Big Fish Preview Thread- Page 2

[inlovewithjerryherman]

Posted: 9/6/13 at 12:56am

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?

[AwesomeDanny]

Posted: 9/6/13 at 12:56am

Thanks for posting the song list, Kad. It sounds like my problem with the opening was fixed--in Chicago, the Witch's song didn't come until more than half an hour into the show. It's interesting that you guys say that the show needs more focus on the stories because it sounds like the writers have certainly done that, just not enough.

[Pippin]

Posted: 9/6/13 at 1:00am

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.

[Pippin]

Posted: 9/6/13 at 1:02am

And yes - the western number has to go. It doesn't work within the context of the show.

[Kad]

Posted: 9/6/13 at 1:02am

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.

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

[Brave Sir Robin2]

Posted: 9/6/13 at 1:04am

Nice to hear that the first really big musical of the season is off to such a good start for a first preview! And considering that First Date is doing well and Soul Doctor is still open, it's nice to see the American musical is still alive!

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 9/6/13 at 1:08am

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.

[AwesomeDanny]

Posted: 9/6/13 at 1:11am

The story of the big fish was the center of the old opening, which really didn't work, but that's because the story was expanded to include being swallowed by the fish and farted out. But it was central to the story in Chicago. What was it replaced with?

[Pippin]

Posted: 9/6/13 at 1:12am

"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.

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 9/6/13 at 1:13am

The story of the big fish was the center of the old opening, which really didn't work, but that's because the story was expanded to include being swallowed by the fish and farted out

LOL WHAT?

[Kad]

Posted: 9/6/13 at 1:16am

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

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 9/6/13 at 1:22am

The new opening is a just a song Norbert sings to young Will about the wonders of telling stories. It works very well and sets the stage for what is to come.

I think hearing the big fish story some point in the evening would be nice though. I mean, it is the title of the piece after all!

[AwesomeDanny]

Posted: 9/6/13 at 1:43am

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.

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 9/6/13 at 1:58am

Oh, that doesn't sound good at all, but that's not the big fish that's in the film either.

In the movie Edward tells the tale about a large fish that lives in the river and has never been caught. There is some beautiful voiceover dialogue about some fish that will never be caught- not because they're too fast or too strong, they're just touched by something extra.

This big fish won't fall for lures or other bait. He wants something better: gold. Edward catches the fish with his wedding ring which he gets back from the fish's mouth.

Will is sick of hearing the story, especially because Edward claims this is what he was doing at the exact moment Will was born. Will knows that Edward was really in Wichita and missed his birth all together, making this story cut him more deeply than the other tales because it is masking his father's absence in his life.


SPOILERS FOR THE FILM********************



When Will is in the hospital with his dad the doctor comes in and asks him if he knows the real story about Wichita. The doctor tells him, "I suppose if I had to choose between the true version and an elaborate one involving a fish and a wedding ring I might choose the fancy version, but that's just me."

This makes Will realize what he must do for his father- tell him the story he wants to hear about his death, not face the reality of what's happening. Will indulges him and takes him down to the river where Sandra reaches into Edward's mouth and pulls out his wedding ring. This changes him into the big fish and he is able to swim away in the river and be at peace.

The ending of the musical IS very satisfying and moving, but the story of the big fish is at the crux of Will's inability to believe/epiphany that he needs to believe.

END SPOILERS************************

[AwesomeDanny]

Posted: 9/6/13 at 2:55am

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.

[Younger Brother]

Posted: 9/6/13 at 3:32am

Does the witch still look like the Goth/Michelle Visage type as in Chicago?

[chuckydisc]

Posted: 9/6/13 at 6:53am

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?

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 9/6/13 at 6:58am

Danny, Thanks for the clarification. Well, if they gave it a shot and realized the story wasn't working on stage then I admire them for having the knowledge and guts to scrap what was written/staged and come up with something new.

Now they need to do the same for the witch and the wild west!

Younger Brother, I thought the witch looked like the Mysterious Man from ITW.

[dave1606]

Posted: 9/6/13 at 10:37am

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.

[Kad]

Posted: 9/6/13 at 10:43am

The white sheet on the stage in the Central Park scene had blue gels pointed at it- it was supposed to be pond/reservoir/something watery. I was in the mezz- perhaps it wasn't as visible from the orchestra.

Oh- the action in the pit (where the mermaid is entirely)- is impossible to see from a chunk of the mezzanine,

[Younger Brother]

Posted: 9/6/13 at 11:02am

How was Krystal Joy Brown?

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 9/6/13 at 11:05am

I'm glad you brought up the river in the pit.

From the orchestra it might work well, but from the mezz it forced everyone to lean forward and obscure the view. Everytime a sign or a flipper would pop up it caused a distraction because they were so worried they were missing something.

Thinking more about the show this morning I am very eager to return and hear some of the songs again and experience Norbert's performance for a second time.

Edit: Younger Brother, Krystal Joy Brown is fine, but has nothing to do. I love her voice and in a selfish way I wish she had a big number, but the character doesn't really need it. I'm glad she doesn't have some mopey ballad to Bobby Steggert about learning to believe in his father or some crap. It's hard to see a performer's talents not be taken advantage of, but I think it's the right decision for the story.

Updated On: 9/6/13 at 11:05 AM

[Kad]

Posted: 9/6/13 at 11:10am

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.

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 9/6/13 at 11:20am

That's what my friend and I were just saying on the phone! I think Norbert will have a great chance at picking up his third no matter the length of the run.

Also I think William Ivey Long will be a strong contender for picking up a consecutive win with his costumes here. If I counted correctly, by the end of this season Long will have created costumes for SIXTY-NINE Broadway shows and lord knows how many off-Broadway productions. He is the truest of legends.

[Kad]

Posted: 9/6/13 at 11:22am

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