BIG FISH Celebrates Box Office Opening with Mr. Softee at Neil Simon Theatre!

Directed by five-time Tony Award winner Susan Stroman (Contact, The Producers, The Scottsboro Boys), with music and lyrics by Grammy and Tony Award nominee Andrew Lippa (The Wild Party, The Addams Family), and a book by Grammy and BAFTA Award nominee John August (Frankenweenie, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory), Big Fish begins performances on Thursday, September 5, 2013 and will open Sunday, October 6, 2013 at the Neil Simon Theatre.

The Neil Simon Theatre box office (250 West 52 Street) will open today, August 8, and Mr. Softee will be on hand to celebrate, handing out free ice cream outside the theatre from 1pm-4pm in honor of the special day.

Tickets for Big Fish range from $49 - $142. Tickets are currently on sale at Ticketmaster.com (866-870-2717). The playing schedule for Big Fish is as follows: Monday through Friday at 8pm with matinees on Wednesdays and Saturdays. There will be no 2pm matinee on Wednesday, September 11. BeginningOctober 7, 2013, the playing schedule for Big Fish is as follows: Tuesday and Thursday at 7pm and Wednesday at 8pm with matinees on Wednesday at 2pm, Saturday at 2pm and Sunday at 3pm.

Starring two-time Tony Award winner Norbert Leo Butz (Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Catch Me If You Can) as Edward Bloom, Tony Award nominee Kate Baldwin (Giant, Finian's Rainbow) as Sandra Bloom, Tony Award nominee Bobby Steggert (Giant, Ragtime) as Will Bloom, Krystal Joy Brown (Leap Of Faith) as Josephine Bloom, Anthony Pierini (Mary Poppins) and Zachary Unger (Chaplin) alternating as Young Will, and featuring Ryan Andes, Ben Crawford, J. C. Montgomery, Tony Award nominee Brad Oscar, Ciara Renee, Kirsten Scott and Sarrah Strimel, Big Fish has a cast of 27 that includes Preston Truman Boyd, Bree Branker, Alex Brightman, Joshua Buscher, Robin Campbell, Bryn Dowling, Jason Lee Garrett, Leah Hofmann, Synthia Link, Angie Schworer, Lara Seibert, Tally Sessions, Cary Tedder and Ashley Yeater.

BIG FISH centers on Edward Bloom, a traveling 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. Big Fish is about dreaming, loving and living bigger.

BIG FISH has scenic design by Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Award winner Julian Crouch, costume design by six-time Tony Award winner William Ivey Long, lighting design by two-time Tony Award winner Donald Holder, sound design by Los Angeles Drama Critics Award winner Jon Weston, projection design by Drama Desk Award winner Benjamin Pearcy for 59 Productions,wig and hair design by Paul Huntley, make-up design by Angelina Avallone, musical direction by Mary-Mitchell Campbell, orchestrations by Tony Award winner Larry Hochman and dance arrangements by Sam Davis. Big Fish is produced by Dan Jinks, Bruce Cohen and Stage Entertainment USA with Roy Furman, Broadway Across America/Rich Entertainment Group, John Domo, The Nederlander Organization and Edward Walson in association with CJ E&M, Dancing Elephant Productions, Ted Liebowitz, Lucky Fish, Parrothead Productions, RKO Stage, Harvey Weinstein/Carole L. Haber, Peter May/Jim Fantaci, and Columbia Pictures.

BIG FISH is based on the 1998 novel "Big Fish: A Novel of Mythic Proportions" by Daniel Wallace, and the 2003 critically acclaimed film from Columbia Pictures written by John August. Directed by Tim Burton, the film starred Ewan McGregor, Albert Finney, Billy Crudup, Jessica Lange and Helena Bonham Carter, and was nominated for an Academy Award, Grammy Award, 4 Golden Globe Awards and 7 BAFTA Awards. Big Fish had its pre-Broadway world premiere at Chicago's Oriental Theatre in a critically-lauded 5-week engagement from Tuesday, April 2, 2013, through Sunday, May 5, 2013.