#Public theater fat ham

[shakespearenews]

“I feel really proud, and excited that it’s going to reach a larger audience,” Ijames said in an interview. “This play is for people who are looking for a new path, people who are trying to figure out how to talk to their family about difficult things, queer people who want to see their reflection, Black people who want to see their reflection, people who love Shakespeare and folks who have never seen a Shakespeare play. It’s for everyone.”

...The show will also be the first produced by Public Theater Productions, which is a for-profit subsidiary of the nonprofit Public Theater. Under that structure, the Public could make money if “Fat Ham” turns a profit, but the nonprofit has no liability if the show loses money, and no donor funds are involved. A similar financing structure has in the past been used by the Manhattan Theater Club, another prominent New York nonprofit.

[writemarcus]

Playwright James Ijames on 'Fat Ham,' the spotlight on Black queerness and life after a Pulitzer

A Q&A with the Pulitzer Prize–winning playwright of 'Fat Ham.'

Written by Marcus Scott

Wednesday February 8 2023

James Ijames won the 2022 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for Fat Ham, an irreverent riff on William Shakespeare’s Hamlet that feels like a call to arms for Black joy and queer representation. A jambalaya of satire, magical realism and the American domestic sitcom, the play follows Juicy (Marcel Spears), a morose online-college student, as he tries to come to terms with the marriage of his newly-widowed mother, Tedra (Nikki Crawford), to his Machiavellian uncle Rev (Billy Eugene Jones). “This ain’t Shakespeare,” Ijames noted in the show’s program. “Don’t get me wrong. I love Shakespeare, this just ain’t him. This ain’t a tragedy…This play is offering tenderness next to softness as a practice of living. This play is celebrating Blackness that is traditional and weird and lonely and happy and grieving and honest and frightened and brave and sexy and churchified and liberated and poetic.”

Fat Ham had its world premiere in the spring of 2021 in a digital production by Philadelphia’s Wilma Theater. A year later, it made its onstage debut at the Public Theater, directed by Saheem Ali, and became one of the buzziest plays of the season. On March 21, 2023, that production will begin a limited run at Broadway’s American Airlines Theatre. We chatted over FaceTime with the playwright as he prepared to step into rehearsals.  

Fat Ham moves Hamlet from a medieval Danish castle to a modern-day cookout in North Carolina. Why a barbecue?

“Barbecues are cumulative spaces. It starts with a few people and then it grows. There’s food, and people are drinking. It’s a space of truth-telling, it’s a space of game-playing, it’s a space of intimacy and warmth—and it’s where secrets come out. My family recently came together for the Christmas holiday and a cousin of mine made an announcement about being pregnant. Everyone was just so excited and lifted by that; everyone’s energy turned towards them in this really beautiful way. I wanted a space where that sort of collective joy was possible and also where a big, messy argument was possible. Where a fight was possible, where drinking was possible, where eating was possible, where romance was possible. In Shakespearean comedies, when you go outside or into the woods—like the forest of Arden [in As You Like It] or the forest in Midsummer—it’s a space where anything’s possible. There’s magic. We’re not inside, in a cold room in a cold castle. We’re outside: We have decorations, we’re colorfully dressed. We are in the sort of space where magic is palpable and possible.”

Juicy is not your typical Hamlet. He is Black and Southern and, as you describe him in the play, “thicc.” What was the motivation behind that?

“Well, I’m Black and from the South, and that drove my desire to play with people that sound and look like me. When you see productions of Hamlet, he's usually white and sort of athletic. I wanted to make a version of this play that was open to a body type that wasn't that; I'm a person who, for pretty much my whole life, has had some struggle with my weight and my perception of what I look like and how I feel in my body. And another thing I wanted to do was to explore Blackness in the South in a way that felt contemporary, that didn't feel held by history—looking at Southern communities right now as opposed to a nostalgic imagination of the Black South.”

Why did you choose for Juicy to have a passion to study Human Resources in college?

“Human Resources is about care and workflow. Efficiency. I wanted Juicy to have a passion for something that felt antithetical to his father. He wants to make sure people are okay.”

How does that contrast reflect other things about the way you have approached Shakespeare’s story?

“I think the play is exploring multiple modalities of masculinity. We see a lot of different kinds of Black masculinity on the stage. We see Juicy, we see Tio, we see Larry, we see Pap and Rev. And there’s a masculinity that’s implied about the community that they live in, that is sort of present in the room. I wanted to show that masculinity is not monolithic—it’s not as simple or cut-and-dried as it’s often depicted. I also wanted to explore cycles of trauma and violence in families. I’m interested in primordial stories, stories that no matter what culture you walk into, there’s like a version of them. I always think of Hamlet as—and I don't know that a lot of people think of it this way—but I think of Hamlet as a Cain and Abel story: the story of a sibling killing their sibling to get ahead. Anybody can relate to that; that’s a [narrative] that you inherit and moves with you through generations. And the younger folks in the play have to make some decisions about whether or not they want to continue that, whether that’s what they want their lives to look like and their relationships to each other to look like. I’m calling into question the stories that we’ve been passed down as wisdom. Because sometimes it’s wisdom, but more and more I look at those stories as cautionary tales of what you shouldn’t do. Vengeance isn’t gonna help Juicy. Killing his uncle is not gonna help Juicy’s life get any better.”

Your breakthrough play was Kill Move Paradise in 2017. How do you think you've changed as a writer since then?

“Oh, gosh. When I look at Kill Move Paradise, that play is quite erratic, you know [he laughs]. I always describe it as the way that I try to metabolize my anger and my fear and anxiety about being a Black body driving around in America, walking around in America, just trying to live my life. And so it has that anxiety in it. It has that fear and nervousness in it. It’s in the text, you can feel it on the page. As I've gotten a little older, I've experienced more and I've written more—the more you write, the better writer you become. I'm more intentional with story, with plot; how I'm weaving a theme or a theory into the action of a play is a bit more sophisticated than it was when I was starting out. The anger is usually shrouded in rebellion or exuberance. At a point in my life, anger sort of dragged me down into a space of high-blood-pressure fury. But I think now the work offers people an invitation to metabolize anger in a different way. By the time we get to the end of Fat Ham, people are dancing in the aisle.”

They certainly are.

“And that is not to negate the fact that we’ve just watched the thing that had pain in it, that had trauma in it, that had violence in it. But just because you’ve been through difficulty doesn’t consign you for the rest of your life to difficulty, to trauma, to pain. We have access to joy, we have access to resilience, we have access to exuberant ecstasy. Black history, in this country in particular, teaches us that: The blues and jazz and hip-hop come out of extraordinary awful scenarios and settings. Those art forms are undeniably both Black, but undeniably exuberant, resilient, unabashed, queer—all of those things! They possess all of those things. When I sit down to write a play, I know that at the end I have to send people out into the world, into the streets, into workplaces, into homes. My hope is that I’m leading them to some hope.”

This play is pretty fantastical, and there are various displays of spectacle and magic. There are also a panoply of images and homages to the Pan-African cultural experience—allusions to Louisiana Voodoo as well as Central African, Creole and Haitian Hoodoo symbology.

“Ghosts are a feature in a lot of my plays. Magic is a feature in a lot of my plays. Because I’m a person who grew up with people who kind of had magical ways of thinking. I grew up Baptist: hardcore, every Sunday, sang in the choir, youth ministry, youth usher—like, I am a church gay! I also grew up in a family that has New Year’s Eve traditions that they do, and will throw salt over their shoulder, or say “Don’t sweep over a single man’s shoe because he won’t get married.” That sort of Hoodoo connection to the spirit world and connection to ancestors was also a big part of the family that I grew up in. And so magic in that respect feels very real to me. Ancestors feel very present—the reverence for people who have passed on is immense. So, to me, the ghost of Juicy’s father showing up isn’t just a specter from this other world that is coming with caution and with information. Juicy is having a conversation with his ancestor and he talks to his ancestor, the way that I talk to mine. The thinness of that veil between here and there—I relish in that, and the theatrical allows you to do that with a lot of ease. I didn’t want the ghost to be a joke. He’s funny—that cat is extremely funny—but he also has these great moments of, like, “Wow, I really messed you up.”  

There is a long literary tradition of Black writers explaining Blackness to people who aren’t Black. You don’t do that here. In fact, this play comments on performing Blackness, trauma porn and “enterpainment” on stage—and it’s done with humor. Why was this important to you?

“Humor is powerful. It opens us up to hearing things in a new way. It’s a big part of all of my plays. The question about explaining Blackness is huge to me. I don’t feel like I have to explain Blackness to an audience. I’m assuming that everyone will catch up who doesn’t understand.”

At the end of the show, there’s a cover of the funky dance-pop disco tune “Kill The Lights” sung by Broadway actor Mykal Kilgore. What inspired that particular needle drop?

“I love disco music, just personally. Anybody can dance to it. If you are off-rhythm, you will be on a rhythm with disco music because it’s four-on-the-floor and is just all-encompassing. It strives for ecstasy, it strives for moving from a passage from one state to another. Probably because they were all like using drugs and having sex while they were listening to it in the Seventies and Eighties. But this is a contemporary artist singing in the disco style. It’s not a song from the era. It just moves people! That music moves people.”

If you were to classify your previous plays by genre, with Fat Ham being disco, what would your other shows be?

“Ooh.” [He laughs.] “I think Kill Move Paradise, if I had to put a genre to it, it’s Southern hip-hop, right? It’s sort of grounded in that culture. I would say White is like pop music—it’s like my Ariana Grande album. And Miz Martha is Americana music. It’s like bluegrass with a trap beat.”

Only nine writers of Black descent have been awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in its 105-year history: Charles Gordone for No Place to Be Somebody, Charles Fuller for A Soldier’s Play, August Wilson for Fences and The Piano Lesson, Suzan-Lori Parks for Topdog/Underdog, Lynn Nottage for Ruined and Sweat, and the last four prizes in a row—Jackie Sibblies Drury for Fairview in 2019, Michael R. Jackson for A Strange Loop in 2020, Katori Hall for The Hot Wing King in 2021 and now you. Is something going on in the zeitgeist? Is there something special about Black writers that make their work more urgent right now?

“I think a few things are happening. Black writers and Black directors have been trying to push the form in new directions, to be both in conversation with the cannon and also pushing against the cannon. Those four plays—starting with Fairview and going to A Strange Loop, The Hot Wing King and Fat Ham—all four of those plays are actively doing those things. And so are some plays that haven’t won Pulitzers but have been defining culturally, like Slave Play and things like KPOP. The audience for that work is already there and primed, and it’s just waiting for someone to make art for them, you know what I'm saying? People are curious about what is possible in the form. I remember seeing Fairview and just being blown away by the audacity of it. It made me want to be more ambitious—to create more of a social experiment with my work in collaboration with an audience. I think the same thing is true of A Strange Loop and Hot Wing King in terms of those plays’ exploration of Black queer identity. And that flows rather beautifully into Fat Ham, which is doing the same sort of thing by taking a play that people cherish like Hamlet and saying, ’Not only is this mine, it’s mine in these particular ways, and this is what I’m gonna keep and this is what I’m gonna discard.’ So some of it is just us, as writers, wanting the form to feel as vital and as urgent as possible. And one way to do that is to examine how we write things and try to find new ways into storytelling.”

Those last three plays in particular have centered on Black queerness, and on what we might call radical softness. Is there something in the ether? Was there something in the culture that made us say, “Now that’s something we need to address, to attack, to appraise?” Because it all kind of happened around the same time.

“Hmm. I don’t know. That stretch of plays spanned the heartiest points of the pandemic, and we were all quite hungry for connection, closeness, touch, tenderness. And that offered an opportunity for people to be excited about seeing something that felt soft or vulnerable. I think people respond to that because we want to be better. Culturally, I think, we want to try to do things differently. It remains to be seen whether or not that will continue, but people wanted to engage with things that felt tender, that felt connective, and all of those plays are great examples of that. And I think that’s also true of Fairview; with the separation that it is asking for, it’s asking for people to sit in an embodied space with an idea.”

Last question: How has your life changed post-Pulitzer? Has that changed how people think of you and your work? Or how you think of yourself and your work?

“Oh my gosh! It’s just made my life so much busier, but it’s also made me focus on the work. Refocus on my craft and my practice. I don’t want this prize to freeze me in time. I want to keep pushing and keep expanding what I do.”

Fat Ham begins previews at the American Airlines Theatre on March 21, 2023, and opens on April 12. Tickets are available here. This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.

Follow Marcus Scott on Instagram:@therealmarcusscott

Marcus Scott

[frontmezzjunkies]

"Fat Ham" Glitters Gloriously on Broadway

#frontmezzjunkies reviews: #Broadway's #FatHam @FatHamBway written by #JamesIJames directed by #SaheemAli starring #MarcelSpears as a Juicy #Hamlet at a backyard BBQ celebrating his mother's wedding to his father's brother. @PublicTheaterNY transfer

Marcel Spears and Billy Eugene Jones in Broadway’s Fat Ham. Photo by Joan Marcus. The Broadway Theatre Review: Broadway’s Fat Ham By Ross Rising up from the dead, in a matter of speaking, after playing to acclaim at The Public Theatre downtown, playwright James Ijames’s Fat Ham has opened on Broadway and that is a just cause for a glitter ball celebration. This smart and sly backyard BBQ…

[caroleditosti]

'Fat Ham' at The Public Theater, LOL Genius

‘Fat Ham’ at The Public Theater, LOL Genius

Pulitzer Prize winning Fat Ham a hybrid genre “tragedy,” “comedy” take-off on William Shakespeare’s Hamlet ingeniously tweaks the concept of the revenge play while upending with quips and double entendres every stereotypic trope and meme of the majestic language of the Bard. James Ijames’ facile and seamless adaptation of the familiar and unfamiliar in one of Shakespeare’s most performed plays…

[power-chords]

Have you gotten the chance to see Fat Ham? It might’ve juuuuuust closed (TRAGICALLY)—very much hoping it gets picked up somewhere else—but it’s an amazing version of Hamlet done through a Black family barbecue. I saw it at the Public Theater!

FUCK! FUCK IT JUST CLOSED

[playbillz]

“Fat Ham” (Public Theater) @ Geffen Playhouse - Los Angeles - 4.17.2024

[heyscroller]

They invited Shakespeare to the cookout. They have 'fat ham'.

When James Ijames and Saheem Ali, the playwright and director of the Broadway Pulitzer Prize-winning play Fat Ham, talk about their projects, they do it in the shorthand fashion of longtime friends: incomplete sentences, sentences that come from laughter and a whole vocabulary of looks. It’s a cold February day and they’re curled up in an alcove in the Public Theater’s Library restaurant. Ijames…

[trascapades]

🎭#ArtIsAWeapon WILD ASS RAUCUS RIDE! Catch #FatHam at the @publictheaterny before it closes July 31. https://publictheater.org/productions/season/2122/fat-ham/ "FAT HAM Co-Production with National Black Theatre [ @nationalblacktheater ] By James Ijames Directed by Saheem Ali Critically-acclaimed playwright James Ijames reinvents Shakespeare’s masterpiece with his new drama, FAT HAM. Juicy is a queer, Southern college kid, already grappling with some serious questions of identity, when the ghost of his father shows up in their backyard, demanding that Juicy avenge his murder. It feels like a familiar story to Juicy, well-versed in Hamlet’s woes. What’s different is Juicy himself, a sensitive and self-aware young Black man trying to break the cycles of trauma and violence in service of his own liberation. From an uproarious family barbecue emerges a compelling examination of love and loss, pain and joy. FAT HAM is a delectable comic tragedy directed by The Public’s Associate Artistic Director Saheem Ali." #BlackGirlTheaterGeeks #BlackPlaywrights (at The Public Theater) https://www.instagram.com/p/Cf72wBHMUvz/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[thequeereview]

Theatre Review: Fat Ham (Public Theater, New York) ★★★★★

Theatre Review: Fat Ham (Public Theater, New York) ★★★★★

While Michael R. Jackson’s 2020 Pulitzer Prize-winning musical A Strange Loop is enjoying a hit run on Broadway—and is deservedly the most Tony-nominated production of the season—downtown at the Public Theater a 2022 Pulitzer-winner, James Ijames’ Fat Ham officially opened last night, with its original run already extended twice until July 3rd. Both are extraordinarily impactful and hugely…

[thehours2002]

feel free to ignore, but I’m going to new york in a lil bit and want to see some theater off broadway but i’m overwhelmed at the range of options.. do you have any recommendations a) for good theaters to check out or b) a good way to go about researching/narrowing down options (besides like distance lol)?

i think TDF puts together some good digests of off and off off broadway stuff, which would be a good resource even if you can’t access member tickets. there are also lists compiled on broadwayworld although it is the ugliest interface in the world. i would just look at the titles and blurbs and see what interests you and if the corresponding prices are in your budget.

but also i tend to mostly see commercial stuff (something i’m working on) and if @deborahsvance wants to pick up the baton, she is a much better resource

i will also give you some specific play recommendations:

i loved exception to the rule by dave harris at roundabout

you can see the the original leads reprise their roles in how i learned to drive at manhattan theatre club (make sure you know what you’re getting into with this one)

wish you were here at playwrights horizons has been highly recommended to me and i plan to see it soon

i’ve also been told by a friend that i should see fat ham at the public

i can’t wait to see which way to the stage at mcc theater which takes up musical theatre fan cultures and takes place at the stage door for if/then (where my if/then homies at!)

this musical isn’t going to change the world and i don’t care for children singing but if you want to laugh a lot and see bebe neuwirth then the bedwetter at atlantic theater company might be worthwhile and you can probably see sarah silverman wandering around if you go while it’s still in previews (opens 5/23)

this is on broadway but i highly recommend for colored girls who have considered suicide / when the rainbow is enuf

the skin of our teeth is also on broadway but i recommend it if only for the awesome dinosaur and mammoth puppets

depending on your age/if you’re a student also look out for theatre companies with discounted tickets (hiptix at roundabout, 30 under 35 at mtc, linctix, there are $20 student rush tickets for the bedwetter...)

[shakespearenews]

Public storytelling is the source of theater’s power. Shakespeare won over harried Elizabethan Londoners not by delivering homilies but by seizing hold of their moral imaginations in irresistible dramatic yarns. Without such enthrallment, this venerable art form is just another TED Talk.

“The artist is not there to indict, nor to lecture, not to harangue, and least of all to teach,” British director Peter Brook wrote in his classic 1968 treatise, “The Empty Space.” “He is part of ‘them.’ He challenges the audience truly when he is the spike in the side of an audience that is determined to challenge itself. He celebrates with an audience most truly when he is the mouthpiece of an audience that has a ground of joy.”

“Fat Ham,” James Ijames’ Pulitzer Prize-winning riff on “Hamlet,” verifies the wisdom of Brook’s words. The play, which is part of the Geffen Playhouse’s next season, extends an invitation to an audience to reconsider a story that has attained the status of theatrical myth. Ijames uses the Shakespearean convention of asides and soliloquies to develop a close rapport with those who have assembled for this audacious update.

In bestowing pleasure, “Fat Ham” entices an audience to rethink its assumptions about a famous tragedy. Edification and illumination follow delight. Theater’s broken business model won’t be solved by a few cracking good tales. But if theatergoers aren’t returning, perhaps it’s time to reflect on what they’ve been missing.

[obviouslyelementary]

A High School Life - Chapter 5

Chapter 5 - Prepare for the show 

Virgil could say that he was... pretty nervous as he walked out of school, heading to his house. This... thing about singing in public in front of the whole school was a bit too much, specially for him, and having to hide it from his friends surely wasn't easy. Not because he didn't know how to lie, no he was a specialist on it, but because Janus and Remus always seemed to just... know stuff. Like they had eyes and ears everywhere. It was quite nerve wrecking and if they did find out, they would make questions Virgil wouldn't be able to answer because, well...

How do you tell your friends you don't wanna be friends anymore?

They were his only friends, the only people that hang out with him, the guys that had his back since day one, and now he would just push them away for, well, status? Well yes that was exactly what Virgil wanted to do, but they couldn't find out, it would be fucking terrifying if they did.

He had no idea what Remus and Janus would do to him if they found out.

So, he was an anxious ball of flesh. What was the big deal? Not like that was his way of living 24/7 or anything. He just had to take a deep breath and train his hardest to make sure he would get a part and win the tryouts. That way he would have an excuse to be away from them, make new friends, and be close to Patton.

Oh, Patton. Patton was a whole different deal, too. Not only Virgil really looked up to him, to what he wanted to be as a senior and the type of person he wished he could become, but he also nourished a little, tiny bit of crush on the guy.

Virgil got red just thinking about it. Who was he to have a crush on someone as cute and nice as Patton? No one really, he was a nobody, but that didn't stop him from fawning over the guy whenever he saw him in the halls. He had a smile that brightened up the room, his eyes were always glistening with happiness, and he was so... god damn beautiful! He was taller than Virgil, but not by much. He was fat and squishy and Virgil loved that, he wished he could hide on his belly and never go back to the world.

Ugh it was such a dream, to kiss those rosy freckled cheeks...

"Hey, kiddo!" he heard someone call out of nowhere, and jumped high in the air, turning to face whoever was calling him while stepping back a bunch.

Then, he went red when he saw who was talking to him.

"Hey, you are Virgil right?" Patton, no one else but Patton himself, asked him from inside the car, giving him a bright smile. The bright smile. Oh god.

"Y-yeah what about it?" he asked, quietly, cursing himself for being so rude. Fuck Janus was rubbing off on him and that wasn't good. "I-I mean yeah... yeah that's me..."

"Hi I'm Patton!" he said, excitedly, as if Virgil didn't totally know who he was. "I am the guy that is making all the stuff for the theater club! Oh that sounded so dumb but you got it!"

"Yes I... I did. I know" he said, slowly approaching the car so he could look at Patton better. "What about it?"

"Well, I just left school and I saw you wrote your name down, that's very cool!" he said, smiling widely. "I'm so happy you... quieter guys are trying out new things!"

'Quiet guys' was how nice people called the 'bad boys', but Virgil didn't feel offended at all. Well he couldn't, his crush was speaking to him!

"Um yeah... I... am" he said, unsure what to say, getting quiet again and looking down. Patton seemed to realize the awkwardness and chuckled.

"Cool! So have you decided on a song yet? I know the tryouts are two weeks from now but you know, I'm curious!"

"I guess... it has to be a Broadway song so I'm not sure yet but I think I have an idea" Virgil said, smiling softly at him. Patton smiled and nodded.

"That's what I love to hear! Listen, I wanna, you know, make sure school is a bit more integrated so if you ever want some tips and tricks, or maybe even practice a bit, you can call me up! Or like send an email" he said, and Virgil almost had a heart attack right there. "You know, so I can give you a hand!"

"I... yeah sure" Virgil nodded, and Patton smiled before looking down at his clock.

"Ish I gotta go! Duty calls! I hope you win Virgil!" he said, waving and driving off, making Virgil blink slowly and just stare into the distance as the car drove away.

Was... was he dreaming?

What the fuck?

 --------------------------

 As his driver stopped the car in front of Janus' house, Remus gave them both a look and grinned widely.

"hey Gabe, I think I'm going to stick around for a while okay?" he asked, not seeing how Janus rolled his eyes at that. The driver tried to argue but Remus was already out, so he let out a sigh and drove off. Remus jumped next to Janus and smiled widely, following him into his big house. It wasn't as big as Remus', but it was a rich family's house. "So, what are we going to do today?"

"I don't know Remus I did not invite you to my house so I have no idea what you are doing here" Janus said, placing his backpack over the hook by the door and walking inside. Remus did the same with his own and followed the older boy into the kitchen, where he started to gather some food for the evening snack.

"Oh don't be like that Jan... I know you love my company and wouldn't change me for anything in the entire world!" he said, smiling widely, and Janus stared at him, raising an eyebrow.

"I would give you away for a penny, Remus" Janus said, carelessly, but Remus just laughed and sat down on the counter, smirking from ear to ear as he leaned against one hand. He watched Janus as he wondered around the kitchen, gathering ingredients and making them some ham sandwiches, licking his lips whenever he got to see Jan's pretty tush.

"You know you are like, the hottest guy I know?" Remus asked, after a while, sliding off the counter and walking to Janus, who just rolled his eyes and finished the sandwiches, turning around almost in comical fashion as he shoved the sandwich in Remus' mouth as he leaned down to kiss him.

"You better wash that mouth before you come even close to me, trash goblin" he said in an almost hiss, grabbing his food and walking away. Remus hummed happily, eating the sandwich, following Janus to his room where they both sat down on his large bed, TV turned on in a dumb show they enjoyed.

Well, Janus enjoyed. Remus just found it dumb but everything was dumb in his eyes unless there was gore or sex in it.

After they were done eating, Remus carelessly laid down on Janus' bed, closing his eyes and pulling his knees up, not even noticing he was stepping with his dirty boots all over Janus' clean bedsheets. He just realized it when his friend let out a horrified gasp.

"Remus Romulus Grimm! Get your feet off my bed in this instance!" Janus said, his voice almost in a squeal, but Remus just chuckled at it and opened his eyes, receiving in return a punch on the dick. He groaned and curled up on himself, before he reached for Janus and pulled him close, over himself, letting him yelp in the process. "REMUS!"

"Calm down you big snake" Remus laughed, wrapping his arms tightly around Janus and looking up at him as he huffed, face red all over the place, arms pressing down against the bed to pull away from the other boy. "You have a maid, it's not a big deal."

"I don't like dirty, filthy people like you making my things disgusting" Janus groaned back, and fuck if seeing him angry didn't make Remus feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

"Oh sure you don't" Remus said, sarcastically, before he turned them around, pushing Janus on the bed and straddling him, making him gasp and blush even more even if his eyebrows were still furrowed in a grumpy face. "You know, I love when you yell at me."

"And I love when you are so far away from me I can't feel your stench" Janus said, pushing his head up until their noses were touching, and that was it. Remus closed the gap and they met up in the middle, kissing hard and messy as they usually did, Janus' hands already pulling away Remus' jacket and shirt while his legs wrapped around the taller boy's waist, pulling him down hard against his own body.

Oh what a mess, they were.

 -------------------

 Very unlike his dirty brother, Roman had finally convinced Logan to stay the afternoon at his house. Roman made them some food, as usual, and took Logan to his study, where they could talk and practice whatever they wanted.

As they got inside, Logan placed his bag on a chair and walked with Roman towards the pillow fort in the room, both laying down on their favorite sets of pillows, looking up at the ceiling as they ate their little peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

"So, have you decided on your song yet?" Roman asked, excitedly, and Logan had to close his eyes so he wouldn’t just be rude out of nowhere.

"No, Roman, we just signed up."

"Awn come on! I always know what songs I'm going to sing! Even for opportunities that aren't here yet!" he said, turning to face Logan. "I think I am going to sing something from Disney! Or maybe, maybe Hairspray! What about, what about Hamilton?! Oh there are so many to choose from!"

"Yes, there are, and that is why I have not chosen my song yet" Logan said, tilting his head. "But I do believe that... due to my lack of actual want to be in this tryout, I will be singing one of my favorite songs, 'Waving through a window'. It is sentimental and interesting, and I resonate with it."

"Oh Logan!" Roman whispered, his eyes glistening and making the older boy blush. "That is beautiful! You are going to do great with that song! You are so amazing!"

"Um... thank you" he said, awkwardly, looking away and then finishing his sandwich. "Anyway, should we begin practicing? You know I do not like to just lay around and do nothing."

"Oh yeah! Wait I will get all my broadway CDs and taped shows and we can listen and watch to all of them to make sure I pick the perfect song!" Roman said, grinning and jumping up to collect his CDs and DVDs.

Logan couldn't help but shake his head and sigh. This was going to be a long, long day.

[lovemesomesurveys]

How do you feel about full length beards? I’m not into a lot of facial hair. I like some scruff, but that’s it. Have you ever been to a circus? Yeah, once. I was naive and didn’t know about the abuse that went on at the time. Do you know anyone who’s gone to a Fat Camp? No. Do you use Facebook IM everyday? No. I don’t even remember the last time I used it. How many surveys have you done already today? This is my first.

What’s the WORST show on Adult Swim? I don’t care for the Adult Swim shows. Family Guy and American Dad is okay, but after that it gets too stupid and weird for me. Sorry. Like once I saw this show, Mr. Pickles, and uh... wtf. The episode I saw was very disturbing. I don’t get the appeal of Rick and Morty at all. And why the hell is Mike Tyson Mysteries a thing? That’s just to name a few. I see previews of other shows and I just... wow. Do you have any relatives that have shunned you, or vice versa? No. Has anyone ever posted a HORRIBLE picture of you for everyone to see? Not maliciously or because they thought it was horrible and wanted to embarrass me, but yeah. My mom has posted photos where she didn’t see anything wrong and she thinks I looked fine, but I was like EW NO take that down it’s hideous. I reallyyyy don’t like photos of me taken by someone else. I have to take my own photos if I’m going to take one at all because I know the angles and lighting and can add a filter. Plus, I can take a ton before finally settling on one. If someone else takes the photo and they want to post it, I have to approve. Which grade in school was the most fun for you? I enjoyed elementary and middle school. High school had its ups and downs, but there were parts I liked. I liked the last 2 years the best. Which would you rather have, a new puppy or kitten? I wouldn’t want another pet right now to be honest. We have our doggo and one suits our family best right now. Does drama seem to follow you everywhere you go? No, thankfully. I have other issues I struggle with, but not drama. Do you ever just want to go away to a new place where no one knows you? I don’t live in a small town where everyone knows everyone and I was never Miss Popularity, so apart from family and a few other people, not a lot of people know me. However, I do want move away to a new place. My family and I have wanted to for a long time, we just haven’t been able to. A change of environment and scenery would be really nice. You’re ordering a pizza, you can have any kind of toppings, what are they? I’m a simple gal, I just like white sauce, feta and ricotta cheese, garlic, spinach, and crumbled meatballs with pesto drizzled on top. Do you hit ‘quiet’ or ‘ignore’ on your cell? Which one usually? Nah. If my phone rings and I don’t want to answer it, I just let it ring. Do you ever regret giving your number to people? I have before with some people. Have you ever been told that you’re afraid of your own shadow? Haha yeah. Have you ever tried Gouda cheese? Nope. Does/did your high school have pop machines? No. They decided to remove them the year I entered high school, which I was mad about. Do you use a public computer, or do you have your own? I have my own laptop. Do you ever find it odd how you type LOL when you’re not really laughing? >> No, because I understand that its function has moved far beyond representing actual laughing-out-loud. <<< Yeah. I remember discussing that in a class once. Have you ever gambled? A couple times. Not my thing. Although, what really made my experience unenjoyable wasn’t so much the gambling, it was that the casinos I’ve been to allow smoking and I don’t do well with cigarette smoke. At all. It gives me a killer headache, makes my heart rate go up, and makes me feel dizzy and sick. It’s awful. The smell in the casinos was too overbearing for me, so I spent very little time inside. Do you know anyone who’s won the lottery? No. If you could work at any retail store, which one would it be? I really don’t want to work retail. And that’s not shade toward retail workers AT ALL. I salute you, honestly. You deal with a lot of shit. What’s the shortest you would ever cut your hair? I had a “bob” for a few years. Do you listen to any deathcore? No. Do you subscribe to any teen magazines? Which ones? No. I’m also 30 years old. Do you know someone who never smiles? Never? No. Has anyone ever made you feel uncomfortable at work? I’ve never had a job. Do you still watch South Park? I never did. I mean, I’ve seen bits here and there before because my brother used to watch it, but I was never into it myself. Tell me one movie you’ve seen recently that sucked: My mom, brother, and I recently watched this movie on Netflix called, The Platform. It had potential and was interesting at first, but the ending was just... no. It seemed abrupt and I was just really confused. Have you ever carved something into a dinner booth somewhere? No. When’s the last time you were carded at a bar? When I last went to the bar, which was almost 10 years ago. Do you smoke little cigars? Have you ever tried them? Nooo. You’re babysitting, what do you expect per hour for pay? Pfft, no I’m not babysitting. What’s the last thing you returned at a store? I very rarely return things so I have no idea. It’s been a long time. What’s the name of the last cat you pet? I don’t even recall the last time I petted a cat. Do you still look at clouds and make shapes of them? I haven’t in a long time. If you had to dye your hair for one year, what color would you pick? I already do, I dye it red. Who’s got your heart? Me. What’s your television addiction? I have several shows that I’m into. Have you ever stringed green beans before? No. What do you do to make yourself more relaxed when you’re nervous? It’s hard to calm myself when I’m anxious, but I try to distract by talking to someone, listening to ASMR, watching TV or something on YouTube, or reading.  Do you cook? If so, what’s the last thing you made? The only thing I cook is ramen. Oh wait actually I made a grilled cheese sandwich the other day. ha.  Have you ever had any painful dental work done? If so, what? Yeah, a few things. How do you usually spend your Saturdays? I spend all my days and nights the same, really. Do you make your own jewelry or clothing? Last year I briefly got into making beaded bracelets. I made a few. What’s your favorite thing to do when you’re bored? I do the same things everyday whether I’m bored or not: spend time on my social medias, watch YouTube, read, watch TV, scroll through Tumblr, do surveys, just lie there.... ha. Somedays just feel like they’re dragging and going by extra slow and the things I listed above that I like doing just don’t cut it so I just lie there mindlessly watching TV or go to sleep. Do you use drawing to describe what you’re feeling? No. Do you like the smell of new school supplies? As a kid I did. Like getting a new box of crayons. Do you give everything you do 100%? No. I certainly haven’t with life... Do you shop at any independent music stores? No. I don’t shop at any music stores. How do you feel about mainstream music? I like a lot of it.

What song lyrics describe your mood at the moment? *shrug* Do you have healthy eating habits? No. My eating habits are messed up. I have issues with appetite and other issues.

If you could transform into any kind of animal, what animal would you be? A dog. Are you superstitious? If so, what are you superstitious about? I do the knock on wood thing, but it’s just out of habit, really. If you could travel anywhere in the world where would it be? There’s so many places I’d like to visit. What food disgusts you the most? I don’t do seafood at all. What is your favorite thing to cook? Ramen. One place you would never want to get lost in in the dark? I wouldn’t want to get lost anywhere in the dark. :O Are you claustrophobic? Yes. What is your worst flaw? Oh where to start. One thing that always creeps you out? ALL bugs. What is your biggest fear? Losing loved ones, death, never getting better/getting worse, never doing anything with my life and just wasting away... If you could be reincarnated, would you come back as another human or an animal? If an animal, what kind? I don’t believe in reincarnation. Ideal way you’d like to die? Obviously painlessly, but jeez. If you could be roommates with anyone of your choice, who would you pick? I like living with my family. What is the most ridiculous thing you’ve ever heard? Uh, a lot of things. Your favorite kind of dog? I love doggos, but I definitely have a special thing for Labs and German Shepherds. Do you have any scars? If so, how many? I have a lot of scars. I’m not going to count them. What is your favorite scary movie to watch in the dark? I don’t watch them in the dark. Unless I’m at the theater, obviously. I love scary movies, though. Would you rather be buried or cremated when you die? Cremated. What is your favorite thing to drink? Alcoholic and non alcoholic? Coffee and Starbucks Doubleshot energy drinks. That’s also coffee, but you know what I mean. I don’t have a favorite alcoholic drink, I don’t drink. What is your favorite food around the holidays? I love either ham or turkey depending on the holiday and mashed potatoes with gravy, stuffing, and rolls. Easiest way to scare you? I’m such a jumpy, easily scarable (it’s a word, shh) person so you could really just say hi and I’ll jump. haha. Like my back faces my bedroom door and if I don’t hear anyone coming in or they just poke their head in to say something I’ll jump. lmao. Tell me one of your biggest secrets? Nah. What was your last nightmare about? It’s been awhile since I’ve had one, thankfully.

[caroleditosti]

'Fat Ham' is Smokin' Sumptuous in its Broadway Transfer

'Fat Ham' is a must-see laugh riot. Don't miss it.

(L to R): Marcel Spears, Billy Eugene Jones in Fat Ham (courtesy of Joan Marcus) What I enjoy most about seeing Fat Ham in its transfer from The Public Theatre (my review of the Public Theater production) to Broadway’s American Airlines Theatre, are the sardonic tropes which send up William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, a Jacobean revenge tragedy, where privileged white royals end up slaughtering each…

[pilgrimartfoundation]

Fat Ham by playwright JamesIjames @natblacktheatre @publictheaterny #FatHam #SEEWHATISEE #BeLONGING (at The Public Theater) https://www.instagram.com/p/Ce3ccw_rjMg/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[skwilbur-thebagman]

After watching Michael R. Jackson, the Pulitzer Prize winning playwright of “A Strange Loop”, win at this Sunday’s Tony Awards, I am thrilled to see James Ijames’ Pulitzer Prize winning “Fat Ham” tonight. So proud of these talented, creative brothers 🙌🏾🙌🏾🙌🏾 • • • #currentsituation #now #tonight #theater #nyc #culture #fortheculture #goodtimes #thisisus #pridemonth #gay #lgbt #bag #shine #accessories #design #WhoAreUCarrying #SKWiLBUR #ItsAllInTheBag (at The Public Theater) https://www.instagram.com/p/Ce2GO-jtTST/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=