Skip to main content

15 thoughts on seeing "Fat Ham" by James Ijames

I got to see the Goodman Theatre production of this play on Saturday, February 15th. 

  1. Overall, great experience
  2. I feel like I should read "Hamlet" now (for those who don't know, "Fat Ham" is a reimagining of "Hamlet") and see what it adds to my understanding of "Fat Ham"
  3. I wonder, for instance, if there was queer subtext in "Hamlet" or if that was just James Ijames's take
  4. Impressive how much can be done with, essentially, one space (I say essentially because sometimes you'd see or hear characters set back in the house which sort of did and sort of didn't feel like a second space to the backyard)
  5. There was great humor to the play which helped balance some of the darker moments
  6. Tio (the Horatio character) was especially funny, but that also made his moments of seriousness more profound
  7. I was a bit confused by the ending, but luckily I attended with two very smart ladies who helped me suss it out
  8. Still though, a few parts of the ending didn't resonate with me as much as I expected (even after discussion)
  9. However, the message that we interpreted as choosing your own ending and choosing to reject the rigidity of tragedy was quite meaningful
  10. The costumes, while mostly not complex, did a lot to convey the perspectives and personalities of the characters (for instance, Opal--the Ophelia character--taking her hoodie on and off told us a lot about her)
  11. I thought it was clever to have Rev (the Claudius character) and Pap (the deceased Hamlet Sr. character) played by the same actor so that those characters would be visually connected and shown to be, perhaps, more similar than either Rev or Pap would like
  12. The actors directly addressed the audience at times which worked well for me as it brought us in
  13. Using music and dancing was a welcome element to the play
  14. Theater week provides a valuable opportunity to see plays you may not normally (that's how we got tickets)
  15. I didn't mind leaning over on the balcony to get a better view (this play was worth the lean in)

(Prompt by me)



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

15 facts about my dad

Just been thinking about some lighthearted facts I know about my dad lately. When he was young, he had a goldfish named Lysander He introduced me to Star Trek At Christmas, he would tear up at It's a Wonderful Life He used to send me articles from his Yahoo email account that he thought I'd like We used to play a game called "Nightmare" where he would lie down and we'd jump around (and sometimes on) him He would clip possible recipes for us to try out of newspapers and magazines We bought him a Paddington Bear to take on trips because we feared he'd be lonely and he always took it He had teddy bears for three different holidays We once had such a hilariously difficult time building a gingerbread house that when some frosting ended up on the counter, I plopped a gumdrop on it and we laughed until we cried He and his sister were born about 11 months apart We would try recipes from Top Chef He kept gifts I made him, even when they weren't great At Christmas, ...
Post a Comment
Read more

15 things you'll think about during your dad's latest hospital stay

This is meant to be a related piece to "15 things to do in your dad's hospital room," "15 Things You Find in Your Dad's Hospice Room," and "15 Things You Find When You Clean Out Your Dad’s Apartment" .  The Christmas lights at the nurse's station that should really have been switched for saccharine cupids by now What team decided to hang up a clearly labeled DRAFT safety sign Who comes up with the aliases they seem to use for trauma patients and how they decided on Redstone for your dad That his skin either looks like a bruised elephant or like sickeningly conflicting colors of thin paper mache Where you can possibly get food--you're shaky The patient in the ER somewhere with a lot of ammo, but no gun, or so they say Why the staff is being so happily loud and swearing...it feels discordant The used bandaid and gauze that are left on the floor of his ER room as he moves to his hospital room...the last proof he was there Having to do this a...
Post a Comment
Read more

15 things I'm looking forward to for summer 2024

It'll be here so soon!  Whale watching with a friend Bookstore crawl with a friend 57th Street Art Fair Beach days Movies in the park Swapping out my wardrobe Being done with egg retrievals (hopefully) Helping a friend plan her wedding Going to Galena Taking other trips with friends Doing more sessions of my D&D one shot Eating ice cream on hot days Dining at the Point Trying to find an agent for my picture book ideas (hopefully) Reading more (hopefully) (Prompts by me) "Sperm Whale diving" by Bernard Spragg. NZ
Post a Comment
Read more