The Pulitzer Prize winning play "Fat Ham" has opened the Detroit Public Theater's 10th anniversary season.

The play, by James Ijames, is a modern take on Shakespeare's "Hamlet."

The lead character, Juicy, is a young Black queer man who is visited by the ghost of his father who demands that Juicy avenge his murder.

I spoke with the actor in the lead role, Duane Shabazz, and Garlia Jones, the theater's marketing manager.

Both of them are native Detroiters.

Duane, I'm gonna start with you.

You are playing Hamlet.

- Yeah, essentially yeah.

- In a way, right?

- Yeah; yeah, yeah.

- There's a little bit of a twist on it, but talk about...

It's one of my favorite plays, "Hamlet" is.

And it's one of my favorite roles.

I think it's such a tortured and complicated role.

Talk about bringing that to Detroit in the wraparound of "Fat Ham" which is a little different than the Shakespeare version.

- Yeah, it's exciting.

It's exciting.

And, you know, like the fact that it is Shakespeare, I actually like when people bring that up.

Because, you know, it is very much still in the vein of Shakespeare, it's still "Hamlet" in the essence of it.

Like the language isn't Shakespearean, but it's Shakespearean-esque given the fact that, you know, the history of Shakespeare is that this language was mostly used.

The language that Shakespeare wrote in was mainly language that was used amongst the commoners or the poor folk.

Now, you know, I feel like James Ijames does the same thing with his take on this version.

It's a mirror of the past and how we speak today.

And I feel like, you know, from an actor perspective, it's very much Ham.

You have to keep that in mind, the fact that it is the Shakespearean piece.

So, you know, although it is a comedy, the needs and the wants of these characters are very desperate.

And every character in this play have something that they're hiding, that they're desperately fighting to not reveal.

And, you know, it's exciting to bring this piece to Detroit especially because I feel like this story that's being told by James Ijames, this story that he created, it's not common that you see this kind of Black story told.

You know, this isn't the stereotypical story that you normally see, you know, that's about a guy who's just different, different than his environment.

- Yeah.

- You know, the people that he was raised around.

He's more of an intellectual versus being a brute.

And I feel like, you know, he's a weirdo, you know.

(Stephen laughs) He likes different things.

And I feel like it's very important to tell these kind of stories to, you know, show that Black people aren't, Black people, we're not a monolith.

You know, we can be, you know, very diverse.

Also as an actor, I just like the challenge of playing someone this outside of myself, but also connected to me in a lot of ways in my childhood.

- This is the 10th anniversary of Detroit Public Theater.

Talk about how big a deal that is.

I mean, I have to be honest.

I didn't know that it was the 10th anniversary.

It seems like things have gone much quicker, like we might be on five or six.

- Yeah.

- But we're on 10.

- No, I mean, I think for Detroit Public Theater to be bringing the type of work that we have been over the last 10 years is really incredible.

And to think about the growth of a theater in Detroit to now have its own space, right?

So now, there is a proper brick and mortar that people can come to, Detroit Public Theater, and experience what that is.

Not only on the stage, but what it is to have that experience in the lobby, what it is to have the experience with someone at the box office that isn't a box office of a different space but is Detroit Public Theater.

So, you know, being able to celebrate I believe this is season three in the space, is really incredible.

I am new-ish to Detroit Public Theater.

We have collaborated on projects for the past couple of years, but I'm now an official part of the staff.

So I have a very interesting view having worked with the producing aides and Dominique, you know, for the last couple of years and then now being like in the sauce, in the mix of what does that day to day mean.

And really how truly exciting it is for me being from Detroit to continue to be part of what theater is in the city, which is a thing I personally have done for the last couple of years.

Not just here, but all over.

So, you know, I think I am thrilled and excited that this is season 10, and also thrilled that Season 10 started with this show in particular.

I love this play.

I'm very fond of... You know, I worked at the public theater and was around for the original.

So I just adore this play being an opening.

And seeing this production, I echo what, you know, Duane shared.

And James Ijames words are just incredible.

And this is a story everyone should get out there and see, I really feel.

I'm thrilled it's in Detroit.

- Yeah, yeah.

No, it's very important that it's in Detroit.

And that's what I think they've demonstrated at Detroit Public Theater is that not only is there such a hunger for great theater in Detroit, but there's a hunger for that local angle that's related to theater.

I mean, the number of plays they do by people here or that are set here is really, really remarkable.

I mean, it's such a great experience.

- Well, I mean, it's so important for Black people in particular to see ourselves on stage.

And so, most of the plays that we see with Detroit Public Theater are from Black playwrights.

And so, this story, you know, just to have a character like Juicy on stage and really be exploring things within himself is just a really incredible thing to be able to show to audiences.

And we don't know who we touch, right?

We don't know who is seeing that story and seeing themselves on stage.

- Yeah, yeah.

Duane, I wanna talk a little about your background.

You are a Detroiter.

- Yes, I am.

- And it's huge that you're playing this role here in Detroit.

But draw the line from being a kid here in Detroit and finding that inspiration and finding that opportunity to become, you know, an actor.

- Oh yeah, yeah, I've been blessed.

It's definitely been a journey.

And I'm still on the journey.

You know, I actually just started.

You know, I just recently graduated from NYU Grad Acting in 2023, May of 2023.

And yeah, it's kind of a full circle moment because Courtney Burkett, who is one of the founders of the theater, she was actually my first director at Mosaic.

- Oh, really?

- Yeah, Mosaic Youth Theater of Detroit.

- That's great.

- Yeah, she was my first director.

And the last play we did together was "The Tempest" in 2014.

And that same year, I worked with one of the actors here named Roosevelt.

I worked with him that year.

And Moba, he did the sound on "The Tempest."

That was directed by Courtney.

And that was the last play I was directed by Courtney.

Courtney didn't direct this play, but this, you know, to be working at her theater, it's full circle.

It's been 10 years since we did "The Tempest."

And so it's very much full circle.

- What was the thing that made you decide this is what you wanted to do?

I mean, you talk about being involved in Mosaic, yeah.

- Yeah, Mosaic, Mosaic, I would say Mosaic, just the feeling it gave me.

And I always wanted to be good at something.

How I grew up, I guess I really didn't feel like I had any other options.

But acting was the option that I had.

And I felt like I was very good at it, or I could become very good at it.

You know, I played sports.

I come from a sports background and I played basketball.

Always wanted to be like LeBron.

(Stephen laughs) But, you know, I ain't that tall.

(Stephen laughs) I'm not blessed with those abilities.

- Had to make a choice, right?

- Yeah, yeah, exactly.

And acting was the clear choice.

But, you know, it's really just something I feel like I'm really good at.

And I feel like I learned so much from it.

And throughout my journey and my journey training in theater, I feel like I learned so much about myself as a person, the kind of man I wanna be and the kind of artist I wanna be as well and the impression and mark I wanna leave on the world.

- Yeah, that's really great.

Okay, well, Duane, congratulations on the role.

- Thank you.

- And great to have you here at home in Detroit for the run of the show.

And congratulations to you and everybody else at Detroit Public Theater.

And it is really great to have had that around for 10 years here in the city.

Here's to 50 or 60 more, right?

- Yes, yes, yes.

- Absolutely.