Speak Easy Stage Company’s rendition
of Big Fish will take you on an
unforgettable journey. On Wednesday, March 18th we traveled to Boston Center
for the Arts to watch a production of Big
Fish. Big Fish is musical based on both a novel
and a movie telling the story of Edward Bloom of Alabama. Edward is known to
tell a lot of farfetched stories and anecdotes especially to his son Will. Will
feels as if he does not know his father very well because of all the
unbelievable stories he tells. At Will’s wedding Edward’s doctor notices that
Edward has lost some weight and appears to be in pain. He suggests that Edward
come in to the doctors office to be checked out. At the doctors office it is
concluded that Edward has fast growing cancer, but he does not want Will to
know that. When Will figures out about the cancer, he really wants to build a
stronger relationship with Edward. Will and his wife, Josephine, look through
some of Edward’s old possessions when they find a deed signed by both Edward
and his high school crush, Jenny Hill. After this Will constructs a list of all
the stories that Edward has told him over the years, to try and get a better
understanding of him. The show then adds in a series of flashbacks of Edwards
stories. Will goes to Edward’s bedroom and asks him about the deed and Edward
lashes out at him. Will proceeds to visit Jenny Hill where she tells him the
true story of how Edward saved his hometown of Ashton. When Will returns Edward
continuously asks him how his death begins, but will doesn't know because he
was never told the story. The two then head down to the river where they used
to fish, all of the characters from Edward’s stories meet him to say goodbye. A
funeral is held for Edward and the play is ended with Will singing “Be the
Hero” to his son which is the same song Edward sung to him as a child.
First off the acting in this
performance was very solid. Although there were a few cheesy moments the actors
put on a very believable performance in an extremely fictional play, which can
be hard to do. I would love to go through all the actors, but I’ll just
highlight a couple. Sam Simahk as Will Bloom provided the whole package of
quality acting and singing. Simahk delivered incredible solo performances and
also worked well with his fellow other actors. His presence on the stage was
incredible and without him the production would have been completely different.
Steven Goldstein also had an unforgettable performance as Edward Bloom. Goldstein
did a great job both acting and singing. The set of the show was interesting as
there were a couple of sheets in the background where there would be
projections to show the setting of the scene. I think this was a decent way to
show the scene, but there could have been a more effective way to do so. In
terms of the style, they were very much trying to re-create and exact story
instead of letting the audience know that it is just theater. I believe that
style worked well for this performance because the story of the play almost
required that method. The most impressive thing about this performance was how
clearly the story was told. There were many flashbacks in the show and they
were done so cleverly that they were easy to identify as an audience member.
Watching the performance I never had to work extra hard to figure out the story
because the play was executed so well. Both the director, Paul Daigneault and
the actors deserve credit for the clear story telling.
You should certainly view this
production because of the great story to go along with some excellent music. I
promise that you will not be perplexed through the entire show because it is
done in a way that makes it understandable to all audiences.
