Dan Jinks and Bruce Cohen have announced that BIG FISH, a new musical based on the novel by Daniel Wallace and the 2003 Columbia Pictures film written by John August, will be directed and choreographed by Susan Stroman, with music and lyrics by Andrew Lippa and a book by John August. Produced by Academy Award winners Jinks and Cohen, BIG FISH is targeting a Broadway bow in spring 2012. Casting and design team to be announced shortly.
A rollicking fantasy set in the American South, BIG FISH centers on the charismatic Edward Bloom, whose impossible stories of his life's epic adventures frustrate his son Will. Now, with Edward on his deathbed, Will must embark on his own journey to find out who his father really is, unraveling the man from the myth, the truth from the tall tales.
"John August and Andrew Lippa have taken inspiration from Daniel Wallace's book and Tim Burton's movie and completely re-imagined this ambitious story for the stage," said producer Dan Jinks. "They have created a musical that is enormously entertaining, hilariously funny and spectacularly moving."
"We are ecstatic to be working with this generation's pre-eminent director/choreographer, launching Big Fish on the eve of her double Tony nominations for The Scottsboro Boys," said producer Bruce Cohen. "Susan Stroman has the artistic vision and talent to bring this tale of reconciliation between a father and son to the stage."
"Big Fish: A Novel of Mythic Proportions" by Daniel Wallace was first printed in 1998. In December 2003, a critically acclaimed film of Big Fish was released by Columbia Pictures directed by Tim Burton, starring Ewan McGregor, Albert Finney, Billy Crudup, Jessica Lang and Helena Bonham Carter. The film was nominated for an Academy Award, Grammy Award, 4 Golden Globe Awards and 7 BAFTA Awards.
BIOGRAPHIES
Susan Stroman (Director and Choreographer) Broadway: The Scottsboro Boys, The Producers, Contact, Crazy for You, Show Boat, Oklahoma!, Young Frankenstein, The Frogs, The Music Man, Thou Shalt Not, Steel Pier, Big, Picnic. Off-Broadway: The Scottsboro Boys; Happiness; Flora, the Red Menace; And the World Goes 'Round; MSG's A Christmas Carol. NYC Opera: A Little Night Music, 110 in the Shade, Don Giovanni. Ballet: Double Feature (NYCB), For the Love of Duke (NYCB), But Not for Me (Martha Graham), Take Five...More or Less (PNB). Film: Center Stage (American Choreography Award), The Producers: The Movie Musical (four Golden Globe nominations). A five-time Tony Award winner, her work has been honored with Olivier, Drama Desk, Outer Critics, Lucille Lortel, George Abbott and Astaire awards.
Andrew Lippa (Music and Lyrics) received a 2010 Tony nomination for Best Original Score and 2010 Drama Desk Award nominations for Outstanding Music and Outstanding Lyrics for The Addams Family. New York theatre credits include The Wild Party (Manhattan Theatre Club); the score for Aaron Sorkin's The Farnsworth Invention (Broadway); new songs for You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown (Broadway); john & jen (co-written with Tom Greenwald). Recordings: The Wild Party, john & jen, ...Charlie Brown, Julia Murney's I'm Not Waiting, Bat Boy (Producer) and the forthcoming A Little Princess (co-written with Brian Crawley). Awards: 2000 Grammy nomination; winner of Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, ASCAP/Richard Rodgers and Gilman/Gonzalez-Falla Theater Foundation Awards. As Kristin Chenoweth's music director: Chicago, St. Louis and San Francisco symphonies; Carnegie Hall; The Metropolitan Opera House, among others. Andrew is a graduate of the University of Michigan School of Music. andrewlippa.com
JOHN AUGUST (Book) received a 2004 BAFTA nomination for his screenplay for Big Fish. His other credits include Go, Titan A.E., Charlie's Angels, Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle, Corpse Bride, The Nines and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, for which he received a 2006 Grammy nomination for lyrics. He is a graduate of Drake University and USC's School of Cinematic Arts.
Dan Jinks and Bruce Cohen (Producers) most recently produced Milk, directed by Gus Van Sant and starring Sean Penn as Harvey Milk. The film was nominated for 8 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, and won for Best Actor and Best Original Screenplay. Milk was named Best Picture of 2008 by the New York Film Critics Circle. The pair won the Best Picture Academy Award in 2000 for producing American Beauty. The film, which won a total of five Oscars, was the first film produced through The Jinks/Cohen Company. Their second film was the sex comedy Down With Love starring Renee Zellweger and Ewan McGregor. Next up was Big Fish, which was nominated as Best Picture for both the Golden Globes and the BAFTAs. Other films include The Forgotten, starring Julianne Moore, and John August's directing debut, The Nines, starring Ryan Reynolds and Hope Davis. In television, Dan and Bruce executive produced the acclaimed ABC series "Pushing Daisies," which won 8 Emmy Awards and was nominated for a Golden Globe as best television comedy. They also served as executive producers on the series "Traveler" (ABC) and "Side Order of Life" (Lifetime). Previously, Jinks produced Nothing To Lose, starring Martin Lawrence and Tim Robbins, and executive produced The Bone Collector, with Denzel Washington and Angelina Jolie. A graduate of New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, Jinks began his career working in the theatre in New York. Cohen produced The Flintstones and the prequel, The Flintstones In: Viva Rock Vegas, as well as Mousehunt. He was executive producer of To Wong Foo, Thanks For Everything, Julie Newmar! and co-producer of Alive. A graduate of Yale University, Cohen began his film career as the DGA trainee on Steven Spielberg's The Color Purple and went on to serve as the associate producer/first assistant director on Hook.
