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BIG FISH is a musical with music and lyrics by Andrew Lippa and a book by John August. It's based on Daniel Wallace's novel and the Tim Burton film of the same name.

To quote the blurb; "BIG FISH tells the story of Edward Bloom, a travelling 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."

This adaptation of the Tim Burton film first premiered as a musical in Chicago back in April 2013 at the Oriental Theatre. It subsequently moved to Broadway playing at The Neil Simon Theatre the following year for a short run. Since then it has had a number of regional productions, and is finally making its debut here in Hamilton.

"Overflowing with heart and humour, BIG FISH is an extraordinary musical that reminds us why we love going to the theatre — for an experience that’s richer, funnier and bigger than life itself."

Tim Burton's 2004 film which starred Ewan McGregor and Albert Finney, I certainly recall as a classic bit of whimsy; a modern day fairy tale wrapped up in a contemporary story of the Southern United States, about how our past tends to become our present. That's my only exposure to any of the source material.

The original book which inspired all of this is BIG FISH: A NOVEL OF MYTHIC PROPORTIONS a 1998 bestseller by Daniel Wallace. It's a collection of tall tales, and exaggerations about a son recalling the stories told to him by his father.

Without having been exposed to the musical theatre version, I expect that each of these stories has been turned into a production number, a song instead of a tale.

The HTI production features musical direction by Jennifer Ferreira, and choreography by Katlyn Alcock, the producer is Teryn Lawson. The cast of nineteen includes; Glen McCann as Edward Bloom, John Connally, as his son Will, Aramenta Sobchak as the Witch, and Noun Holloway, as Karl the Giant, who hopefully at least is friendly! Matt Moore is in charge of making it work as director.

This is an ambitious production for Hamilton Theatre Incorporated to mount in their small studio on MacNab street, and I wish them the best in filling all the seats. It's a musical, and the music is very good, so that's a big selling point.

Hopefully I'll get a chance to catch it during its brief nine performance run here in Hamilton.

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