Big, the Musical to Open Off Broadway starring John Tartaglia and Kerry Butler

[gleek4114]

Posted: 10/7/14 at 7:21pm

Playbill Article

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 10/7/14 at 7:24pm

Saw the original and I am probably in the minority in saying I enjoyed it.

[ClydeBarrow]

Posted: 10/7/14 at 7:29pm

This will probably be terrible but they had me at "Kerry Butler."

[hushpuppy]

Posted: 10/7/14 at 10:13pm

And they had ME at "John Tartaglia"

[Alan Henry]

Posted: 10/7/14 at 10:21pm

I was in a production of BIG once. The national tour version of the show is decent but is dated and definitely needs some work.

[Islander_fan]

Posted: 10/8/14 at 12:04am

YES!!!! YES!!!! YES!!!!

This show was my first Broadway show, I really love everything about it and so super excited that I get to see it again in some form or fashion here in NYC.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 10/8/14 at 12:07am

It's not really "opening." I mean isn't it more of a staged thing?

[gleek4114]

Posted: 10/8/14 at 12:10am

It's an extremely limited run. I saw this regionally a few years ago. I enjoyed it, but it was by no means the best shield ever. It was fun.

[Brian07663NJ]

Posted: 10/8/14 at 10:50am

I saw it. Neither loved or loathed it. Was just ok.

[morosco]

Posted: 10/8/14 at 10:57am

Love the song "Stop Time" that the mom sings.

[themysteriousgrowl]

Posted: 10/8/14 at 11:27am

I don’t have my playbills in front of me to consult, but I saw the BIG national tour, which, according to Google, kicked off in early 1998. That means I was 16 or 17, still relatively new to musical theater, and I remember really enjoying it and only later learning of its un-terrific reputation. I haven’t revisited the show or score since then, so I’d be interested to see how I’d feel about it now. I mean, it wasn’t earth-shattering, but it was funny, touching, and had a couple of lovely songs. That’s my memory, anyhow.

[Famebroadway2]

Posted: 10/8/14 at 11:48am

I was a substitute usher at the Shubert Theatre during its original run. I then saw the non-eq tour at a college in NJ a few years later. IMO the Broadway production was FAR superior to the tour. The tour version was minus most of the teenagers and their songs. They also cut the number "Fun" to shreds. The licensed version is anything but "Fun".

[broadway86]

Posted: 10/8/14 at 12:09pm

The tour and Broadway productions have elements that I really like, but overall I prefer the Broadway production. However, I would love to see this Tartaglia is perfect for the role. Zachary Levi would also be excellent too, now that I think about it.

[homeimp]

Posted: 10/8/14 at 5:41pm

I saw the original Big. I liked it, but sadly I couldn't get past the moment when the boy (13 years old?) in the man's body goes to bed with the leading lady because "he wants to know". I guess I'm really old fashioned, but wouldn't it have been more "noble" of him to decide "This is in my future. I don't need it now".

[dramamama611]

Posted: 10/8/14 at 5:44pm

Well, at 13, it's damned hard to be "noble".

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 10/8/14 at 5:46pm

But at that point, he doesn't really know if he will return to his rightful age (at least that's how I remember the movie,) so...

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 10/8/14 at 5:47pm

It's just one of their concert productions they do for Musicals in Mufti though, right? The way this thread is written, I thought for a second York was doing a full Off-Broadway production.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 10/8/14 at 5:59pm

Really enjoyed the Broadway production. The tour version was hideous.

I liked it, but sadly I couldn't get past the moment when the boy (13 years old?) in the man's body goes to bed with the leading lady because "he wants to know".

I thought it was interesting that his thoughts were expressed in the musical when it was lightly skimmed over in the film. But honestly, the song is far more noble than what would really be going through the mind of a 13 year-old boy.

[oncemorewithfeeling2]

Posted: 10/8/14 at 6:22pm

Yes, it is just a Musicals in Mufti production.

[Auggie27]

Posted: 10/8/14 at 8:05pm

I much enjoyed the original B'way production, and the album is quite wonderful. Daniel Jenkins could've won a deserved Tony for his performance, which was a true triple threat. Sadly, they reworked the show and threw out some of the better material (anyone here remember specifics?) The show's score wasn't the problem, but they apparently did a sort of "Carrie" overhaul. Too bad. It really wasn't that broken. I hear what is licensed is a tepid version of what is on the CD.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 10/9/14 at 1:34pm

Roughly half the score was scrapped and replaced with inferior material. "Fun" was rewritten in 3/4 time signature and the kids were cut from the number (the tour only had three or four kids from what I remember). Basically, they removed all the fun from "Fun". "Cross the Line" was kept, but only had two kids in it, so it really made no sense. The wonderful opening number was replaced with "Say Good Morning to Mom" and "Here We Go Again" was replaced with one of the most irrelevant and useless songs I've ever heard, "My Secretary's in Love". The design was also completely scrapped for the tour and replaced with small, cheap, awkward day-glo creations. After having enjoyed the Broadway production, I took my brother the see the tour. I had to apologize profusely for not realizing it was a completely different show seeing as how he hated that tour production as much as I did and was baffled as to why I brought him to see it.

Oh, and the big toy store? It was reduced to two small slides on stage.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 10/9/14 at 1:48pm

"Saw the original and I am probably in the minority in saying I enjoyed it."

Which is how Roxy likes it. It's the claim he stakes.

[averagebwaynut]

Posted: 10/9/14 at 2:03pm

And most inexcusably (for me), I believe they added "Big Boys" for the Port Authority scene and scrapped one of my personal faves, "I Want to Go Home". Danny Jenkins sang that so touchingly in the Broadway version.

[Alan Henry]

Posted: 10/9/14 at 2:07pm

The current licensed show differs from the tour.

Everything post overture (which is brilliant by the way) - including Opening Part I, II, III, and IV are restored. For those not familiar with the score - that's everything on the OBCR from the opening line of "How Come I Couldn't Cross My own Street?" (Young Josh) to "Your wish is granted!". (Zoltar)

Say Good Morning to Mom comes after that. Also, Cross the Line is restored as a vast chorus number between the adults and the kids.

The number of kids called for in the current licensed version is substantial.

Of course, who knows how it will be staged in this production.


Updated On: 10/9/14 at 02:07 PM

[newintown]

Posted: 10/9/14 at 2:25pm

I saw the original. More accurately, I saw half the original. It featured some of the most terrifyingly plastic child performances I've ever seen. A few pleasant tunes, but nothing truly memorable. It felt processed, like Kraft slices.

And it should be pointed out (because some folks do care) that the Mufti series is piano-only and often book-in-hand; no production values, and not really a "production."