Big Fish- The Musical- Page 2

[wickedfan]

Posted: 6/9/11 at 2:50pm

Haha, thank you, devonian.t. I appreciate it. My issue with Lachiusa, however, is that he tends to write his scores from a high horse without having really done anything to deserve being on said horse. The closest he got to fully forming a character was the title role in Marie Christine. Everything else he's written has had moments of greatness, but never consitently enough for me to enjoy it. I guess the best way to describe it is that I appreciate what he tries to do, but I don't think he ever really succeeds nor do I ever really like it.

That said, I feel that if he had a strong willed director (Nicholas Hytner or Michael Mayer perhaps) and a very intimidating librettist (are there any these days?) to reel him in, we could finally get a completely masterful score from Lachiusa.

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 6/9/11 at 7:51pm

Is this one of the many shows Kelli O'Hara is attached to or am I confusing this with something else?
I enjoyed the movie a lot and would love to see what a musical adaptation would be like.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 6/9/11 at 8:57pm

My issue with Lachiusa, however, is that he tends to write his scores from a high horse without having really done anything to deserve being on said horse. The closest he got to fully forming a character was the title role in Marie Christine.

Wow. I couldn't feel more the opposite. I think his material for Hello Again is incredibly brilliant. His ability to capture and link characters in a single scene or song is mind-boggling. The songs for the Young Wife, the Director, the Young Thing and the Actress are stunning and form characters of both depth and cunning. And I think either Marie Christine or The Wild Party was far more deserving of Best Score than Aida.

As for Big Fish...one of my least favorite Tim Burton films with a score by one of my least favorite musical theatre composers. Sounds like a truly forgettable evening of blandness. Except maybe for the visuals. I'm not really looking forward to it.

[wickedfan]

Posted: 6/9/11 at 9:07pm

To each their own, Mister Matt. I don't particularly like Marie Christine as a show, but the main character is a very interesting, flawed, and complicated character that the audience can also connect to. That's the only time I've ever felt that way about a Lachiusa character.

I've only listened to Hello Again twice all the way through and I agree that he is very capable of weaving characters together through song ("Gin/Wild" in The Wild Party is a great example of this), but again, I never felt anything about any of the characters and, to me, that is because Lachiusa distanced them from me and so I was left admiring, but unmoved, by the work.

And I think we can all agree that ANYTHING was more deserving than Aida for Best Score that year.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 6/9/11 at 9:20pm

I was not a huge fan of Hello Again until I performed it (Young Thing), and I think it has to be seen to be truly appreciated. There is a LOT of material missing from the CD. To me, his scores are almost balletic, which explains his close association with Graciela Daniele.

[fashionguru_23]

Posted: 6/9/11 at 9:21pm

I'm not a big fan of Lippa, despite enjoying the Addams Family. I think that this can be an amazing show if the book writer can do some good writing. I haven't seen the movie in a few years, but I remember being board by some of the subplots.

I'd like to hear some demos or the workshop recording (if any were made) to see what could be.

Although, I think the show will look really good on stage. There is some visual magic that I think can make the show shine, only if everything can work perfectly seamlessly together.

[kyl3fong2]

Posted: 6/9/11 at 10:53pm

They should have hired Julie Taymor as the director for this....lol

[Fan2]

Posted: 9/9/11 at 10:55am

From Deadline.com:

EXCLUSIVE: I’m hearing that Dexter star Michael C. Hall is negotiating to play the lead in Big Fish on Broadway next year. Bruce Cohen and Dan Jinks, who produced the Tim Burton-directed film, are producing the musical stage adaptation. Susan Stroman (The Scottsboro Boys) is directing and Andrew Lippa (The Addams Family) wrote the music. John August wrote the book for the musical, based on his movie script from the novel by Daniel Wallace. It is expected to be quite the stage event. The part was originally written for Hugh Jackman, but his movie schedule got in the way and the producers turned to Hall. Before he became TV’s best-known serial killer by merit of the Showtime series, Hall performed in numerous musicals that include Cabaret and Chicago, so he’s certainly got the chops to play Edward Bloom, the man who filled his son’s head with so many unbelievable adventures that occurred during the course of his life. Ewan McGregor and Albert Finney played that role in the movie.
Michael C. Hall in Bish Fish

[willep]

Posted: 9/9/11 at 12:03pm

Awesome.

[Mildred Plotka]

Posted: 9/9/11 at 12:29pm

Lippa, at least for me, is quickly getting up there with Wildhorn. Boring, banal, repetitive, uninspired, lazy in both lyrics and music. I'll give Little Princess (one of my favorite stories and films) a go and Big Fish. Then he's done for me if it's the same cliche filled work without an ounce of concern for character, theme, or even craftsmanship. I too was intrigued by his songs for Charlie Brown. I loathed The Wild Party.

The statement that LaChiusa can't write for character just baffles me. I think this is one of Lippa's core problems. I always feel the characters in LaChiusa shows are clearly defined. He uses character in so many interesting ways. Always pushing himself and letting the subject dictate the score. Maybe Lippa's got something brilliant planned for Big Fish. But I'm not holding my breath...

[undercoveractor]

Posted: 9/9/11 at 12:36pm

I have to add that to those discussing LaChiusa....I am on board for any show that he puts up. His WILD PARTY is, IMHO, his masterpiece. That show is to me the great unappreciated show of the last decade.
I am a huge, but often frustrated Burton fan and I think BIG FISH is magical....it could be a really wonderful evening in the theatre given the bones of that story. Stroman did sublime work on SCOTTSBORO BOYS last season and had I been the decider, would have Tony awards for Direction and Choreography for that piece....so her involvement in this is a major plus.
Lippa....I am not a fan at all, so I'll leave it at that.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 9/9/11 at 3:03pm

Lippa, at least for me, is quickly getting up there with Wildhorn.

I actually enjoy many of Wildhorn's melodies, especially numerous memorable tunes from J&H and Pimpernel. I can probably only come up with two Lippa melodies I can sort of remember. It's like the stuff from the parade of flops from the mid-40s to mid-50s that never yielded a tune that sticks. Texas Li'l Darlin', for instance.

[Jon]

Posted: 9/9/11 at 5:07pm

Would Hall play both young and old Edward?

[MissAnneThrop]

Posted: 9/9/11 at 9:08pm

I think Big Fish should run in rep w/ LaChuisa's Little Fish.

[dontevenstart]

Posted: 12/30/11 at 3:04am

Has anyone heard any demos or saw the reading in November? I am really curious about the music for this!