Playbill.com: The world premiere of the new musical Big Fish, based on the 1998 novel by Daniel Wallace and the 2003 Columbia Pictures film written by John August, officially opens in a pre-Broadway engagement April 19, following previews that began April 2, in Chicago.
Directed and choreographed by five-time Tony Award winner Susan Stroman (The Producers, Contact, Show Boat, Crazy for You), the work features music and lyrics by Grammy and Tony nominee Andrew Lippa (The Addams Family) with a book by Grammy and BAFTA Award nominee August.
4 comments:
When I first read the title of this article, I was very excited about this show. But, then I actually read the article and saw that it was going to be a musical. Now.... I'm not so certain about this show. There's something about turning everything into a musical that I find so tiring. Of course, the book and the 2003 movie are fantastic, but music (and especially singing) doesn't really play a large part into the plot existing. To add it into something originally about a dying father telling his son his life story before he dies, it seems a bit forced. It would be a better show if it was just written out as a play. I feel as though they wanted to create something distinctly different from the movie, but turning it into a musical isn't the right option. Dance numbers and chorus lines won't enhance this story.
I'm actually a little on the fence about this performance. I loved the movie and many of the scenes in the movie had a style that would work well on the stage but I don't know about he fact it's being made into a musical. Don't get me wrong. I love musicals, but Big Fish does not come across as a musical. What made the movie so good was it's quirky tendencies without being cheesy and campy, and I'm worried that adding music and dancing could push it over that edge. I understand not wanting the the broadway version to be the same thing as the movie, but a musical is not the way to do it.
I, Like Kelly, was very excited when I read the title. I love the story of Big Fish and the movie is still one of my favorites. When I read who was going to be in the show and who was designing I continued to be excited but when I finally listened to the music... I started to worry that the show is going to fall flat. While I liked Fighting Dragons a lot, I found the other song extremely generic. It's been done before. I'll still probably get the soundtrack and memorize it because I'm a huge fan Norbert Leo Butz, but I'm not in love with it the way I immediately fell in love with the story. I just hope that this show doesn't run the magic of Big Fish.
I friend of a friend of mine, Alex Brightman, was in the piece while it was being workshopped and is now headed to previews of the show on Broadway. I have yet to see the show but I know Alex's work and I'm certain he will do a brilliant job as the male lead. I have not seen the film so I am unable to speak as to whether or not a musical version would be a poor vehicle for the work in question. I know that most Musicals to movies I've seen haven't turned out too well, but I'm not sure I've ever seen the reverse attempted.
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