Photos: First Look At Rhode Island Premiere Of FAT HAM At Wilbury Theatre Group

Check out just released production photos by Erin X. Smithers of the Wilbury Theatre Group's Rhode Island premiere of the 2022 Pulitzer Prize Winner for Drama: Fat Ham by James Ijames. 

Directed by Don Mays, the production features performances by Jeff Ararat, Jermaine L. Pearson, Maria Albertina, Mamadou Toure, Autumn Jefferson, Michelle L. Walker, and Dana Reid as Juicy. Fat Ham runs at the Wilbury Group March 27 – April 13, 2025. 

In Fat Ham, Juicy is a queer, Southern college kid, already grappling with some serious questions of identity, when the ghost of his father shows up in their backyard, demanding that Juicy avenge his murder. It feels like a familiar story to Juicy, well-versed in Hamlet’s woes. What’s different is Juicy himself, a sensitive and self-aware young Black man trying to break the cycles of trauma and violence in service of his own liberation. From an uproarious family barbecue emerges a compelling examination of love and loss, pain and joy.

“At its core, Fat Ham is a story about breaking cycles—of trauma, of expectations, of the past itself,” said Wilbury Theatre Group’s Artistic Director, Josh Short. “James Ijames has crafted a play that is both deeply funny and profoundly moving, challenging us to imagine what freedom can look like when we choose joy over vengeance. We are honored to bring this bold and beautiful work to our stage for our audiences with this incredible group of artists.” 

Fat Ham debuted in 2021 in a filmed production for Wilma Theater in Philadelphia.  It made its off-Broadway debut at The Public Theatre in 2022 in a co-production with the National Black Theatre, transferring to Broadway in 2023.  In addition to winning the 2022 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, the show was nominated for five Tony Awards. The Los Angeles Times says: "A comedy with serious tragic business on its mind, Fat Ham is [a] gripping, boisterously outrageous, theatrical offering...In reminding us that we’re not the sum of our mistakes, Ijames asks us to consider what our lives would be like if we would choose 'pleasure over harm.' Fat Ham practices what it preaches by lavishing laughter and delight as it encourages us to take our destinies caressingly in hand."

For tickets and more information, visit thewilburygroup.org/fat-ham

Photo Credit: Erin X. Smithers

To post a comment, you must register and login.