s death, but Tedra insists that Pap was abusive and that she is relieved to be free of him. When Juicy questions her decision to marry Rev, Tedra insists she cannot be alone. She kindly asks Juicy about being gay. She is highly loving and supportive, insisting he will find someone who will love him.

Larry’s sister, Opal, and mother, Rabby arrive. Rabby has forced Opal, a queer woman, to wear a dress, and Juicy and others find it awkward. While Rabby goes inside to see the bathroom remodel, Juicy and Opal lament the difficulties of becoming adults in a world that is hostile to gay people.

The meal is served, and the mood is upbeat and celebratory. Tedra demands Juicy set up her karaoke machine and gives a lively performance. She insists Juicy sing next. Though his performance begins awkwardly, it closes on a moving note. When he finishes, Juicy suggests a game of charades. In a direct nod to Hamlet’s plan to entrap his uncle, Juicy designs a fake book title that will, he hopes, reveal Rev’s guilt for Pap’s murder.

Juicy’s team correctly guesses the book title The Preacher Killed the Cook, and Rev storms off. Tedra follows him and attempts to console him, but their argument can be heard. Rabby orders Opal to come into the house to help Tedra.

Alone, Larry and Juicy talk. Larry appears attracted to Juicy, but he is shy and reticent. They discuss Larry’s military service and then talk turns to Larry’s desire to be “soft” like Juicy. They embrace softly. Larry kisses Juicy on the neck, though Juicy worries they will be seen.

Tedra returns and berates Juicy for upsetting Rev. Pap’s ghost appears, but only Juicy can see him. Pap angrily reminds Juicy of the instructions he has given him. Tedra fears Juicy is experiencing delusions. She leaves in search of Rev.

Tio enters with the beer Tedra sent him to buy. He offers one to Juicy, and they drink. Juicy tells Tio that everyone is mad at him. Tio is high and contemplative. Larry and Opal join them, Opal complaining about her mother and Tio remarking on how strange she looks in a dress. They talk about how awful adulthood is, and Tio asks each of them what they would like to do with their lives. Opal would like to open a shooting range, and Juicy hopes to enter human resources. They are all surprised to hear Larry say he would like to be a performer.

Rabby enters and orders Opal to come inside to help them put the food away. When Opal refuses, a fight unfolds. Amid the insults, Juicy outs Larry as gay. Larry is angry, but Opal is able to calm them all. Tio launches into a long story about playing a VR videogame while high, which led him to realize that one should live life for oneself and find happiness however one can.

Suddenly, there is commotion inside of the house. Rev runs outside, rushes to Juicy, and confronts him about the insinuation during charades. Juicy tells the group that Rev killed Pap, and he and Rev argue. Rev grabs a barbecue rib and begins eating, then chokes. Juicy, at Tedra’s insistence, tries to help Rev, but Rev will not allow Juicy to touch him. Rev dies, and the group gathers around him, dumbfounded.

Juicy looks at the audience and notes that they likely expect everyone on stage to die, given that this is a tragedy. He suggests they try to kill one another, and a comedic and cathartic fight breaks out. Then, Juicy offers a kind of eulogy over Rev’s body. Everyone happily chats and returns to the uneaten food. Rabby asks where Larry is, and he suddenly appears, dressed in drag. He performs, singing and dancing to a song about love.