Fat Ham star Marcel Spears gives a behind-the-scenes glimpse at the new Pulitzer-winning and 2023 Tony-nominated Broadway play as he takes over Playbill's Instagram May 6. Make sure to follow @Playbill to keep up on all the action.
Spears stars as queer college kid Juicy in James Ijames' modern take on Shakespeare's Hamlet, where the action moves from 15th-century Denmark to a modern day Southern cookout. Juicy has to grapple with identity questions, the ghost of his father, and a supernatural demand for vengeance. The choice laid before him? Whether to break or perpetuate cycles of trauma and violence.
Sharing the stage with Spears are 2023 Tony Award nominee 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, and Benja Kay Thomas as Rabby; Crawford, Holland, Mitchell, Smith, and Spears all are making their Broadway debuts. Rounding out the company as understudies are RJ Foster, Marquis D. Gibson, Alexandria Lewis, Matthew Elijah Webb, and Rema Webb.
READ: In Fat Ham, James Ijames Reinvents Hamlet Through a Lens of Blackness and Queerness
Saheem Ali, who directed the work's 2022 Off-Broadway premiere, also directs the Broadway staging, marking his Main Stem debut. The creative team also features the return of 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. They are joined by lighting designer Bradley King, fight director Lisa Kopitsky, and singing coach Deborah Lapidus. Casting is by Kate Murray.
Fat Ham is produced on Broadway by Cynthia Erivo, Rashad V. Chambers, No Guarantees and Public Theater Productions, while Andy Jones and Dylan Pager serve as executive producers. Tony nominee Colman Domingo serves as a co-producer.
Nikki Crawford, Billy Eugene Jones, Benja Kay Thomas, Marcel Spears,
Adrianna Mitchell, and Calvin Leon Smith
Calvin Leon Smith, Nikki Crawford, Billy Eugene Jones, Benja Kay
Thomas, Adrianna Mitchell, and Marcel Spears
Marcel Spears and Adrianna Mitchell
Nikki Crawford, Billy Eugene Jones, Benja Kay Thomas, Adrianna Mitchell, Calvin Leon Smith, and Marcel Spears
Adrianna Mitchell and Benja Kay Thomas
Marcel Spears and Nikki Crawford in Fat Ham
Marcel Spears
Marcel Spears and Calvin Leon Smith in Fat Ham
Marcel Spears and Billy Eugene Jones
Adrianna Mitchell, Chris Herbie Holland, and Marcel Spears
