Nice Fish at the ART/then St. Ann's
Nice Fish at the ART/then St. Ann's
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/4/07
Nice Fish at the ART/then St. Ann's#1
Posted: 1/18/16 at 6:16am
Caught the first preview of Big Fish at the ART yesterday.
What an odd, quirky, funny and thought provoking show on ice! While I thoroughly enjoyed it, I think I didn't "get" it entirely, and need to let it sink in more. The final scene was unexpected and uplifting (pun intended)
All the production elements fit the same adjectives above.
Mark Rylance is delightful, but stays part of the ensemble. Which is to say, they all fit beautifully and it doesn't feel like a star vehicle.
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/30/08
Nice Fish at the ART/then St. Ann's#2
Posted: 1/18/16 at 2:00pm
I love the prose poetry of Lewis Jenkins so I may be a little better prepared for this.
How many people in the ensemble?
Didn't Rylance co-write this? He might just have an EOT year, at least in terms of nominations.
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/4/07
Nice Fish at the ART/then St. Ann's#3
Posted: 1/18/16 at 3:01pm
Five cast members.
Yes, Rylance is credited as co-author.
Nice Fish at the ART/then St. Ann's#4
Posted: 1/18/16 at 10:25pm
I saw this at the Guthrie a few years ago, and I agree that it's a lot of fun. But I'm a huge Rylance fan, so I'm probably biased.
Nice Fish at the ART/then St. Ann's#5
Posted: 1/18/16 at 11:43pm
I bought a ticket for St. Ann's based on Rylance's name alone. Should I read up on Louis Jenkins' poetry before seeing the show? Or is that not necessary?
Broadway Legend Joined: 8/14/05
Nice Fish at the ART/then St. Ann's#6
Posted: 1/19/16 at 12:07am
It's not on Broadway - so no EGOT this year.
Nice Fish at the ART/then St. Ann's#7
Posted: 1/19/16 at 12:09am
Do a search for Louis Jenkins on NPR.
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/4/07
Nice Fish at the ART/then St. Ann's#8
Posted: 1/19/16 at 12:19am
I like having little preconceived ideas, even given that....it is not necessary. Imho
Nice Fish at the ART/then St. Ann's#9
Posted: 1/19/16 at 8:07am
Thanks! I might end up doing a little bit of research anyway if I get around to it.
RippedMan said: "It's not on Broadway - so no EGOT this year. "
You know he has like 3 Tonys already right?
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/30/08
Nice Fish at the ART/then St. Ann's#10
Posted: 1/19/16 at 9:10am
Actually Ripped Man is right - I was thinking EOT in a single year, forgetting that NICE FISH isn't Broadway eligible. But I am sure that if he gets the Oscar and Emmy, Rylance won't complain.
And you probably don't need to read Jenkins's work beforehand. If you want a hint, Rylance recited two of his poems as acceptance speeches, if I recall correctly. But there is a paperback called TIN FLAG available that contains NICE FISH poems, if you are interested.
Nice Fish at the ART/then St. Ann's#11
Posted: 1/19/16 at 9:24am
Rylance has not done anything that is Emmy-eligible for this year. He was nominated last year for WOLF HALL and lost to Richard Jenkins for OLIVE KITTERIDGE.
Nice Fish at the ART/then St. Ann's#12
Posted: 1/25/16 at 10:29am
I love Mark Rylance in anything he does.
This wasn't as easy to love.
I think they did the best they could with the script, and the effects are pretty good considering what they have to work with, but just like with Ice Fishing, you have to put up with some tedium.
The two leads play well off of each other. The other three cast members are less "interactive".
Just like you can take a great songwriter's songs and make a jukebox musical with them that might be pretty good, but rarely will be amazing, you can take a poet's poems and make a play with them that might be pretty good and that's what they've done here.
Best part was there was a talkback after the show (huge turnout, considering it was snowing pretty hard here by then) and one woman had "a question for the guy at the end" so they started to hand the microphone to one of the other actors and she interrupted with "no, the other end", so they gave the mic back to Rylance. She had no idea.
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/30/08
Nice Fish at the ART/then St. Ann's#13
Posted: 1/25/16 at 6:47pm
I hate to be the one to ask the question, but - how long does the show run?
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/4/07
Nice Fish at the ART/then St. Ann's#14
Posted: 1/25/16 at 7:43pm
Only at the ART until 2/7, methinks. (Just check the American Rep website.) NO idea about the run at St. Anne's.
Nice Fish at the ART/then St. Ann's#15
Posted: 1/25/16 at 10:48pm
Extension at St.Ann's was announced last week. Runs 2/14 to 3/27 now.
Nice Fish at the ART/then St. Ann's#16
Posted: 1/26/16 at 8:06am
95 minutes, if that's what was meant
Nice Fish at the ART/then St. Ann's#17
Posted: 2/18/16 at 12:43am
Saw this tonight. I'm still kind of processing it. I'm really not sure how I feel. I actually really like the concept, and the execution for the most part. I thought it worked pretty well for the first hour. However, around the 1 hour mark I admit I began checking my watch. I think the structure just couldn't sustain all through the 95 minutes. I also felt that it became increasingly unfocused as it neared the end of the play.
I'm glad I saw it. Despite my qualms, I do think it's an interesting piece, and I totally see what they were going for in terms of the structure and the text. Additionally, Mark Rylance is excellent. This was my first time seeing him live, so it was a real treat for me.
Updated On: 2/18/16 at 12:43 AMNice Fish at the ART/then St. Ann's#18
Posted: 2/18/16 at 1:09am
I just saw it tonight, and I agree with you. I LOVE the first half, and can't help feeling that the play disintegrated towards the end. What was that all about? It's almost like the play has been re-written TWICE by two sets of different writers the second half, which I know certainly that was NOT the case.
I'm still glad I saw it, for the two leads were AMAZING!! I just wish I knew how to interpret the second half.
Broadway Legend Joined: 8/14/05
Nice Fish at the ART/then St. Ann's#20
Posted: 2/18/16 at 11:31pm
RippedMan said: "What exactly is it about? "
Someone earlier in the thread astutely compared it to a jukebox musical, only instead of songs, it's prose poetry. Basically, it's centered around 2 men who are ice-fishing. In the tedium of waiting out in the cold waiting for the fish to bite (think: Waiting for Godot), we see both men (and the people they interact with) perform a series of introspective monologues, about life, ice-fishing, and other miscellany. All of these monologues were written by the prose poet, Louis Jenkins, and are quite thought-provoking and well-written. They attempt to tie it all together in the end with metaphors and surrealism. As I said earlier, it sort of works, but it's a little hard to digest.
Updated On: 2/18/16 at 11:31 PMNice Fish at the ART/then St. Ann's#21
Posted: 2/18/16 at 11:35pm
It's also really funny.
Nice Fish at the ART/then St. Ann's#22
Posted: 2/18/16 at 11:46pm
^Yes! Rylance in particular gives a wonderfully comedic performance.
Nice Fish at the ART/then St. Ann's#23
Posted: 2/19/16 at 12:00am
Dry midwestern humor with NO Marge Gunderson accents, thank god.
Nice Fish at the ART/then St. Ann's#24
Posted: 3/2/16 at 12:52am
Noticed that most performances are already sold out...has anyone tried rush tickets? Does St.Ann's usually have rush seats available even for sold-out performances?
Nice Fish at the ART/then St. Ann's#25
Posted: 3/2/16 at 1:06am
I saw this with my boyfriend on the 20th. It was his Christmas gift, as he's a fan of Jenkins and we both love Rylance. Neither of us were crazy about it, though he liked it more than I did. I admit, I dozed off around the hour mark (after checking the time a little before that). The last 12 minutes or so achieve a theatrical loveliness that I wish the whole production had reached. But it was too late for me by then.
If you like the stream-of-consciousness oeuvre that is Jenkins' poetry, you'll probably find yourself enjoying this. I found it tiresome, tedious, and up its own ass.
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