Hale Center Theater Orem has reeled in the state premiere of a whale of a musical tale, “Big Fish,” and its director is “thrilled.”
“I love doing these premieres because it’s so fun to show audiences something that will most likely be their first time — especially when it’s a piece like ‘Big Fish,’ which I have completely fallen in love with,” said Chris Clark, who recently directed the regional premiere of “Ghost the Musical.” “It’s so exciting to be able to share that love with the community and be able to tell people, ‘Look at this great show.’”
The storyline of the stage adaptation of “Big Fish: A Novel of Mythic Proportions,” a fantastical 1998 novel by Daniel Wallace, and the Tim Burton-directed 2003 fantasy-adventure film centers on the conflicted relationship between a Southern spinner of tall tales and his more grounded son. Clark said audiences will believe “Big Fish,” which will run May 7-June 20, is an entertaining catch.
“It’s such a charming and beautiful story, and it has a great message to it,” he said. “On the surface, it’s about a father and a son, a father coming to terms with his mortality and about a son coming to terms with his father, who is an eccentric storyteller. But underneath that, we have all of his stories. So we get to go back to the father’s past and relive some of these stories from throughout his life. Because of that, there are some really colorful, funny stories and songs.”
When Anne Swenson, HCTO’s managing director/executive producer, introduced “Big Fish” as the centerpiece of the theater company’s 25th anniversary season, she said, “The buzz on the street in New York has been that the musical is where 40-year-old men go to cry.”
“We all tear up in rehearsal during certain sections, and we’ve seen it a hundred times,” Clark said. “It’s very touching, very sweet.”
According to bigfishthemusical.com, the main character of Edward Bloom is “a traveling salesman who lives life to its fullest … and then some! Edward’s incredible, larger-than-life stories thrill everyone around him — most of all, his devoted wife, Sandra. But their son, Will, about to have a child of his own, is determined to find the truth behind his father’s epic tales.”
Clark described “Big Fish” as a “high-energy, funny show that families will love. The music is fantastic, and it is beautifully sung. The choreography by Jenny Barlow is inventive and creative. And it’s a very sweet show that sneaks up on you. At the beginning you think it’s just a series of stories bunched together, but in the end it gets you in the gut.”
In a video introduction, the musical’s composer, Andrew Lippa, called "Big Fish" “a love story. It’s a love story about a father and his love for a son, and it’s a love story about a man’s love for life.”
Playing the lead role of Edward Bloom in the HCTO staging is Ben Henderson, who received national awards at the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival for his role of Dan in the Utah Valley University production of “Next to Normal” (which was named Outstanding Musical at the Washington, D.C., competition). He was honored with the Shakespeare Theatre Company Acting Fellowship, the Society of American Fight Directors Scholarship and the Mark Twain Scholarship for Comic Performance.
Henderson has his own remarkable tale to tell. He dropped out of high school and spent several years working as a banker before deciding to take the GED test and begin his postsecondary education at UVU. Now a graduate of the university’s musical theater performance program, he will be continuing his study on scholarship at the prestigious Academy for Classical Acting at George Washington University.
Clark called Henderson “fantastic” in the role.
“Ben is a powerhouse actor, and it’s a very demanding role: He’s on the stage almost the entire time, and he needs to play his character at various stages of his life, from age 12 to 60 or 70,” he said. “The actor needs to play a whole range of ages. And he does it so effortlessly. He’s so charming and funny; it’s a part he was born to play.”
In its parental advisory for “Big Fish,” broadway.com wrote, “Although young children might be frightened by the brief appearance of a witch, ‘Big Fish’ is an enchanting story appropriate for older children and teens.”
If you go ...
What: “Big Fish”
When: May 7-June 20, 7:30 p.m., with Saturday matinees at 3 p.m.
Where: Hale Center Theater Orem, 225 W. 400 North, Orem
How much: $16-$22, $4-$6 less for children
Phone: 801-226-8600
Web: haletheater.org