Local Business Owners Help Present FAT HAM After NEA Grant Funds Freeze

"But . . . it's a BBQ! ... (Don’t) bring up the ghosts of our past and present. ... Not while we're eating pulled pork!" 

James Ijames, FAT HAM

Anne Boninsegna and Jen Lindsey know about the power of inclusion, paying it forward, and gathering around the table for a family meal.

Perhaps that is what first peaked The Kitchen co-owners’ interest in James Ijames’ FAT HAM, a re-imagining of Shakespeare’s HAMLET. The Contemporary Theatre of Ohio is currently performing the Pulitzer Prize-winning play March 6-23 at Studio One at the Riffe Center (77 S. High Street in downtown Columbus).

After learning a $10,000 National Endowment for the Arts grant to the theater group was in limbo due to multiple federal executive orders, Boninsegna and Lindsey stepped in. The two donated the full amount of the grant and are encouraging other area business leaders to also make donations.

“We are deeply disappointed (that the funding is currently frozen in Washington)—not just for our company, but for what it signals about the value of diverse storytelling in the arts,” executive director Christy Farnbauch said in a release announcing the donation. “However, our confidence in the Columbus community has been reaffirmed in the most incredible way. Anne Boninsegna and Jen Lindsey … stepped forward with a $10,000 investment to ensure FAT HAM—a story that embodies resilience, identity, and love—continues to be shared with audiences at the scale it deserves.”

“My number one value in life is inclusion,” Boninsegna said. “We’re big believers in diversity, equity, and inclusion, not just as buzzwords, but in real life practice.”

That conviction coincides with playwright James Ijames’ message in FAT HAM. In the play, Juicy (William Harrington) longs for his family to accept him for who he is: a young, gay black man.

Ijames changes the setting of Shakespeare’s HAMLET from the dank, cold castles of Denmark to a backyard barbeque in current middle America. According to Boninsegna, family get-togethers are supposed to be the place where everyone is accepted for who they are.

“The dynamics of family coming together and understanding each other can be beautiful at times and complicated at others,” she said. “But food can often be a grounding force for all of us.”

The Kitchen, located at 231 E. Livingston Avenue in downtown Columbus, was founded under that principle. It’s not a restaurant nor is it a cooking class. It is a participatory dining experience where groups prepare the meal together before consuming it. And the best thing is customers don’t have to do the dishes afterward.

“(Jen and I) are Midwestern people who grew up with lots of family gatherings and lots of extended family coming together to spend time with each other,” she said. “That’s what we want to do with our business; (The Kitchen) is about bringing people together.”

Boninsegna said the restaurant was kept afloat during Covid by customers who believed in the idea.

“We had people who stuck with us and saw us through,” she said. “We thought the least we could do is help another organization out.”

Ironically, neither Lindsey nor Boninsegna had seen FAT HAM at the time of making the donation. The two were bringing their families to the March 16 performance.

Boninsegna first heard about the play through a conversation with Farnbauch. Later, her daughter Harper saw a production of FAT HAM during a Columbus Academy arts trip to Chicago in February.

“Harper just kept talking about seeing this play and how funny it was,” Boninsegna said. “I asked her, ‘What show did you see?’ She said, ‘FAT HAM’ and I went ‘Oh my gosh, I was just talking with (Farnbauch) about this show.’”

Boninsegna remembers Farnbauch stating receiving the NEA grant “was a bucket list” achievement.

“It meant people understood what you were trying to do,” Boninsegna said.

Initially, Farnbauch and the Contemporary Theatre of Ohio were crushed when they learned the grant was frozen. However, having the support of the artistic community means far more than any endowment.

“Receiving an NEA grant is about more than funding - it’s national recognition of artistic excellence,” Farnbauch said. “The Contemporary was awarded this grant based on the high artistic quality and relevance of our productions and our mission-driven work. However, due to changes out of our control, access to these funds -  and the external validation this grant represents -  remains uncertain.

“This moment is bigger than one grant. It’s a testament to what happens when a community values and supports the arts. If this inspires you to support professional theatre made by and for our community that amplifies diverse voices, we invite you to join us—by attending FAT HAM, spreading the word, or making a matching contribution of your own.”

Photo courtesy of Anne Boninsegna

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