Friday, October 4, through Sunday, October 6
St. Ambrose University's Galvin Fine Arts Center, 2101 North Gaines Street, Davenport IA
Described by the Chicago Tribune as “earnest, family-friendly, and heartwarming” and by Variety magazine as “meaningful, emotional, tasteful, theatrically imaginative, and engaging,” Broadway's Big Fish opens St. Ambrose University's 2019-20 season of mainstage productions, its October 4 through 6 run sure to demonstrate why Variety called the work “a show that speaks to anyone pining for a studiously heartwarming musical.”
Based on the 1998 Daniel Wallace novel Big Fish: A Novel of Mythic Proportions and the 2003 Tim Burton movie starring Ewan McGregor, Big Fish tells the tale of Edward Bloom, a traveling salesman who has always lived life to its fullest … and then some. Edward’s incredible, larger-than-life stories thrill everyone around him, most especially his devoted wife Sandra. But their son Will, who's engaged to the lovely Josephine and is about to have a child of his own, is determined to find the truth behind his father’s unbelievable tall tales of witches, giants, elephants, and mermaids. With music and lyrics by Tony Award nominee Andrew Lippa and a book by Hollywood screenwriter and Grammy nominee John August, Big Fish is an epically scaled musical designed to remind audiences why they love going to the theatre for experiences that are frequently richer, funnier, and bigger than life itself.
Serving as guest director for Big Fish is former University of Northern Iowa professor Jay Edelnant, whose theatrical credits at the university included Assassins, Hair, and Angels in America. Edward Bloom is portrayed by T.J. Green, familiar from such St. Ambrose productions as Tartuffe and Cabaret and the Spotlight Theatre's recent Matilda: The Musical, with Edward's son Will played by Joe Lasher, a castmate in SAU's Rumors who also appeared in the Playcrafters Barn Theatre's Avenue Q and the Black Box Theatre's Next to Normal. Edward's wife Sandra is enacted by Abbie Carpenter (Speech & Debate) and Will's fiancée Josephine by Sarah Goodall (Time Stands Still), with the cast for Edelnant's Big Fish completed by Anthony Duckett, Andres Garcia, Tyler Hughes, Allison Hutson, Nolan Kennedy, Sam Lange, Ellie Larson, Katie Link, Jeremy Mahr, Becky Meissen, Halie Osborn, Luke Peterson, Rose Prosinski, Crosby Rairdin-Hale, Peyton Reese, and Kiara Thomas.
Big Fish will be staged October 4 through 6 at St. Ambrose University's Galvin Fine Arts Center, with performances Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 3 p.m. Admission is $10-15, and more information and tickets are available by calling (563)333-6251 or visiting SAU.edu.
