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‘Fat Ham’ earns five Tony Award nominations, including best play

James Ijames’ Pulitzer-winning play premiered in 2021 as a filmed production by the Wilma Theater, which has also won a Tony nomination.

Marcel Spears in the New York premiere production of Pulitzer Prize Winner Fat Ham, written by James Ijames, co-produced by National Black Theatre and The Public Theater. (Joan Marcus/The Public Theater/TNS)
Marcel Spears in the New York premiere production of Pulitzer Prize Winner Fat Ham, written by James Ijames, co-produced by National Black Theatre and The Public Theater. (Joan Marcus/The Public Theater/TNS)Read moreJoan Marcus/The Public Theater /

Fat Ham, the Black queer reworking of Hamlet by Philadelphia playwright James Ijames, received five nominations for Tony Awards on Tuesday, including best play. Currently on Broadway, the play premiered as a filmed production by the Wilma Theater in 2021 and went on to win the 2022 Pulitzer Prize.

As a coproducer for Fat Ham’s Broadway run, the Wilma is the only independent theater in the city to receive a Tony Award nomination.

In addition to best play, Fat Ham is nominated for best direction, recognizing Saheem Ali; best featured actress for Nikki Crawford, who plays Hamlet’s mother, Tedra; best costume design for Dominique Fawn Hill; and best lighting design, for Bradley King.

Fat Ham was first staged with a live audience in a sold-out run at New York’s Public Theater last year. The Public partnered with the National Black Theatre and others to transfer the production and its cast to Broadway. Other notable coproducers include Philadelphia native and actor Colman Domingo and actor Cynthia Erivo, who plays Elphaba in the upcoming Wicked movie.

The ongoing Broadway run plays through June 25 and returns to Philly in November, where it will run at the Wilma from Nov. 24 through Dec. 17.

» READ MORE: James Ijames crafts a Medea inspired by the ‘Real Housewives’ in a Philly world premiere

The Tony nominations were announced by Lea Michele of Funny Girl and Myles Frost of MJ the Musical.

The awards will air on CBS on Sunday, June 11 at 8 p.m., hosted by West Side Story’s Ariana DeBose of “Angela Bassett did the thing” infamy. The live event can be streamed on Paramount+.

An earlier version of this article stated the Wilma is the first Philadelphia theater to win a Tony nomination. The Independent Presenter’s Network — Kimmel Cultural Campus is one of its 40 members — won a Tony for the Best Revival of a Musical for Company last year.