Big Fish Preview Thread — Page 2

Thanks for that, Kad...the Witch number, when I saw it, was FULL of Katie Thompson riffing her butt off, reaching for multiple notes in full belt above a high A or even multiple high Cs...it was clearly very difficult for her to sing, and it's intention was to be loud and show-y...and I just don't believe that moment is intended to be so LOUD and "BAM!"...you know what i mean?

Just got back. I really, really enjoyed it, with a few very minor qualms, many of which have been mentioned.

As a production, it looks stunning. The Lighting is gorgeous and Long's costumes, as always, do not dissapoint. The sound design was a little iffy. I was in row M dead center of the mezz, and while the producition numbers were fine, sometimes the more intimate two person scenes were a little difficult to hear. Also, during one of Norbert and Kate's duets, kate got drowned out by Norbert's vocal, a minor problem that will be an easy fix.

Structurally, there were some minor pacing issues with the book scenes in the middle of the first act, but most of that, IMO, happened becuase they are right after explosive production numbers, so of course the same amount of energy will not be given. And I don't think it's supposed to. I think Stroman is trying to have the production numbers as wildly outlandish, lively and colorful as possible, and the scenes when we are dealing with Steggart's character and the "real" world very quiet, down to Earth and realistic. I actually think it provides a nice contrast, and it just needs a little bit of tightening to bring these two very different worlds and styles together.

Stroman is just so creative in all her choices, some more successful than others.

I do agree that those runners DO need to be cut in the park scene- distracting and superflous.

But her choreography is top notch, the things that she comes up with are inspiring and surprising.

Lippa - I will agree with puccini here - some of his best work, but at times he gets to generic and anachronistic. It's a western number.... why does it sound like a rehash of something from Next To Normal?

All three leads were wonderful, it was my first time seeing Baldwin and I was delightfully impressed. The ensemble didn't seem that horrible to me- I feel that you can't do everything perfect - these people have to be jugglers, tumblers, tappers, ballarinas, circus performers, actors, stilt walkers, acrobats. God forbid they can't be 100% at everything they do. They were not distracting to me.

Overall, I think it's in amazing shape for it's first preview, and will only get tigher and more entrancing. Personally, It was just what theatre should be for me: transformative. I was whisked away by the production and left very inspired, touched, and wanting to go back and see it immediately again.

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This incarnation of the Witch number was more production-focused, rather than relying on powerhouse vocals.

I will say, the Witch lacked personality overall.

The problem with the show- and the material- is that you have inherently interesting stories - larger-than-life tall tales- being IMMEDIATELY contrasted with a straightforward father/son domestic drama. It's like if the framing device of The Princess Bride took up half the film. It's not as compelling as the fantasy.

I tell you what, I want to know more about the giant and the werewolf ringmaster than Will Bloom and his wife. So would everyone else. We need to have a stronger emotional foothold for Will/Edward.

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Updated On: 9/6/13 at 01:02 AM

Exactly Kad. A little with the framing device around the stories goes a long way.

The scene in the movie with Jessica Lange and Albert Finney in the bathtub says SO much about their relationship in a very brief moment. We totally get their relationship and can get back to the stories, which of course are really building to reveal the main dramatic thrust of the piece anyway.

I'm surprised the actually story that of the big fish that frames the movie wasn't used in the musical at all. It seemed like the most important one to carry over because it plays such a pivotal role in Bobby's understanding of why stories are important.

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"The problem with the show- and the material- is that you have inherently interesting stories - larger-than-life tall tales- being IMMEDIATELY contrasted with a straightforward father/son domestic drama. It's like if the framing device of The Princess Bride took up half the film. It's not as compelling as the fantasy."

for me, I that's the point of the show, Kad. Edward is afraid of being ordinary, so he invents all these outlandish stories to escape from the ordinary, and to show that, I think there should be a huge division in tone between Reality and the stories.

Long got it right by dressing The realistic scenes in muted colors, and leaving the bright primaries for all the stories.

Stroman just needs to find a little bit more of a through line among the two styles and marry them a little better, because right now the numbers ARE the more interesting parts of the show. She needs to make the scenes JUST as engaging.

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The new opening is just about the power of creating stories overall, featuring Edward helping a man catch fish by doing a dance.

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I'm not joking--Edward and several town members were swallowed by the fish, and Edward leads them in a dance intended to shake the fish enough to make it lay its eggs (and them with it) but they accidentally make it fart them out instead. It's a funny way to open the show, but it immediately removes the possibility of the stories being true.

Whizzer, I have seen the film, and if I remember correctly, all of that was in the musical when I saw it. And the opening was a fun song called "The God's Honest Truth" that started with Norbert speaking lines directly from the film ("It is said that some fish cannot be caught...") and the story is almost exactly the same, but when trying to get the ring back, he gets swallowed by the fish. My memory may not be totally accurate because I saw the show four months ago, but I vaguely remember some suggestion that Edward became the fish, like what happened in the film. The last image we see is the big fish leaping out of the river in front of the stage. The "big fish" story was as central to the version of the musical I saw as it was to the film.

Anyone who got a student rush ticket want to let us know where in the theater those seats may be during the run? Side-Orchestra or back of Mezz?

I was there last night. Having a chance to sleep on it I can say that there is enough in the show to warrant a recommendation, but that overall it is a mixed bag. Sometimes there is true magic. The first big surprise in the forest with the trees is wonderful. Then other times, I felt like the creative team takes the easy way out.

My biggest issue with the show is the reliance on projections. The flood in the second act, and the really strangely framed central park (with clearly a first preview mistake of the white sheet on the ground in the corner?) just didn't work for me and a lot of the projections on the wood background don't look quite right.

Norbert Leo Butz again proves what a talent he is in this show, and certainly carries it on his back. I loved the Be the Hero of your story song especially.

As others have said Kate Baldwin is just wonderful in such an underwritten part. That she finds character in so little is truly amazing.

Bobby Steggert is fine, but really doesn't have much to do neither does Krystal Joy Brown.

The first act is definitely stronger, but the transitions between scenes and stories are not there at all. It felt a little confusing at times, and sometimes I felt like Bobby Steggert, frustrated with his father's stories.

The effects in Act 1 definitely dazzle, the elephants, dancing trees, and the wall of daffodils were all stunning.

I really love the film, and think it is still the superior medium for this, but it is certainly a respectable effort.

How was Krystal Joy Brown?

I am also eager to return once the show is frozen. I would really like for the show to come together.

It is hard to imagine Norbert not being the front-runner for the Tony, even if this flops.

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He certainly has he other designers beat this season in terms of sheer quantity of costumes.

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