RICH LOPEZ | Staff writer
Rich@DallasVoice.com
To slay or not to slay? That may be the question Juicy asks in Fat Ham. The regional premiere of the Pulitzer Prize winner by James Ijames opens this week at Stage West, in association with Dallas Theater Center. Ijames’ story puts a spin on Shakespeare that’s Black and queer and centers on Juicy. But it also flips the script.
“Juicy’s trying really hard to break those family curses here,” lead actor Tyler Lewis (they/them) said about their role ahead of opening night.
In Fat Ham, Juicy’s navigating life as a queer Black man in his Deep South family, but his family is just the worst. His mother marries his uncle; his dead father haunts him, and Juicy is just trying to be fabulous.
For his own sake, for his own joy, Juicy may just have to defy his father’s demands for revenge.
The show runs Aug. 28-Sept. 14 at Stage West. Fat Ham will play at the Kalita Humphreys Theater from Jan. 30-Feb. 8 as part of Dallas Theater Center’s season.
Lewis said that while there is some drama here, don’t expect the heaviness of Shakespeare’s actual Hamlet.
“It’s both a comedy and drama,” they said. “Since day one, I keep breaking character because it’s just so hilarious.”
Lewis also relates to the character — almost a little much. They could almost be mirror-images of each other the way they describe each. This does put the actor at ease in embodying the character.
“Juicy’s story parallels my life. He is a plus-sized queer person from the South. He’s from a small town, as am I. He grew up different and misunderstood, just like I did,” they said.
“The only difference is that he is very dark and somber which is the opposite of me. I’m usually very jovial and happy,” they added.
And like Juicy, Lewis is trying to break their own cycles.
Juicy’s father demands anger and violence from his son, but Juicy sees things differently. Lewis related to that. With their own story growing up country, they had expectations thrust upon them.
“We were all expected to do sports, and I grew up raising pigs and did FFA (Future Farmers of America) and the like, but that just wasn’t my thing,” they said. “All the men are expected to take over, and the focus was on that.”
Lewis continued, “Juicy and myself grew up watching what not to be, even though they were deciding who I would be. I aspired to be something different, so I began making an active decision to follow my own dreams and aspirations regardless and in spite of what’s expected.”
In short, that’s the lesson Fat Ham may offer.
With such similar parallels, would the two be besties?
“I mean, yes and no,” they said with a laugh. “I’m a person who’s drawn to people who need people. They may be broken down or beat up, and I get pulled into that wanting to be positive. But then, with Juicy, I know I’d also have to be like ‘Girl, get up!’”
Fat Ham is the third play in the collaborative Black Broadway Series which included Circle Theatre’s A Strange Loop and Soul Rep Theatre Company’s Ain’t No Mo.’ All three centered on Black stories with queer leads.
But, Lewis said, it’s important to remember that these are Black stories first.
“They are just all from a queer lens, and you don’t see that often at the theater forefront,” they said. “Having these stories is so important to show we exist. I’m an example of it. It’s more important now to have these stories onstage that strike back at those against us.”
Lewis hasn’t just found a safe space in Juicy, but also in the theater’s cast and crew. Lewis said they’ve struggled to find Black-forward shows. Here, they are loving that the entire cast and crew are Black — or as they describe it: “This is a Black-ass show. That’s so crucial in telling Black stories, but also, it feels like being at home.
“We all get each other; we speak the same language and [director] vickie washington has cultivated a great environment, and our dramaturg Harold Steward has done fantastic work.
“It’s amazing to be surrounded by all this Black excellence.”
For tickets, visit StageWest.org or DallasTheaterCenter.org.