The adaptation of the musical “Big Fish,” is set to premiere Mar. 20 at WY. For many seniors on Company, this will be their last performance.
The musical is about a son, Will Bloom, played by Elijah Ruiz ‘15, trying to reconcile his relationship with his dying father, Edward Bloom, a retired traveling salesman played by Jeremy White ’15.
The comedy-drama musical is filled with extraneous stories that Edward reminisces upon about his life, from childhood to adulthood. These stories involve strong elements of fantasy, including witches and werewolves and many other seemingly unbelievable story time tales. Will spites his father because he does not believe that the stories he knew so well as a child could be true.
Among the extensive cast and ensemble are Will’s wife, Josephine, played by Phoebe Black-Toby ’17, Will’s mother, Sandra, played by Maddy Moderhack ’15, Karl the Giant, played by Samuel Santiago ’15 and Amos Calloway played by George Mosher 15’.
Band and orchestra students headed by band director, James Barbick will also be collaborating for the music.
“Big Fish” was originally a book written by Daniel Wallace in 1998. Adapted into a play, a movie directed by Tim Burton in 2003, and later a musical, it will be a large performance, scaling to a cast of 30, up to 140 intricate costumes, and numerous sets that, for instance, range from a hospital room to an extravagant circus.
“The Young Company has grown quite a lot for this play, and I am faithful that we’ll put on a great show with all of the work students are putting into it,” says Daniel Winkler, theater director.
The cast and numerous technical crews have been working on the production since January, and will continue to do so once the play opens and until it closes in early April.
The music portion of the musical consists of classical sounds, rock, funk, marches and country sounds that are used to depict the different stories and wide range of emotions throughout the play, reflecting the various serious or uplifting moods.
From the solemn moments and the soft sounds to the lively parts with their jolly ambiance, the music goes well with the atmosphere.
The original Broadway orchestrations will be performed.
The pit right now is all students, but there may be a few professionals who will come in to help out. The music at some parts can be extremely difficult, with varying rhythms and higher than high school average difficulty.
“I’m wrestling with deciding between adapting the music so students can do it or staying true to the original which will require hiring. There are still openings so spread the word!” explains Barbick, WY band teacher.
“I’m just excited to be a part of this production. There is a great buzz of energy already in seeing the musicians, singers, dancers and actors get to work on this. I’m so happy to be working with the talented, fun and amazing WY teachers Daniel Winkler (who I did theater in HS with), dance teacher Jeanette Gordon and choir director, Grace Jeong,” states Barbick.
For the students who would like to participate in the musical portion of “Big Fish,” there are still openings in several spots for band and orchestra players.