The play that you will be learning about today is called Fat Pig. Fat Pig was written by Neil Labute in 2004. It opened Off-Broadway at the MCC Theater in New York City on November 17, 2004. Since then, it has been produced thirteen times. Fat Pig also won the Outer Critics Circle Award. This play can be found in Barnes and Noble or on Amazon.
Fat Pig contains four characters. They are Tom, the guy who cares what others think, Jeanie, the demanding, witty bitch, Carter, the superficial asshole, and Helen, the fat pig. Tom, Jeanie, and Carter all work in the same place, an office of some sort. One day, Tom meets Helen at a restaurant, and she invites him to have a seat. Helen happens to be a rather large woman, so Tom is reluctant at first. He ends up having a lovely conversation with Helen, and they begin talking and hanging out often. Tom develops a liking for Helen, but wants to keep her a secret because he is embarrassed about her size. Carter ends up finding out about Helen, and publicizes Tom’s relationship by posting a picture of Helen in the office lobby. While all of this is going on Jeanie is under the impression that she and Tom are dating, so she blows a fuse when she finds out about Helen. Tom admits to leading Jeanie on, and tries to apologize, but Jeanie is relentless. When all is said and done, Tom falls in love with Helen. Will Tom stop caring what others think about his choices in women, and be with Helen?
One dramaturgical choice that the playwright makes is to make Tom a weak man. I say this because his intentions are good, but he ends up hurting both Jeanie and Helen in the process. He has issues with deciding if he is able to deal with the ridicule he may experience while with Helen. Regardless if he loves Helen or not, he chooses to be indecisive on being exclusively public with her, and asks Carter for advice. He is too weak to not care about what others think of his relationship with Helen. Another moment where he shows weakness, is when he admits to Jeanie that he lead her on because he wanted to stop her from nagging him. This shows weakness because had he been stronger, he would have been honest with her. This is interesting to me because Tom is the boss of both Jeanie and Carter, yet barely has the strength make decisions on his own life.
Another dramaturgical choice that the playwright makes is to never show Carter with a sensitive side. Carter is the guy that you shake your head at due to his disrespect and shallow morals. He comes across as a guy who never sympathizes with people, and constantly makes fun of others’ flaws. The one moment that the playwright had Carter open up, was about his mom. Carter’s mother happened to be fat, and he talked about how he told her she was fat to her face, and was embarrassed by her. I believe Carter was created to make Tom seem like a better guy. Tom is not nearly as shallow, but still has problems with being seen with the woman he loves, Helen. This choice is interesting to me because it showcases a decent guy who has his flaws, and pits him aside a man who clearly has no consideration for other people’s feelings.
