The Nebraska Repertory Theatre, in partnership with UNL Opera in the Glenn Korff School of Music, presents “Big Fish,” with music and lyrics by Andrew Lippa and book by John August.
Performances are April 25-May 4 in Howell Theatre. For showtimes and tickets, visit https://nebraskarep.org.
“Big Fish” is a fantastical musical that revolves around the extraordinary life of Edward Bloom, a charismatic storyteller with a penchant for embellishment. As his son, Will, attempts to separate fact from fiction, the musical takes the audience on a magical journey through a world of tall tales, love and reconciliation while celebrating the power of imagination. The story was turned into a 2003 film by director Tim Burton.
This production is directed by Assistant Professor of Practice in Theatre Ann Marie Pollard with musical direction by Assistant Professor of Voice Suna Gunther. The production will also feature projections designed by Assistant Professor of Practice in Emerging Media Arts Anna Henson.
“Theatre is inherently collaborative—musical theatre even more so,” Pollard said. “The real spirit of collaboration with this production, however, stems from the fact that we’re training both undergraduate and graduate students in the process.”
The production phase includes the usual collaborators—Pollard as director and choreographer, Gunther as musical director, along with the full design team, technician team, stage management team, and musicians in the pit.
“But nearly every role also has an assistant,” Pollard said. “Doctoral candidate Kate Mathews is serving as assistant musical director and will conduct several performances. Gracie Valero-Garsow is serving as our undergraduate assistant director, and Joshua Pitt is supporting the production as part of his teaching assistantship. Syrin Weeks and Atlas Martin are being mentored in stage management by Brad Buffum to coordinate all the moving parts. In the cast we have internal understudies for the lead roles and external swings for the ensemble. There’s a real atmosphere of learning through the experience of being in the room.”
Gunther said as musical director, she wears a lot of hats in a show like “Big Fish.”
“Before rehearsals started this spring, I met with each performer individually to help them prepare their music and made sure all of the singing lines we assigned them were comfortable in their voices,” she said. “In rehearsals, I’ll sometimes be playing piano, sometimes be conducting, and sometimes be listening and giving feedback and how we can integrate the music with Ann Marie’s vision for the rest of the show in the most authentic, cohesive, meaningful and healthy way possible.”
Gunther also assembled a pit orchestra comprised of students, faculty and community members and has been rehearsing with them separately.
“This week we start putting the singers together with the orchestra,” Gunther said. “I’ve got two wonderful graduate assistants on board for this project, Joshua Pitt and Kate Mathews. Joshua has been helping give feedback to the performers, and Kate will be conducting the majority of the final performances while I cover certain instrumental parts and sound cues on the keyboard.”
Emerging Media Arts students Eliot Starlin-Hintz and Kaden Garcia have been assisting Henson with the projections.
“Being an assistant projection designer for ‘Big Fish’ has been a highlight of my undergraduate studies,” Starlin-Hintz said. “My work on ‘Big Fish’ is a culmination of many of my long-time passions including collage, animation and projections. ‘Big Fish’ is the largest project I have worked on and has allowed me to understand how theater productions are created cohesively.”
Henson, Garcia and Starlin-Hintz collaborated with Henson’s Projection Design II class to make “Big Fish” come to life.
“We worked around the clock to create animated environments and magical elements on stage,” Starlin-Hintz said. “Audiences can expect to see the use of projections to create the contrast between the two main characters, Edward, and his son, Will. Edward is a very imaginative person who loves to tell grand stories. So show this, many of Edward’s projections are whimsical, like a fairytale, using paper craft-style animations. As ‘Big Fish’ unfolds, we understand Edward’s past and how it affects Will’s present. It’s been incredible to collaborate with the Johnny Carson theatre students and faculty who are so talented and knowledgeable in their specialties.”
Garcia said working on the project has been both exciting and informative.
“We have a small class of nine students working on the show with us, and working with Elliot Starlin-Hintz as Anna’s assistants has taught me a lot about task delegating and content management,” Garcia said. “From strategy to design to engineering, Anna has taught us a ton about large-scale theatrical projections and creating a content pipeline. This is the largest production I’ve seen at UNL, so expect a BIG show. There’s a lot of cross-collaboration happening across the arts programs on campus, so people should keep an eye out to see how we’ve utilized everyone’s strengths and talents to tell this story.”
Pollard said even though it’s cliché, there really is something for everyone in the production.
“For young adults, there’s a realistic dramatization of growing into new relationships with parents and caretakers,” she said. “For kids, there’s beautiful spectacle-based storytelling. For musicians, there are a variety of musical styles, and Andrew Lippa’s score sweeps me off my metaphorical feet just about daily in rehearsals. It’s a love story, a coming-of-age story, and an epic tale all wrapped into one.”
Gunther said one of the things she loves about “Big Fish” is how varied the music is.
“We have shades of country, funk, jazzy big band, and Hollywood romance—all of which somehow seamlessly come together to speak one language,” she said. “The cast had the opportunity to talk to the composer, Andrew Lippa, via Zoom, and one of the things they asked him was how he managed to accomplish this. Mr. Lipps shared some really brilliant insights into how he linked different musical ideas through different songs and different styles. The cast is doing a beautiful job of not only meeting the technical challenges of this music, but also its emotional challenges.”
Pollard said she is looking forward to everything coming together for the production.
“There’s a beautiful stage image in the final scene, complemented by an animated gesture from the production design, an emotionally charged moment in the score, and a heartwarming moment between the characters,” she said. “I simply can’t wait to share a musical with the Nebraska Repertory Theatre audiences again this year—come for the tap dancing, stay for the heartwarming story (or vice versa).”
Pollard said there’s been a lot of energy in the rehearsals.
“The performers are generous and energetic and kind,” she said. “The casting process was very competitive, and the opportunity to be part of the show has created a lot of excitement. The ability to sing and dance and act really requires training in a variety of areas. So we have students who are double majoring in music and theatre, students who are studying acting in the Johnny Carson School or voice in the Glenn Korff School and minoring in musical theatre—all of whom have been eager for the chance to combine their passions. For that reason, there are a number of students for whom this production is truly the pinnacle of their experiences at UNL.”
Gunther said, “Audiences should expect a full gamut of emotions—laughter, tears, and lots of excitement culminating in a really satisfying, heartfelt resolution. The cast is doing a fantastic job, and it’s been really gratifying to watch them all grow personally and as a unit to tell this story. Ann Marie’s choreography and direction are consonantly captivating, and the stage design is beautifully innovative.”
The team is eager for audiences to see the production.
“We’re having a blast preparing to share this story, and we can’t wait to welcome you to the Nebraska Rep April 25-May 4,” Pollard said.