I will start off straight away by saying you have to see FAT HAM. And I hope you are lucky enough to see it at Dezart Performs. This cast, in the hands of Michael Shaw, and AD Chuma Gault, form a very realistic, very dysfunctional family coming together at a backyard barbecue in North Carolina resulting in awkward situations and non-stop laughter in the James Ijames play aptly described as “Hamlet at a Southern BBQ”.
For those of you that need the Cliff Notes version of Hamlet, Hamlet’s daddy dies. His ghost comes back and tells Hamlet that he was murdered by his own brother. And now that very brother is claiming the crown and marrying Hamlet’s mom. He charges Hamlet to avenge his death. Hilarity does NOT ensue.
FAT HAM uses that as source material and twists it up. A lot. Gone is the political ambition of the uncle, and while power and greed certainly play into it, FAT HAM focuses on family dynamics and conflicts. And it is all done to great comic effect.
If you are wary of Shakespeare, fear not. James Ijames doth sprinkle the bard’s words so lightly throughout the play you probably won’t even notice. It’s the premise FAT HAM relies on - and even that is a bit loose. It is also funny. Very very funny.
Our first glimpse is the Rick Bluhm’s set. The backyard of a home with a long porch on both sides of the back door, and a smoker in one corner. Stepping off the porch we have the yard with the picnic table, and other seating. The entire yard is decorated with celebration signs from celebrations long past - there’s a Happy Birthday sign and other streamers, and Juicy (Devere Rogers) who is our Queer Hamlet, is untangling Christmas bulbs to hang. Juicy often breaks the fourth wall, and no matter how far back you’re sitting in the audience, you feel like you’re his confidant, his silent friend, sitting across from him at the barbecue. He has great rapport with his bestie, stoner Tio (Enrike Llamas), who is the first to see the ghost of Juicy’s Pap (DeJuan Christopher). He’s also the guy who spills the tea that Juicy’s mother, Tedra (Candace Nicholas-Lippman) is at the courthouse marrying Juicy’s uncle, Rev (also DeJuan Christopher). Juicy doesn’t believe Tio on either count, but when Tio goes inside the house for snacks, Pap appears again and tells Juicy he was murdered, and he wants Juicy to avenge him by killing the man who did it: his brother, Juicy’s Uncle Rev. Juicy’s a queer kid, and a tender critical thinker. He answers appropriately - “WTF, I can’t do that.” Pap disappears as Juicy’s mama, Tedra (Candace Nicholas-Lippman) enters excitedly.
Nicolas-Lippman’s Tedra is trashy but sexy, her body has always been her currency, and she’s dressed as 100% man bait. She’s all about pleasing her man, but she still loves her son, and tries to tamp the rising drama between them. You can’t shame her, It’s all she knows. It may be the 21st century elsewhere, but here in their little town things haven’t progressed much since the 1970s. And that’s why she lets Rev talk bad to Juicy, and why she lets Rev remodel her bathroom with Juicy’s college money. The question is, will that make Juicy change his values and honor his dead father’s wishes? You’re gonna have to see it to find out.
But let me tell you more about this perfect cast. The bombastic Rev, played to great effect by DeJuan Christopher, is a little bit like a poor man’s George Jefferson with aspirations to be Lucious Lyon from Empire. He gives Rev the wonderfully oily patina of a boisterous nobody, puffing out his chest like a peacock while laying down the law as the new man of the house.
If you have ever visited a Baptist church in the south, you have met the matriarch of the clan, Rabby (Tamiyka White) who enters in full on pink. Pink suit, pink hat, pink shoes (shout out to designer Wendell Carmichael). She is every church lady you’ve ever met, and her portrayal is bold and delightful. She will probably tell you she makes the best greens in town, and no one can beat her cobbler. You can see where Rev gets his chutzpah.
Pap and Rev aren’t Rabby’s only kids. She’s got a couple of younger ones too: Michael Houston portrays Larry, who arrives in full Marine dress. I can’t really reveal Larry’s secrets, those are his to tell, but I will tell you that Houston does a terrific job in the role.
The last of the family is Opal, the baby of the family, who’s not particularly thrilled about being at the barbecue, especially in the dress Rabby made her wear. Maci Alexis gives Opal the brooding sassiness of a late-stage teenager. Although Opal is Juicy’s aunt, they seem to be close in age and have that “cousins at the little table” camaraderie.
Tio is not blood, but he’s got honorary blood status as Juicy’s Best Friend. Enrique Llamas plays Tio with the perfect level of stoned, and I promise you will howl with laughter when he describes a dream he had about gingerbread men. I still have no idea what that dream had to do with the plot, but I’m sure glad it was in there.
Technicals were terrific, and the design choices for costumes were solid. The special effects were hilarious.
If you want to see a perfect cast perform a Pulitzer Prize winning play that will keep you laughing from start to finish, pick up the phone and call the box office now. Tickets have been added for select performances. Box office: 770-322-0179
All photos by David A. Lee
www.Dezart performs.org
At Pearl McManus Theater at the Palm Springs Woman’s Club
314 S Cahuilla Road
Downtown Palm Springs, CA 92262
Producers: Michael Shaw and Clark Duggar
Director: Michael Shaw
Assistant Director: Chuma Gault
Tech Director: Tom O’Brien
Design:
Set: Rick Bluhm
Lighting: Derrick McDaniel
Sound: Clark Duggar
Costumes: Wendell Carmichael
Props/SFX: Laura Stearns
Choreographer: Jose De La Cuesta
Production Stage Manager: Ashley Weaver
Cast:
Juicy: Devere Rogers
Tio: Enrike Llamas
Rev/Pap: DeJuan Christopher
Tedra: Candace Nicholas-Lippman
Larry: Michael Houston
Rabby: Tamiyka White
Opal: Maci Alexis
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