Island City Stage, Brévo Theatre and GableStage present Fat Ham
Thu Apr 3, 7:00 PM - Sun May 4, 9:00 PM
in 9 days

Island City Stage in Wilton Manors, Brévo Theatre in Pompano Beach and GableStage in Coral Gables will present their collaborative production of Fat Ham, the 2022 Pulitzer Prize-winning play by James Ijames, this spring. This first-time historic partnership among three of South Florida's leading theatre companies, made possible by a generous $250,000 grant from The Warten Foundation, will bring this imaginative and witty reinterpretation of Shakespeare’s Hamlet that tackles identity, belonging and generational issues, to both Broward and Miami-Dade counties. Fat Ham will premiere at Island City Stage from April 3 – May 4 and then moves to GableStage from May 16 - June 15, 2025.
Fat Ham transforms Shakespeare's Hamlet into an over-the-top tale set in a North Carolina BBQ pit. With a twist, the Danish castle becomes a Southern backyard barbecue, and Juicy, a Black, gay southern kid, navigates familial legacies and a ghostly demand for vengeance. The clash of generations unfolds in this award-winning adaptation, exploring the complexities of identity and violence. Jesse Green, theater critic for The New York Times wrote, “That Fat Ham achieves its happy, even joyful, ending honestly, without denying the weight of forces that make Hamlet feel just as honest, is a sign of how capacious and original the writing is, growing the skin of its own necessity instead of merely burrowing into Shakespeare’s.”
Fat Ham is directed by T.M. Pride and stars Toddra Brunson (Rabby), Henry Cadet (Juicy), Melvin Huffnagle (Rev/Papa), Cassidy Joseph (Opal), Denzel McCausland (Larry), Mikhael Mendoza (Tio) and April Nixon (Tedra).
Fat Ham is presented by an arrangement with Concord Theatricals on behalf of Samuel French, Inc. The play runs for one hour and 35 minutes with no intermission.
Individual show tickets at Island City Stage start at $43. A Mimosa Sunday Brunch sponsored by Misty Daniels will take place on April 13 with tickets at $55. As part of this unique presentation, the theatre companies will also offer a series of fun cookouts and community conversations to engage audiences.
For more information and to purchase tickets, visit www.islandcitystage.org, call (954) 928-9800 or email boxoffice@islandcitystage.org.