Exclusive: Marcel Spears on reprising his role as a Black Hamlet In Fat Ham at LA's Geffen Playhouse
Blackfilmandtv.com's Wilson Morales recently spoke with Marcel Spears on reprising his role in the West Coast production of Saheem Ali’s acclaimed play Fat Ham, which is currently running at the Geffen Playhouse from March 27-April 28. The official opening night was on April 6. In addition to starring, Marcel is also a producer on the project. The play is a modern-day adaptation of William Shakespeare's Hamlet.
Juicy (Spears), a young queer black man, is confronted by the ghost of his father during a barbecue, who demands that Juicy avenge his murder. Juicy, already familiar with Hamlet's plight, tries to break the cycles of trauma and violence.
This is following the show’s successful Broadway run where the play and Marcel’s performance received critical acclaim, earning Fat Ham 5 Tony nominations, including Best Play. Most of the Broadway cast are reprising their roles, with Nikki Crawford as Tedra; Chris Herbie Holland as Tio; Billy Eugene Jones as Rev/Pap; Adrianna Mitchell as Opal; Benja Kay Thomas as Rabby; and with Matthew Elijah Webb taking over as Larry after understudying the role on Broadway
Marcel can also currently be seen in the CBS-hit comedy The Neighborhood starring opposite Cedric The Entertainer, Tichina Arnold and Max Greenfield. The show is in its 6th season and is the top 3 most watched comedy series on broadcast TV. This is an exciting season for his character ‘Marty’ who we will see embark on a new journey of parenthood as well as navigate co-managing him and his dad’s business, Fuse Box.
The arc of his character for this season was written based on his life experience after Spears became a father last year. His girlfriend went into labor while in attendance at Beyonce’s Renaissance tour and how inspired this season’s pregnancy storyline.