Ask any seven-year-old what kind of characters should be in a play, and you might get the following answer: a circus performer, a giant, a witch, a mermaid and a cowboy. Believe it or not, all of these characters appear in a world-premiere version of the Broadway musical, Big Fish. This remarkable production was created by John August for Milwaukee’s First Stage.
Ask an adult what might be a captivating storyline for a play, and you might hear the following reply: a poignant coming-of-age story which puts a young boy on a direct collision course with his father, who is a teller of tall tales. When the boy becomes a man, he is still embarrassed by his father’s kooky behavior. He’s also chafing from a childhood in which his father was largely absent. When the man discovers that his father’s stories have some glimmerings of truth, he finally understands and accepts his father. He rushes to his dying father’s bedside. By the show’s end, there isn’t a dry eye in the house. How can one musical accomplish both of these seemingly insurmountable requirements? To find out, audiences in and around Milwaukee should rush out and buy tickets to this “don’t miss” production.
Big Fish opened on Broadway at the Neil Simon Theatre in October 2013. Despite the terrifically talented Norbert Leo Butz (Wicked, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels) in the lead role, the musical fared poorly at the box office. After the Broadway run closed, some recent regional productions have emerged. But First Stage presents the first rendering of Big Fish geared specifically to a kid-friendly audience. It is no small task to shrink a 2 ½ hour musical into a mere 80 minutes, but they seemed to have accomplished this without losing any of the show’s main characters or plot points.
In the Milwaukee production, the father is played by veteran actor Jonathan Gillard Daly. He brings some of the same fantastical flavor to this performance that some viewers will recall from when he appeared in the classic, Harvey. In that show, Daly played a lonely, elderly man who is convinced that his best friend is a giant rabbit. (Harvey topped off the Milwaukee Repertory Theater’s 2013-2014 season.) Here again, the wide-eyed Daly is a tremendous story teller. He captivates the audience almost instantaneously as he begins his first tale. It is set in the Alabama countryside, near the small town where the father, Edward Bloom, grew up. Bloom sidles up to a discouraged fisherman who hasn’t even one fish to show for his day’s efforts. Bloom confidently informs the man that these fish are wildly attracted to a dance called the “Alabama stomp.” As the entire cast dances the stomp behind the two men, a flurry of fish leap out of the water in a scene reminiscent of the TV film “Sharknado.” The show’s fabulously inventive choreography by Susan Stroman is toned down in this production, but it beguiles all the same. When Bloom (as a young boy) and some pals go into the swamp to find a witch, the tall, moss-topped trees sway in the breeze. When they find the witch (nicely done by Rana Roman, who also plays the son’s bride), she tells Bloom who he is going to marry, among other facts about his life. Bloom has total belief in the witch’s fortune-telling powers. He begins his pursuit of the girl in earnest, looking hard at every red-haired girl who might be the one foretold by the witch. Eventually, he spots her. She is auditioning for a role in a circus. Even as the ringmaster dismisses Sandra and her friends as being unsuitable for rowdy circus life, Bloom realizes he has found his mate. It is a magic, tender moment, which Daly shares with talented singer/dancer Niffer Clarke (Sandra).
Years later, Bloom’s son reveals to his new wife that there are at least a dozen variations on the how-I-met-your-mother story. Each has been jotted down by Will (Nate Lewellyn).
In First Stage productions, children’s roles are double cast. In the Daffodil cast, Nolan Zdziarski plays the younger Will, while Luke Czerwinski plays an adolescent Will.
The show’s backdrop is the side of a weathered barn. This uniformly gray background hearkens to the story’s rural roots. It also puts the audience’s attention squarely on the performers and a glorious parade of costumes. Karin Kopischke must have broken the bank when she designed an endless rotation of elaborate outfits. First Stage is no stranger to performing musicals, including Shrek and Big. But the eye-popping number of costumes in Big Fish surely tops them both. The younger cast members seem delighted to play cowboys and clowns, football players and cheerleaders – and who wouldn’t? But for audiences of all ages, this production is an homage to imagination and where it can take a person in life.
