GableStage's ‘Fat Ham' is part of a juicy regional collaboration
Maybe the seemingly long haul on I-95 made treacherous by traffic congestion creates the Miami-Dade County and Broward County division among its residents. While there are plenty of reasons someone from one county or the other will say they don't venture north or south, arts groups are well aware there's a definite line in the sand.
So, when three professional theater companies, two from Broward and one from Miami-Dade, came together to collaborate on the production of James Ijames' Pulitzer Prize-winning 'Fat Ham,' it was, in no uncertain terms, heralded as a historic partnership.
Then there was a fourth cog in the wheel, the Fort Lauderdale-based Warten Foundation that wanted to support the newly formed theater trinity of Wilton Manors' Island City Stage, Pompano Beach's Brévo Theatre, and Coral Gables' GableStage, with a $250,000 grant to help fund the South Florida premiere of 'Fat Ham.'
'Fat Ham' opened at Island City Stage on Friday, April 3 and ran through Sunday, May 4. Now it moves to GableStage, opening Friday, May 16 and running through Sunday, June 15.
A modern interpretation of William Shakespeare's 'Hamlet' set at a Southern Black family's backyard barbecue, the playwright, originally from North Carolina, creates parallel's between the classic play as Juicy, a 20-year-old gay Black man living in the South is visited by the ghost of his father asking him to avenge his death. Pap, Juicy's father, says his brother had him killed so that he could marry his widow and take over the family business.
Bari Newport, producing artistic director of GableStage, had plans to produce 'Fat Ham.' She says she obtained the rights to stage the show but hadn't moved forward in putting it on GableStage's season calendar.
'I was sitting on the rights,' she says. 'It's an incredible piece of writing and it isn't a Pulitzer Prize winner for nothin.' But I wanted to partner with the right director.' Newport received a call from the licensing agent at Concord Theatricals, explaining that another theater company 'about 30 miles away' wanted to present 'Fat Ham.'
'They didn't think that would be a problem because, quote, we didn't share an audience. And I said, 'Well, I think it is a problem,' and I asked who the company was.' When the agent said Island City Stage, Newport's wheels started turning. What if the two companies did it together somehow? 'Why say no to their production when I could just say yes to our production?'
She says that the Warten Foundation, which had a relationship with Island City Stage, was 'tickled' by this experiment and that some of the foundation members had been to plays at GableStage. Island City's founding artistic director Andy Rogow then mentioned that he had been in conversations with Brévo Theatre, a young Black theater company based in Pompano Beach, founded by Florida A&M grads Zaylin Yates and TM Pride. The company had worked with Island City on Tarell Alvin McCraney's 'The Brothers Size.'
Pride was the perfect fit to direct the production, which would keep the same cast for both companies. (There is one replacement in the GableStage production because of a scheduling conflict with the first actress who played Tedra. At GableStage, Tedra will be played by Dina Lewis).
'Zaylin says it best when he talks about the play,' says Pride. 'The fact that Ijames was able to write a play that can fit three completely different visions – Island City Stage who focuses on LBGTQ issues, GableStage where one part of their mission is the idea of tackling today's issues, and then Brévo, where we put the focus on Black voices and young artists, so it was the perfect play for us to come to the table with.'
Newport's idea to hold on to the play until she could fit the pieces together with the right director who understood the play's voice and perspective was on point. Pride agrees about knowing the narrative intrinsically. 'The beautiful thing about being able to direct 'Fat Ham' is having that experience. I know what Juicy is going through. I know this story. I know this family. And bringing the actors together who share that with me. They've said to me, 'We get to be ourselves. We don't even have to do all this deep, intense character development.' And all within a framework that is traditionally white America, or European theater.'
Pride says he believes audiences will relate to the family dynamics present in the play. 'What we've done with the collaboration, too, is really about building community and establishing relationships and helping people to see how we're more alike than different.'
Other cast members in the GableStage production, all South Florida actors, are Toddra Brunson, Henry Cadet, Melvin Huffnagle, Cassidy Joseph, Denzel McCausland, and Mikhael Mendoza.
There were slight adjustments that had to be made to have the play move from Island City Stage to GableStage. 'None of us have ever done it before in terms of creating a show for two different spaces, and two very different spaces, at that.'
Moving 'Fat Ham' south didn't require many changes. GableStage's stage is a bit wider so it allowed for the set to expand a bit. Island City Stage's intimate venue has 65 seats while GableStage has more than double the amount at 135, but also not a large theater. 'We've made some subtle changes with costuming. Also, we've done a more elaborate light design at GableStage.'
Both artistic directors, who often direct their shows, were integral in shaping the productions, too.
'Fat Ham' is an extremely smart script and that's who our audience is. They are a sophisticated group of theater lovers who want to go away talking about the piece that they just experienced and they want to see it excellently executed,' says Newport.
For the Warten Foundation, the regional production of 'Fat Ham' checked all the boxes for its funding mission.
' . . . The collaboration, the diversity, all of it,' says Clifford J. Cideko, chairman of the Fort-Lauderdale based philanthropy group founded by the late Frederick Warten.
'I said, 'We have to do this.' We are focused on diversity and bringing people together. If there is someone on the fence about certain issues, or someone who isn't aware, even if one person sees this show and it changes their perspective, that we use the power of live theater to get people talking, then (our contribution) has been a success.'
If you go:
WHAT: 'Fat Ham' by James Ijames, a coproduction of Island City Stage, Brévo Theatre, and GableStage
WHERE: GableStage in the Biltmore Hotel, 1200 Anastasia Ave., Coral Gables
WHEN: Opens with a preview on Friday, May 16 with public opening on Saturday, May 17. 7:30 p.m., Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. 2 p.m. Wednesday and Sunday. Through Sunday, June 15. The show closes with a 'Fat Ham' barbecue following the performance.
COST: $55 and $65 includes $10 service fee (discounts for students, teachers, artists, military and groups).
INFORMATION: 305-445-1119 or gablestage.org
ArtburstMiami.com is a nonprofit media source for the arts featuring fresh and original stories by writers dedicated to theater, dance, visual arts, film, music and more. Don't miss a story at www.artburstmiami.com.
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