Big Fish

Would love to hear from those who've seen it on Broadway. I loved the movie and I think the cast recording is if not brilliant, at least fairly decent, so it will be interesting to read direct comparisons. Definitely glad now that I booked!

Saw this on Friday (spoilers below).

I saw an amateur version of this in a village hall in early 2016. I didn’t know the piece before, but it had me properly sobbing by the end and I’ve constantly listened to the score ever since, which I love. I didn’t see the Broadway version, but this amateur version used the same man for old and young Bloom (and the same woman for Sandra), and seemed to keep to the same score.

So I was very excited to see a professional production and interested to see how it worked with different old-and-young actors. I didn’t realise beforehand that they’d cut some of the songs and added new ones.

I enjoyed it, but had some mixed feelings.

The good –

I liked Grammer. His singing wasn’t amazing, but I really believed in his character and he did both touch me and make me laugh.
I thought that young-Bloom was great. I also liked Will and young-Sandra.
I generally thought that using different actors for old and young characters worked well, except in the final number where I found young-Bloom distracting.
I’m not normally a Clare Burt fan, but I really enjoyed ‘I don’t need a roof’.

Wasn’t sure –
I personally really disliked the ring master. I can see why an earlier poster said he was a scene-stealer. But I didn’t want him to steal the scenes. He isn’t the main character. He annoyed me and I felt like it was too much.
I missed several of the old songs that I really like and didn’t find the new ones particularly memorable. I don’t really know why they changed some of the things they changed. I missed ‘Two men in my life’ particularly because of what it tells me about how the relationship between Will and Edward affects Sandra, and the way she views her husband.
I didn’t cry at all in this version. I don’t know if it was because of the way the final scene was staged, or because I’ve seen it before. TBH I think it was the way the final scene was staged that didn’t work for me. I wasn’t completely unmoved, but just not as moved as before.

The majority of the audience leapt to ovate at the end so in general it seemed very popular. I overheard a lot of people afterwards saying they’d been crying. The friend I went with said he had a tear in his eye. It was good. I enjoyed it. Just not as much as I’d enjoyed the Amateur version I saw.

The email then goes on to say:


'Please could you call 0207 087 7900 to arrange a new date to attend Big Fish at no extra charge.'

Having just called The Other Palace, and spent at least 10 minutes listening to the most boring, soporific music while on hold that I think its ever been my misfortune to have to endure, I was put through to an operator who didn't seem to have a clue what I was talking about. I asked for a date towards the end of next month, only to be told that I'd have to pay an additional £2.50 to do so. After repeatedly reading out the bit about 'no extra charge' I was told that the prices go up in December - after trying to explain that is not my fault and that they had decided to cancel the show, not me, and that I realised the show I'd booked for was at the end of the preview period but I was not trying to grab a free upgrade to premium seats (I had booked row B), I decided to cut my losses and get a refund, I'll go and see something somewhere else where the ticket office have a bit more class and understanding (was not expecting too much from this to be honest, I thought the film was pretty terrible and only booked to see Kelsey Grammar, but as it looks like his Broadway gigs are drying up when he starts playing venues like this, he'll probably be appearing in panto this time next year).

Okay, here's a question for those much closer to the coalface than I am.

I know it's all for charity, but you only really appear on the RVP, especially if it means cancelling a long scheduled performance, to sell tickets, an album, or comedy DVD.

By the time the RVP is broadcast on ITV, there will be less than a month of Big Fish's run left. So, does this mean a future life is on the cards, otherwise why bother?

Could it also be that because Kelsey Grammer is so well known, what with Cheers/Frasier being the phenomenon it was even in this country, and being the voice of Sideshow Bob in The Simpsons (which most people do seem to know), it was also a good excuse to get someone properly famous on the RVP and so they brought Big Fish along with it? Do shows have to pay to be on there or is it a case of giving up time for free as it's for charity? Or everyone just gets paid anyway?

Production photos have been realeased!

www.broadwayworld.com/amp/c.php?url=Photo-Flash-First-Look-at-BIG-FISH-Starring-Kelsey-Grammer-at-the-Other-Palace-20171108

I thought that too, however if you search on youtube you can find footage of the Broadway production (which was pre-The Girls) and this scene was pretty similar to how they've done it at The Other Palace, so it was definitely Big Fish's idea 'first' 😀 

Does the proscenium mean that the seats more at the sides of the rows have a side on/restricted view? I'm looking one a seat now but it's only the 5th seat in the row and i don't want to miss anything.

I was on the very end of row L and didn't miss a thing.

I loved the show, and really thought that doing it with the older and younger actors worked brilliantly.

I sat on the end of row B (high number side) and did miss stuff but I think B is the longest row.

Well, the hoped for transfer for this one now looks unlikely:

www.theguardian.com/stage/2017/nov/09/grammers-turn-as-the-dad-with-a-penchant-for-tall-tales-is-the-best-part-of-this-middling-musical-paean-to-narcissistic-fantasy
2 STARS

www.thestage.co.uk/reviews/2017/big-fish-starring-kelsey-grammer-review-palace-london/
3STARS

www.telegraph.co.uk/theatre/what-to-see/evening-battered-schmaltz-big-fish-palace-review/
2 STARS

Those reviews are wrong. Plain and simple wrong. I understand opinions are opinions, but sometimes they are just wrong.