FAT HAM – Written by James Ijames; Directed by donnie l. betts. Produced by The Aurora Fox Arts Center (9900 East Colfax, Aurora) through April 19. Tickets available at 303-739-1970 or AuroraFoxArtsCenter.org.
Through a stretch of imagination, I guess a small pig could be a pig-let. Taking that further, any size pig could become a ham. So, a ham made from a small porker could come up with a Juicy nickname. This more or less explains the origins of the main character’s name in this Shakespeare adjacent dramedy. Juicy, a gay, emotionally abused, not a teenager but not-quite-a-man-yet (played with gravitas by Sa’Daiveon Newell), is thrown into an impossible situation, which encourages him to sink into his personal doldrums even further. His father was killed in prison; his mother immediately jumped into bed and marriage with his father’s brother; his uncle/stepdad spent Juicy’s college money on fixing up his mom’s house; and he is being forced to “be nice” to everyone hanging around. No wonder it seems he stands in the middle of a storm cloud just waiting for the lightning. But when he is amused and smiles, the sun comes out.
Not really enough to lighten the mood of the play. All the other characters seem to be desperately trying to find something to smile about, to no avail. His stepdad (Don Randle) is a downright mean and nasty SOB who apparently had no qualms about orchestrating the demise of his own brother. He’s an equal opportunity bastard, throwing his venom around to his new wife, his stepson, and other friends who have come to eat barbecue at the backyard wedding reception. Everyone tries to pretend they aren’t physically afraid of him, but don’t quite get the message across. Randle, in a two-for-one performance as both brothers, becomes the murdered brother/father in a sparkling white prison jumpsuit. But no ominous ghostly proclamations or tearful reunions with a loved son (a la HAMNET) for this angry, unforgiving specter. He has only one thing to give Juicy – an order to kill his uncle.
Tedra, the secondhand bride, knows her role is to “go along to get along” and makes no bones about fearing for her son’s safety. There is no guilt in her life. Neither of her men has shown respect, to the point that she no longer expects them to. This is a woman on the edge. What’s going to happen to her when she loses her looks or can’t keep up the facade any longer? Adrienne Martin Fullwood finds the inner strength to hold her head up, even when she is cowering. Latifah Johnson is the quiet-until-she’s-not neighbor with an attitude.
The younger people at this unfun party, Nadiya Jackson as Opal (as close as they could get to Ophelia in modern day language), Jozeph Mykaels as Larry (Laertes without a sword), and Antonio Minino as Tio (a Hora-tio [get it!] and Polonius combination) do the best they can in a totally unpleasant afternoon of “fun.” Juicy finally suggests a game of charades (to reference the “trippingly over the tongue” play within a play in the real Hamlet) and brings the violence to a head. No swords in this version, but watch out for those rib bones.
A cast that knows what they are doing, a script that bites and chuckles at the same time, a beautifully built back porch and yard with a real smoking BBQ pit, characters that spit and sparkle (in Larry’s case, literally) – what more could you want in an evening’s entertainment?
A WOW factor of 8.50!!