In my interview with actor Tyler Ray Lewis, who stars in Fat Ham as the central character Juicy, they talked about how hilarious James Ijames’ play was. They weren’t wrong, but the impression they made was a bit off center as the play was also heavy on family drama that was often jarring or uncomfortable. In Stage West’s regional premiere of the Black queer take on Hamlet, Juicy navigates the troubling habits of his own family’s history and strives to break those angry and violent cycles.

Stage West opened the Pulitzer Prize-winning play last Friday. The final show in Stage West’s season is also a co-production with Dallas Theater Center. Directed by vickie washington, Fat Ham was a volatile mix of comedy and drama that resulted in a satisfying mess. The characters were far from perfect m

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