The complete cast and creative team for the upcoming Broadway run of James Ijames' Pulitzer-winning play Fat Ham have been announced. The production, which arrives at the American Airlines Theatre March 21, follows an award-winning engagement at Off-Broadway's Public Theater. The Public and National Black Theatre co-production will officially open its 14-week engagement April 12.
Reprising their roles from the Off-Broadway run, as previously announced, are Nikki Crawford as Tedra, Chris Herbie Holland as Tio, Billy Eugene Jones as Rev and Pap, Adrianna Mitchell as Opal, Calvin Leon Smith as Larry, Marcel Spears as Juicy, and Benja Kay Thomas as Rabby; Crawford, Holland, Mitchell, Smith, and Spears all will make their Broadway debuts with the production.
Joining the Broadway cast as understudies are RJ Foster, Marquis D. Gibson, Alexandria Lewis, Matthew Elijah Webb, and Rema Webb.
In a reinvention of Shakespeare's Hamlet, Fat Ham takes place at a Southern cookout. The comic tragedy follows Juicy, a queer college kid, as he grapples with identity questions, the ghost of his father, a supernatural demand for vengeance, and the choice of breaking or continuing cycles of trauma and violence.
READ: Marcel Spears, Star of Pulitzer-Winning Fat Ham, Talks Shakespeare and Southern Cookouts
Director Saheem Ali returns to direct the play in his Broadway debut, alongside returning members of the Off-Broadway creative team: scenic designer Maruti Evans, costume designer Dominique Fawn Hill, sound designer Mikaal Sulaiman, choreographer Darrell Grand Moultrie, hair and wig designer Earon Chew Nealey, and illusions designer Skylar Fox. Previously announced to join the team are lighting designer Bradley King and production stage manager Kamra A. Jacobs. General management will be by Baseline Theatrical. Casting is by Kate Murray.
Newly announced creative team members include fight director Lisa Kopitsky and singing coach Deborah Lapidus, along with associate director Sideeq Heard, associate choreographer Abdur Jackson, associate scenic designer Jessica Kaplan, assistant costume designer DeShon Elem, associate lighting designer Aja M. Jackson, associate sound designer DJ Potts, and associate illusions designer Christian Cagigal.
LOOK: Fat Ham Shows Off-Broadway How to Party
The work made its world premiere in 2021 as a streaming production via Philadelphia's Wilma Theater; it transfers to Broadway after an extended and sold-out Off-Broadway debut last year at The Public Theater. Read reviews for the Off-Broadway run here.
The production marks National Black Theatre’s first production on Broadway. Fat Ham is produced by No Guarantees, Public Theater Productions and Rashad V. Chambers. Andy Jones and Dylan Pager will serve as executive producers.
Visit FatHamBroadway.com.
Marcel Spears
The cast of Fat Ham
Billy Eugene Jones and Marcel Spears
Chris Herbie Holland, Adrianna Mitchell, Benja Kay Thomas, and Calvin Leon Smith
Billy Eugene Jones and Nikki Crawford
Benja Kay Thomas
Marcel Spears and Adrianna Mitchell
Chris Herbie Holland and Marcel Spears
Calvin Leon Smith and Billy Eugene Jones
The cast of Fat Ham
Marcel Spears
Marcel Spears and Nikki Crawford
