Broadway

Rock on! And on! And on! Broadway currently sports three very different shows featuring rock music, a diverse and exciting genre that never gets old. Not to mention, the shows feature rock legends like Pete Townshend, Huey Lewis, and (sort of) Fleetwood Mac.

These shows include the new musical [*The Heart of Rock and Roll*](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/show/36584-the-heart-of-rock-and-roll) at the [James Earl Jones...

Rock music takes the stage in three Broadway shows this spring

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Songs by rock bands The Who and Huey Lewis and The News appear in high-energy musicals alongside a new play with music inspired by the 1970s rock scene.

Welcome to the Russian countryside! Here's your first look at [*Uncle Vanya*](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/show/33211-uncle-vanya) on Broadway, with [Steve Carell](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/stars-on-stage/steve-carell) making his Broadway debut in the title role. The starry cast, directed by Lila Neugebauer, also includes [Anika Noni Rose](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/stars-on-stage/anika-noni-rose) (*Caroline, or Change*), [Alfred...

See photos of Steve Carell and the cast of 'Uncle Vanya' on Broadway

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The star of *The Office* makes his Broadway debut in the latest revival of the classic play, which also stars Anika Noni Rose, Alfred Molina, and more.

You're gonna hear her roar! Maya Boyd will be the next Juliet in [*& Juliet*](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/show/25598-and-juliet-tickets) on Broadway, beginning performances on May 14 at the [Stephen Sondheim Theatre](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/theatres/stephen-sondheim-theatre).

Boyd made her Broadway debut earlier this year in the cast of *Merrily We Roll Along*. In *& Juliet*, she will now replace [Lorna...

Maya Boyd to join '& Juliet' Broadway cast

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After making her Broadway debut earlier this year, the actor will now replace Tony Award nominee Lorna Courtney in the title role of the acclaimed musical.

See two stars, alike in dignity! [Rachel Zegler](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/stars-on-stage/rachel-zegler) and [Kit Connor](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/stars-on-stage/kit-connor) will lead a new revival of [*Romeo + Juliet*](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/show/40696-romeo-and-juliet-on-broadway) on Broadway. The Shakespeare production, directed by Sam Gold, will run this fall, with a theatre and dates to be announced.

Zegler is best known for starring as Maria in Steven...

Rachel Zegler, Kit Connor to star in ‘Romeo + Juliet’ on Broadway

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The *West Side Story* and *Heartstopper* stars will play Shakespeare’s tragic young lovers in the production, which features music by Jack Antonoff.

As the star of *The Office*, [Steve Carell](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/stars-on-stage/steve-carell) may be known for his comedic chops, but the roles he's played since that show’s Emmy Award-winning run have shown he can do so much more. He earned an Oscar nomination for playing a maniacal wrestling coach in *Foxcatcher*, played the father of a drug addict (played by Timothée Chalamet) in *Beautiful Boy*, and now makes his Broadway debut in the title role in Anton Chekhov’s [*Uncle...

All the celebrities who have starred in 'Uncle Vanya,' including Steve Carell

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The award-winning actor, best known for starring in *The Office*, is the latest person to tackle the coveted title role of Chekhov's classic family drama.

Great news for Huey Lewis fans: You can hear his music live again. For the first time since Meniere's disease impaired the '80s rock star's ability to hear music, forcing him to stop performing with his band The News, his songs are back on not one stage, but two.

Lewis isn't singing them, but those familiar with the Huey Lewis and The News hits "The Power of Love" and "Back in Time" will thrill to hear them nonetheless. Both those songs appear in this season's Broadway musical adaptation of...

How Huey Lewis shaped 'The Heart of Rock and Roll' on Broadway

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The new musical is set to nearly 30 hits by Huey Lewis and The News, and the band's frontman was a crucial and active collaborator throughout its journey.

Family trees are in bloom on Broadway this spring. Beginning with Joshua Harmon’s *Prayer for the French Republic* at the top of the year, numerous family dramas have proved the staying power of the fertile, timeless genre. Not to mention, these shows' families include the likes of actors Steve Carell, Jessica Lange, and Sarah Paulson.

Playing right now are Paula Vogel’s [*Mother Play*](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/show/31354-mother-play-on-broadway) at the [Hayes...

Learn about all the family dramas on Broadway this season

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Each play in the genre is just as unique as any given family, as evidenced by this spring's star-studded shows *Mother Play*, *Appropriate*, and *Uncle Vanya*.

And they were roommates! Per an April 11 [report from the New York Post](https://nypost.com/2024/04/11/entertainment/patti-lupone-mia-farrow-to-star-in-broadways-the-roommate/), three-time Tony Award winner [Patti LuPone](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/stars-on-stage/patti-lupone) and seven-time Golden Globe nominee Mia Farrow will co-star in the new Broadway play *The Roommate* this fall. According to the report, performances will run at the [Booth...

Patti LuPone, Mia Farrow reported to star in 'The Roommate' on Broadway

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According to a report in the New York Post, the actresses will perform in the 2015 play by Jen Silverman for a limited engagement beginning in August.

Home to historic rock bands like The Velvet Underground and The Ramones, New York City is a rock and roll lover’s paradise. Even though many of the popular venues that used to host rock and punk artists in the ‘60s and ‘70s have since closed, there are still plenty of ways to enjoy the history of rock and roll while visiting New York City. 

Take your own rock-and-roll tour of NYC with these classic rock attractions, with something for every rock fan. Pick up some records; pay homage to late,...

Check out these classic rock musicals and attractions in NYC

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Make a day out of seeing a rock show on Broadway, including *The Who's Tommy*, Huey Lewis's *The Heart of Rock and Roll*, or the '70s rock-inspired *Stereophonic*.

Photos have been released of [*Patriots*](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/show/38891-patriots) on Broadway, starring *Boardwalk Empire* and *Dopesick*'s [Michael Stuhlbarg](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/stars-on-stage/michael-stuhlbarg). Russia meets New York at the [Barrymore Theatre](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/theatres/barrymore-theatre), where this new play by Peter Morgan is in performances through June 23.

The playwright, who created Netflix's Emmy Award-winning show...

See photos of Michael Stuhlbarg and the cast of 'Patriots' on Broadway

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The Emmy and Tony Award-nominated actor stars as the late Russian politician Boris Berezovsky in the newest play from the creator of Netflix's *The Crown*.

Come join the cookout! The Pulitzer Prize-winning Broadway play [*Fat Ham*](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/show/27141-fat-ham-tickets) is offering digital rush tickets via TodayTix for its entire Broadway run. Performances began last night ahead of an April 12 opening, and the play is at the [American Airlines Theatre](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/theatres/american-airlines-theatre) until July 2 only.

Rush tickets will be available for $39 [on the TodayTix app](https://www.todaytix.com/nyc/shows/27141-fat-ham-on-broadway). Beginning at 9 a.m. each performance day, users can purchase up to two tickets for that day's performance on a first-come, first-served basis. Users can set an alert to be notified when tickets become available each day.

## What is *Fat Ham* about?

*Fat Ham* takes Shakespeare's classic tragedy *Hamlet* and [sets the action at a Southern barbecue](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/theatre-news/news/the-differences-and-similarities-between-fat-ham-and-shakespeares-hamlet). But Juicy, the Hamlet figure, is a queer, Black college student with second thoughts about murdering his uncle to avenge his father.

The play premiered off Broadway in 2022 at The Public Theater, and the [whole cast of that production](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/theatre-news/news/meet-the-cast-of-fat-ham-on-broadway) reprises their roles on Broadway. They include Nikki Crawford as Tedra, Chris Herbie Holland as Tio, Billy Eugene Jones as Rev/Pap, Adrianna Mitchell as Opal, Calvin Leon Smith as Larry, Marcel Spears as Juicy, and Benja Kay Thomas as Rabby. Saheem Ali directs.

A [four-star review of *Fat Ham*](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/reviews/fat-ham-off-broadway-review) off Broadway calls the show "hilarious, chaotic and weirdly lovely... This slice of life leans hard into comedy, not tragedy, as it ponders big things that matter: personal identity, sexuality, transparency, living out loud."

[Learn more about *Fat Ham* on Broadway.](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/theatre-news/news/why-you-should-see-the-pulitzer-prize-winning-play-fat-ham)

Get *Fat Ham* tickets now.

[![Book Tickets CTA - LT/NYTG](//images.ctfassets.net/6pezt69ih962/3qAtGOdQq9x3k1WcHlaJnw/90ece91bbe47ed07e142c2e43c7a7a3f/BookTickets-250.png)](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/show/27141-fat-ham-tickets)

*Photo credit: The cast of Fat Ham on Broadway. (Photo by Marc J. Franklin)*

'Fat Ham' offering rush tickets on TodayTix

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Fat Ham on Broadway - NYC

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Following a New York premiere at The Public Theater in May 2022, James Ijames's Pulitzer-winning and play *Fat Ham* is firing up the grill again on Broadway, now earning five Tony nominations including Best Play. Get *Fat Ham* tickets on New York Theatre Guide. 

*Fat Ham* is a play that follows Juicy, a queer, Southern college kid at a family backyard barbecue — specifically, a barbecue that serves as Juicy's mom's and uncle's wedding reception. While there, Juicy plans to avenge his father's murder (at his father's ghost's personal request). His uncle has seemingly committed the crime and certainly married Juicy's mother, in the hopes of getting his hands on Juicy's college fund and the family's restaurant. Juicy is familiar with *Hamlet* — in which Shakespeare's titular prince gets a visit from his father's ghost and vows revenge on his uncle/stepfather — so he feels like he's living a familiar story.

But unlike Hamlet, Juicy struggles with his queer identity and liberation on top of his new quest, and he has doubts about committing violence to avenge violence. A New York Times review described *Fat Ham* as a play about "how a Black man — crucially, a gay one — may resist the cycle of inherited trauma even as it tempts him, whether in the form of a ghost or a literary tradition." *Fat Ham* is a comic tragedy that reexamines Shakespeare's landmark work with modernity and soul food.

Playwright James Ijames is based in Philadelphia, but his work has appeared both in Philly and Off-Broadway in New York. *Fat Ham* made its world premiere in Philadelphia, although virtually — after the pandemic shut down an in-person production at the Wilma Theater, director Morgan Green filmed the production outdoors instead (on a full-fledged backyard barbecue set) and released it for streaming.

The Public Theater production, *Fat Ham*'s in-person premiere, began three days after the show won the 2022 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. That run sold out and then some, extending more than once due to demand.

Saheem Ali, who recently directed Jocelyn Bioh's *Nollywood Dreams* at MCC Theater and helmed the Public's Shakespeare in the Park production of *Merry Wives*, directed *Fat Ham* in New York at the Public. He returns to direct *Fat Ham* on Broadway, which features the entire acclaimed Off-Broadway cast, including Tony nominees Marcel Spears and Nikki Crawford. Ali also earned a 2023 Tony Award nomination for his direction.

## Where is *Fat Ham* playing?

*Fat Ham* is at the American Airlines Theatre on Broadway, located on 42nd Street. The venue is owned by Roundabout Theatre Company, but this production is not affiliated with Roundabout.

## How can I get *Fat Ham* tickets?

*Fat Ham* tickets are available on New York Theatre Guide. Get *Fat Ham* Broadway tickets now.

Fat Ham - NYC - New York Theatre Guide

Fat Ham Broadway Tickets | The Official NY Theatre Guide

To be or not to be at this Pulitzer-winning play, that is the question. James Ijames's comedic send-up of *Hamlet*, set at a backyard barbecue, had audiences hungry for more in 2022. This version features a Black, queer Hamlet figure wondering if he has to kill his uncle — but what's the alternative? Learn more about tickets to the play serving up revenge with a side of ribs.

*Fat Ham* is a play set at an outdoor cookout in the South, where Juicy is supposed to celebrate his mother Tedra’s second marriage. But since his mom is marrying his uncle, who killed Juicy’s father, Juicy’s not interested in a party. The ghost of Juicy’s father asks him to take revenge.

Until this point, Juicy’s story resembles Hamlet’s. But Hamlet thinks murdering his uncle is a nobler act than just thinking about it, whereas Juicy doubts whether he must avenge violence with violence like Hamlet did, and wonders what another way might look like. *Fat Ham* is a *Hamlet* adaptation, but it’s also a challenge to the cycle of violence within Shakespeare's play and within society.

*Fat Ham* is directed by Saheem Ali (represented off Broadway in 2021 with the Public’s *Merry Wives* and MCC Theater’s *Nollywood Dreams*) and written by James Ijames, who has debuted work in Philadelphia and New York. His plays include *Kill Move Paradise*, whose 2017 Off-Broadway production was a New York Times Critics’ Pick; *Moon Man Walk*; and *The Most Spectacularly Lamentable Trial of Miz Martha Washington*, among others.

*Fat Ham* imade its digital world premiere with Philadelphia’s Wilma Theater after the in-person production was canceled amid the pandemic. *Fat Ham* off Broadway marked the show’s New York debut.

## What to Watch For

- The entire Off-Broadway cast of *Fat Ham* returns for the Broadway premiere.
- The principal characters in *Fat Ham* directly correlate with *Hamlet* characters. Juicy, of course, is Hamlet, and his parents Pap and Tedra represent Hamlet’s parents, leaving Juicy’s uncle as the Claudius figure. Some of the supporting characters even have similar names to their Shakespearean counterparts: Opal and Larry, for example, stand in for Ophelia and Laertes, and Tio represents Horatio. 
- The Public Theater stage transformed into an outdoor cookout for *Fat Ham*. When Wilma Theater’s in-person production was canceled, director Morgan Green presented it virtually instead, and the show was actually filmed outdoors to make the backyard barbecue setting realistic.
- *Fat Ham* was destined for success before live performances even began. Three days before *Fat Ham* premiered off Broadway, the show won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama.
- Shakespeare’s plays often include prophecies, and *Fat Ham* does too, accidentally. The play isn’t set during the pandemic, but Juicy happens to attend college online. His father's ghost gripes, “You going to school on a laptop!” and calls his son’s education a scam. Little did Ijames know that would soon become the norm…

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If Hamlet were to partake in karaoke, the troubled prince might perform Radiohead’s “Creep.” In James Ijames’s Pulitzer Prize-winning tragicomedy [*Fat Ham*](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/show/27141-fat-ham-tickets), the character Juicy, loosely based on Shakespeare’s forlorn prince, does just that. The rock song’s moody lyrics about searching for masculinity and self-worth are fitting for Hamlet — and his Black, gay derivative.

This riff on the Bard’s tragedy takes place at a backyard barbecue in the South. Juicy (Marcel Spears) and his family are celebrating the nuptials of his mother Tedra (Nikki Crawford) to his Uncle Rev (Billy Eugene Jones), just one week after the murder of his father Pap (also Jones). Sound familiar?

*Fat Ham* [isn’t a scene-for-scene adaptation of the tragedy](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/theatre-news/news/the-differences-and-similarities-between-fat-ham-and-shakespeares-hamlet), though. The 95-minute play begins with Tio (played with hilarity by Chris Herbie Holland) casually watching porn on his cell phone as Juicy resentfully decorates the backyard. The smoking barbecue grill, colorful globe lights, and bunches of balloons look like harbingers of a happy celebration — but Pap’s ghost has other plans. 

Pap, dressed in a white suit and covered in a red-checkered tablecloth, appears to Juicy to exhort vengeance. He was shanked in the neck in prison, and Rev orchestrated the murder to gain control of the family barbecue business. Juicy, who is pursuing a degree in human resources, prefers working with people over pigs. And he isn’t sure he’s capable — or willing — to exact bloody revenge.

Juicy sports a bedazzled “Mama’s Boy” shirt, but Tedra, wearing bedazzled booty shorts, is unable to give Juicy the love and support he needs. She makes matters worse when she tells him she spent his college tuition fund on a bathroom renovation.

Under Saheem Ali’s direction, all the characters move between tenderness and toughness with ease. The back and forth is thrilling, and the audience even becomes part of this energy with occasional fourth-wall breaks.

The strongest performances are from the young characters, who have more self-awareness than their Shakespearean counterparts. Spears plays Juicy with a gentle, exacting power that might make the audience think he is capable of butchering his uncle — or maybe he just wants to change the family legacy. Opal (Adrianna Mitchell) is a headstrong Ophelia that moves to the beat of her own drum. Holland gets a scene-stealing soliloquy, in which a stoned Tio recalls receiving fellatio from a gingerbread man while playing a VR game.

The play’s brilliance is in its ability to tie Shakespeare into this contemporary family’s experience, even if the characters don’t see it. When Juicy quotes a line from *Romeo & Juliet*, Tedra accuses him of watching too much PBS. “If you bring up that dead old white man one mo time…” she warns. There are plenty more references to *Hamlet*, including the perfectly delivered line “there’s the rub” (pulled from the famous "to be or not to be" monologue) and a brief aside in verse to set up a game of charades. And when Tio tells Juicy their former classmate Yorick overdosed, Juicy cradles a smiley-face balloon instead of a skull.

Throughout the play, others repeatedly call Juicy “tender” and “soft.” “You was powerful when you were a baby,” Rev says. “And you got soft. And you was nothing like your daddy or like me. You was soft. And the men in our family ain’t soft.” 

But maybe tender is good. (Tender pork ribs sure are.) Ijames takes Hamlet’s political and social themes and marinates them for a modern audience. There’s no crown to transfer here, just generations of toxic masculinity to pass down and homophobia to unpack.

*Fat Ham* is less about seeking revenge and more about Juicy winning justice. Spoiler alert: instead of a bloodbath, the play ends with a raucous disco and butterfly-shaped confetti. Now that’s how I like to see Shakespeare.

[*Fat Ham* is at the American Airlines Theatre through July 2. Get *Fat Ham* tickets on New York Theatre Guide.](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/show/27141-fat-ham-tickets)

*Photo credit: Marcel Spears (center) and the cast of Fat Ham on Broadway. (Photo by Joan Marcus)*

'Fat Ham' review — a smart, savory sendup of Shakespeare's 'Hamlet'

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Read our four-star review of *Fat Ham*, the Pulitzer Prize-winning *Hamlet* adaptation by James Ijames, now at Broadway's American Airlines Theatre through July 2.

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Doubt on Broadway

The Todd Haimes Theatre was originally designed by George Keister as an Italian Renaissance-style theatre. The venue opened in 1918 as the Selwyn Theatre, named for its developers, Edgar and Archibald Selwyn. The first show to play there was Jane Cowl's *Information Please*.

Over the course of its history, the building has been used as a theatre, a cinema, and a visitor center until it fell into a derelict state of disrepair. Roundabout Theatre Company took ownership of the venue in 1997, but the building collapsed, so the company rebuilt the Selwyn as part of the New 42nd Street Building in 1999. The theatre was renamed for American Airlines on June 30, 2000; the company donated $8.5 million to help cover renovation costs.

On February 1, 2024, the venue was renamed in memory of Todd Haimes, the artistic director of Roundabout Theatre Company from 1983 until his death in 2023.

## How to get to the Todd Haimes Theatre on Broadway

The Todd Haimes Theatre is situated on 42nd Street between Eighth Avenue and Broadway. By subway, it is accessible by the A, C, E, 1, 2, 3, 7, N, Q, R, W, and S lines to 42nd Street.

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The Pulitzer Prize-winning play that modernizes Shakespeare's *Hamlet* will offer a limited number of same-day tickets to each performance of its limited run.

'Fat Ham' offering rush tickets on TodayTix

What is Fat Ham about?

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