BASED ON THE NOVEL BY DANIEL WALLACE AND THE 2003 COLUMBIA PICTURES FILM
WRITTEN BY JOHN AUGUST
Music & Lyrics by GRAMMY AND TONY AWARD NOMINEE ANDREW LIPPA
Book by GRAMMY AND BAFTA AWARD NOMINEE JOHN AUGUST
Directed and Choreographed by FIVE TIME TONY AWARD WINNER SUSAN STROMAN
Produced by ACADEMY AWARD WINNERS DAN JINKS AND BRUCE COHEN
LISTEN TO TWO NEW SONGS FROM BIG FISH SUNG BY NORBERT LEO BUTZ AND KATE BALDWIN
| Time Stops | |
| Fight the Dragons |
BIG FISH, a new musical based on the novel by Daniel Wallace and the 2003 Columbia Pictures film written by John August, will open Sunday, October 6, 2013, at Broadway's Neil Simon Theatre (250 West 52nd Street). Directed and choreographed by five-time Tony Award winner Susan Stroman (Contact, The Producers, The Scottsboro Boys), with music and lyrics by Grammy and Tony Award nominee Andrew Lippa (The Wild Party, The Addams Family), a book by Grammy and BAFTA Award nominee John August (Frankenweenie, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory), BIG FISH begins previews on Broadway Thursday, September 5, 2013.
Starring two-time Tony Award winner Norbert Leo Butz (Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Catch Me If You Can) as Edward Bloom, Tony Award nominee Kate Baldwin (Giant, Finian's Rainbow) as Sandra Bloom, Tony Award nominee Bobby Steggert (Giant, Ragtime) as Will Bloom, Krystal Joy Brown (Leap Of Faith) as Josephine Bloom and Anthony Pierini (Mary Poppins) and Zachary Unger (Chaplin) alternating as Young Will, and featuring Ryan Andes, Ben Crawford, J. C. Montgomery, Tony Award nominee Brad Oscar, Kirsten Scott, Sarrah Strimel and Katie Thompson, BIG FISH has a cast of 27 that includes Preston Truman Boyd, Alex Brightman, Bree Branker, Joshua Buscher, Robin Campbell, Bryn Dowling, Jason Lee Garrett, Leah Hofmann, Synthia Link, Angie Schworer, Lara Seibert, Tally Sessions, Cary Tedder and Ashley Yeater.
BIG FISH had its pre-Broadway world premiere at Chicago's Oriental Theatre (24 West Randolph Street) in a limited 5-week engagement beginning performances Tuesday, April 2, 2013, opened Friday, April 19, 2013, and played through Sunday, May 5, 2013.
BIG FISH has scenic design by Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Award winner Julian Crouch, costume design by five-time Tony Award winner William Ivey Long, lighting design by two-time Tony Award winner Donald Holder, sound design by Los Angeles Drama Critics Award winner Jon Weston, projection design by Drama Desk Award winner Benjamin Pearcy for 59 Productions, musical direction by Mary-Mitchell Campbell, orchestrations by Larry Hochman and dance arrangements by Sam Davis. BIG FISH is produced by Dan Jinks, Bruce Cohen and Stage Entertainment with Roy Furman, Broadway Across America/Rich Entertainment Group, John Domo, The Nederlander Organization and Edward Walson in association with CJ E&M, Dancing Elephant Productions, Parrothead Productions, Harvey Weinstein/Carole L. Haber, Peter May/Jim Fantaci, Ted Liebowitz/Joe Piacentile and Columbia Pictures.
A rollicking fantasy set in the American South, BIG FISH centers on the charismatic Edward Bloom (Butz), whose impossible stories of his epic adventures frustrate his son Will (Steggert). As Edward's final chapter approaches, Will embarks on his own journey to find out who his father really is, revealing the man behind the myth, the truth from the tall tales. Overflowing with heart, humor and inventive stagecraft, BIG FISH is a tribute to the power of family, dreaming big and the unpredictable adventure of life itself.
"Big Fish: A Novel of Mythic Proportions" by Daniel Wallace was first printed in 1998. In December 2003, a critically acclaimed film of Big Fish was released by Columbia Pictures directed by Tim Burton, starring Ewan McGregor, Albert Finney, Billy Crudup, Jessica Lange and Helena Bonham Carter. The film was nominated for an Academy Award, Grammy Award, 4 Golden Globe Awards and 7 BAFTA Awards.