Summary: Response To Big Fish

Response to Big Fish I recently attended a performance of the musical Big Fish at the Hale Centre Theatre in West Valley City, Utah. Big Fish was originally released as a novel by Daniel Wallace in 1998, then made into a motion picture by Tim Burton in 2003, and finally adapted as a Broadway musical by Susan Stroman in 2013. While there are minor differences in every version, the general theme remains similar in all. As opposed to film or traditional drama, music drama is often criticized for its tendency to have a dull story line. As the three hour work Big Fish boasts twenty-three different musical numbers, one might again expect the plot to be merely a means of delivering the music. However, though the story line of Big Fish is still relatively simple, it allows for every audience member's individual interpretation of its meaning,

Will feels that his relationship with his father is being hindered by the lack of clarity between fact and fiction in his understanding of his father's life. Shortly into the play, this already tense situation is aggravated when Will learns Edward has been diagnosed with terminal cancer. Will becomes desperate to uncover the truth of Edward's stories before his father dies – Will believes that this sense of understanding is necessary in order for their relationship to end on a positive note. However, as he digs deeper into the past of his father, Will comes to realize that perhaps the most genuine representation of Edward's character is in fact portrayed in the hyperbolized stories that he has known his entire life. In Big Fish, we join Edward, his supportive wife, Sandra, and Will, all of whom come to a better understanding of each other and themselves through the reminiscing of Edward's exciting