Theater: “Fat Ham” by James Ijames @ the Public

William Shakespeare’s works have been so misinterpreted and just plain bungled that I fear he would recognize few or any of them today. That is especially true of James Ijames’s puzzling “Fat Ham,” currently in previews at the Public Theater.

Based loosely on “Hamlet,” Juicy (Marcus Spears), an LGBT youth, suspects  Reb (Billy Eugene Jones) of arranging the prison murder of  Juicy’s father in order to marry Juicy’s mother. The kid is tipped off by the ghost of his father (also played by Jones) who appears at a family picnic/reunion, draped in a red plaid tablecloth. (Banquo at the banquet? Oops, wrong play.)

Other than these brief nods to Shakespeare, the play becomes a rather free-form, plotless jumble, consisting mostly of corny picnic games at the reunion, embarrassing revelations from some of the characters, and screaming matches between nearly all of them. To be fair, a good bit of the dialog is very funny and the actors look as if they’re having a blast (most of the audience is too.) Of the cast, I particularly liked feisty Adriana Mitchell as Opal, a lesbian who throws a fit of pique at having to wear a dress; and Tio (Chris Herbie Holland), a manic family friend and whacked-out doper. By the goofy finale, you basically throw up your hands and surrender to the silliness.

Robert O’Hara’s screamingly funny “Barbecue” did this kind of thing much better a few years ago, yet “Fat Ham” just won the Pulitzer Prize.  Hmm. Shakespeare once said, the play’s the thing. I say, just not this play.