Big Fish is the story of two men. Edward is a storyteller who’d rather embellish than keep things simple; his son Will is a journalist who long ago grew tired of his father’s wild tales. When Will finds out that he’ll have a son of his own, he is eager to learn the truth about his father’s life and mend their relationship--but will Edward’s time run out first?
I discussed some of my issues with this play in a previous review. Now, having recently re-watched the film and seeing the stage version for a second time, I can see more clearly what the writers of the musical were going for. The show has some great things going for it: catchy songs, lots of colorful characters, emotional moments, and so forth, but I do wish the writers had worked a little harder on solidifying the themes of the show. If Will’s profession as a journalist were mentioned more than once, for example, it could strengthen the conflict between storytelling and fact-finding. If the audience learned that Edward’s wife Sandra didn’t have her name on the deed to their house and was in danger of losing it, that would clarify the tension with the mysterious deed Will finds and would also clarify Sandra’s song “I Don’t Need a Roof.” If you are planning to see this show, I encourage you to imagine that these things happened even if they aren’t really stated in the script.
My qualms with the play itself aside, I thoroughly enjoyed Eagan High School Summer Community Theatre’s production of Big Fish. This group has a lot of resources, in terms of space, technology, and talent, and the result is a show that has both heart and spectacle. There were a few times that I felt went too big (one moment in "Daffodils," for example, surprised the audience so much that it took away from the actors' moment), but in general the pieces worked well together to create something that other theater groups couldn't pull off.
Lighting and sound were a big part of this production and of its success. Sound problems are common in community theater--and show up often enough in professional shows!--but Eagan's sound work was excellent. There's no sound designer listed in the program, so perhaps the credit goes to technical director John Ratzlaff? It's amazing what a difference it makes to hear everything clearly and have the right balance between the orchestra and the singers, and between the different vocal parts. There were also sound effects to set different scenes and a fun echo effect while inside a cave. On the lighting side, projections were the star. I've never seen a community theater with this kind of setup, but what a treat for the set designer! Projections, designed by Jackson Cobb, were used throughout the show in place of more complicated scenery, creating a circus tent, a college campus, and a cave that zoomed in as Edward walked further into it. Even after all these, I was surprised by the setup when each piece of scenery was transformed in "Daffodils." Other aspects of the lighting were also impressive; a section of the stage was lit from below and made for some cool effects, and I particularly liked the lighting transition into the second act's dream sequence--it was a very clear and effective way to establish what was happening.
Quinn Forrest Masterson played Edward Bloom (this production did not split the role into old and young versions) with seemingly effortless skill. He has a great voice and plenty of charm, which especially shone in the his fun duet with Karl the Giant (Ryan Huling), "Out There On the Road." Everett Parker played the young Will with a lot of energy, and Ryan Niedenthal as the adult Will was sympathetic and had a very good vocal performance. I did have a little trouble accepting everything about the character because Niedenthal is so young--it's hard to believe he's old enough to be getting married, much less that his character has already reported in Iraq (not that the script makes it more believable, since this is only mentioned once).
Katie Anderson played Edward's wife Sandra (young and old), and while I still think all the female characters are underserved by this script, she made as much out of it as possible. Her big emotional moment, "I Don't Need a Roof," proved that Anderson is a singer with great vocal tone and control. Sam Hall played Josephine, with unfortunately the second-best pregnancy belly I've seen this summer. Meghan Hayes played Jenny Hill, and I wish her singing part were bigger because she's got a lot of power. Hayes struck a nice emotional balance of pain and chutzpah as her character's story got more complicated.
I wasn't fond of the staging in "Stranger," because I thought putting the chorus in distracted from the emotional importance of the song, but other than that there were many exciting group numbers. The scene with the witch (McKenna Barker) had two groups of dancers and an aerialist (Taylor Wentworth) and choreography (by Megan Kelly Hubbell and assistant Emily Roth) that was very cool. The scene in Amos' (Ben Habegger) circus, which also featured Wentworth's aerial skills, showed off the flexibility of cast members to create a a "Time Stops" that was particularly visually interesting. "Red, White, and True" was a fun tap number with Steve Xiaaj as an acrobatic assassin--making it an especially entertaining showdown. An acrobatic assassin! What a delight! Other nice performances from minor characters included Johanna Engebretson as the graceful Mermaid and Dan Stephans II as Dr. Bennett.
Jodene Wartman was the director and made a lot of choices that helped me appreciate this show more. For example, in the opening scene as Edward told young Will about the wild characters in his stories, the two moved away from the realistic scenery and literally into the stories. There was also a cute bit in which werewolf Amos had found another animal-human hybrid to settle down with. On the other hand, there was a scene in which an actor was dressed as a statue and I couldn't see that it was worth the effort--I kept waiting for something else to happen with that.
Jim Cox was vocal director, and while there were many great vocal performances, the excellent balance in the large group songs is the real triumph. There were a few anachronistic pieces among the costumes, but overall the costumes (by Suzanna Schneider) were good. The costumes on the witch scene allowed for some very interesting shapes and movement from the dancers. One difference from the previous Big Fish reviewed here is Schneider had the later Ashton scene still in 1950's looks; while I enjoyed the 70's looks St. Matthew's used, it also makes sense that the town that doesn't want to change might stay stuck in one decade.
Not every musical needs to be or should be a big spectacle, but this show is perfect for big moments and is a great showcase for all the elements that Eagan used. It's a credit to Wartman's direction that all of the pieces came together so seamlessly. I'll be very interested to hear what show they choose for next summer!
I discussed some of my issues with this play in a previous review. Now, having recently re-watched the film and seeing the stage version for a second time, I can see more clearly what the writers of the musical were going for. The show has some great things going for it: catchy songs, lots of colorful characters, emotional moments, and so forth, but I do wish the writers had worked a little harder on solidifying the themes of the show. If Will’s profession as a journalist were mentioned more than once, for example, it could strengthen the conflict between storytelling and fact-finding. If the audience learned that Edward’s wife Sandra didn’t have her name on the deed to their house and was in danger of losing it, that would clarify the tension with the mysterious deed Will finds and would also clarify Sandra’s song “I Don’t Need a Roof.” If you are planning to see this show, I encourage you to imagine that these things happened even if they aren’t really stated in the script.
My qualms with the play itself aside, I thoroughly enjoyed Eagan High School Summer Community Theatre’s production of Big Fish. This group has a lot of resources, in terms of space, technology, and talent, and the result is a show that has both heart and spectacle. There were a few times that I felt went too big (one moment in "Daffodils," for example, surprised the audience so much that it took away from the actors' moment), but in general the pieces worked well together to create something that other theater groups couldn't pull off.
Lighting and sound were a big part of this production and of its success. Sound problems are common in community theater--and show up often enough in professional shows!--but Eagan's sound work was excellent. There's no sound designer listed in the program, so perhaps the credit goes to technical director John Ratzlaff? It's amazing what a difference it makes to hear everything clearly and have the right balance between the orchestra and the singers, and between the different vocal parts. There were also sound effects to set different scenes and a fun echo effect while inside a cave. On the lighting side, projections were the star. I've never seen a community theater with this kind of setup, but what a treat for the set designer! Projections, designed by Jackson Cobb, were used throughout the show in place of more complicated scenery, creating a circus tent, a college campus, and a cave that zoomed in as Edward walked further into it. Even after all these, I was surprised by the setup when each piece of scenery was transformed in "Daffodils." Other aspects of the lighting were also impressive; a section of the stage was lit from below and made for some cool effects, and I particularly liked the lighting transition into the second act's dream sequence--it was a very clear and effective way to establish what was happening.
Quinn Forrest Masterson played Edward Bloom (this production did not split the role into old and young versions) with seemingly effortless skill. He has a great voice and plenty of charm, which especially shone in the his fun duet with Karl the Giant (Ryan Huling), "Out There On the Road." Everett Parker played the young Will with a lot of energy, and Ryan Niedenthal as the adult Will was sympathetic and had a very good vocal performance. I did have a little trouble accepting everything about the character because Niedenthal is so young--it's hard to believe he's old enough to be getting married, much less that his character has already reported in Iraq (not that the script makes it more believable, since this is only mentioned once).
Katie Anderson played Edward's wife Sandra (young and old), and while I still think all the female characters are underserved by this script, she made as much out of it as possible. Her big emotional moment, "I Don't Need a Roof," proved that Anderson is a singer with great vocal tone and control. Sam Hall played Josephine, with unfortunately the second-best pregnancy belly I've seen this summer. Meghan Hayes played Jenny Hill, and I wish her singing part were bigger because she's got a lot of power. Hayes struck a nice emotional balance of pain and chutzpah as her character's story got more complicated.
I wasn't fond of the staging in "Stranger," because I thought putting the chorus in distracted from the emotional importance of the song, but other than that there were many exciting group numbers. The scene with the witch (McKenna Barker) had two groups of dancers and an aerialist (Taylor Wentworth) and choreography (by Megan Kelly Hubbell and assistant Emily Roth) that was very cool. The scene in Amos' (Ben Habegger) circus, which also featured Wentworth's aerial skills, showed off the flexibility of cast members to create a a "Time Stops" that was particularly visually interesting. "Red, White, and True" was a fun tap number with Steve Xiaaj as an acrobatic assassin--making it an especially entertaining showdown. An acrobatic assassin! What a delight! Other nice performances from minor characters included Johanna Engebretson as the graceful Mermaid and Dan Stephans II as Dr. Bennett.
Jodene Wartman was the director and made a lot of choices that helped me appreciate this show more. For example, in the opening scene as Edward told young Will about the wild characters in his stories, the two moved away from the realistic scenery and literally into the stories. There was also a cute bit in which werewolf Amos had found another animal-human hybrid to settle down with. On the other hand, there was a scene in which an actor was dressed as a statue and I couldn't see that it was worth the effort--I kept waiting for something else to happen with that.
Jim Cox was vocal director, and while there were many great vocal performances, the excellent balance in the large group songs is the real triumph. There were a few anachronistic pieces among the costumes, but overall the costumes (by Suzanna Schneider) were good. The costumes on the witch scene allowed for some very interesting shapes and movement from the dancers. One difference from the previous Big Fish reviewed here is Schneider had the later Ashton scene still in 1950's looks; while I enjoyed the 70's looks St. Matthew's used, it also makes sense that the town that doesn't want to change might stay stuck in one decade.
Not every musical needs to be or should be a big spectacle, but this show is perfect for big moments and is a great showcase for all the elements that Eagan used. It's a credit to Wartman's direction that all of the pieces came together so seamlessly. I'll be very interested to hear what show they choose for next summer!
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