From Broad Street to Broadway: Pulitzer Prize-winning play, Fat Ham, nominated for 5 Tony Awards
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- If you're celebrating Pride Month, there's an original play on Broadway that's become a must-see for its hilarious yet profound approach to queer identity and self-discovery. It's called Fat Ham and has grossed nearly $4 million in ticket sales since opening in April.
The 2023 Tony Awards airs Sunday, June 11 on CBS at 8 p.m. The play Fat Ham continues its Broadway run until July 2.
The show is back in Philly this fall and this time on stage at the Wilma Theatre.
If you're familiar with Shakespeare, you may notice James Ijames' Fat Ham sounds a lot like the tragedy of Hamlet. A story of familial betrayal, vengeance, and love.
"The ghost of his father shows up and says 'Your uncle killed me, I want you to avenge me,'" he said. "That's essentially the starting point of my play too."
But Fat Ham takes a comedic spin on the Hamlet narrative.
It's set at a backyard barbeque in the south and the main character, Juicy, is grappling with his identity as a queer person in a Black family that struggles with acceptance.
"It made me feel like I had done something for my younger self. Because I didn't have that," Ijames said. "There weren't a ton of plays that I could go see when I was a kid that talked about these things. I always wanted to create mirrors so people can see themselves."
Exploring queer identity is a recurring theme in the Pulitzer Prize-winning play that is now nominated for five Tony Awards including a nomination for Best Play.
"We've done good work," Ijames said. "We've made a beautiful thing."
Before making its Broadway debut, Fat Ham first premiered on Broad Street at the Wilma Theatre during the pandemic as a filmed production.
Ijames grew up in North Carolina but the Temple University alum has spent the last 20 years in Philly as an actor, playwright, and theater professor at Villanova University.
"I learned how to how to be an artist here," he said. "So, I walked into the Broadway situation really knowing what my values were, what I thought was important."
For him, that's creating art that gives a voice to those who are underrepresented.
"There have always been people who have said to me, 'I want to thank you for showing me myself because I've never seen myself on stage or on screen in this way,'" Ijames said. "That's a dream come true. That's the thing you hope your work does."
The 2023 Tony Awards airs Sunday, June 11 on CBS at 8 p.m. The play Fat Ham continues its Broadway run until July 2.
The show is back in Philly this fall at the Wilma Theatre.
