BWW Blog: Molly Garner of BIG FISH - One Final Note

Big Fish officially opens this Saturday, November 1st. I'm surprised to find myself both happy and sad. I'm thrilled that we're opening, of course. The show is terrific, and I can't wait for audiences to see it. Very few people know Big Fish, so we get to perform for people who have no preconceptions of the show. They have a wonderful surprise awaiting them.

But boy, what a week it's been! This has been one of the most difficult techs I've ever experienced, and I did a show once that involved children, a full cast on stilts, and 15 live Dalmatians. This tech was harder! We have all the Broadway sets and costumes, but only about a quarter of the time and one-fifth of the staff. After our first dress rehearsal, Karen the costume supervisor looked like she needed a good cry or a stiff drink-or both. But when we trudged back to the theatre the next day for the third ten-out-of-twelve in a row, the pieces began to come together. By Friday night we had a show. Anyone who doesn't believe in miracles should spend a week backstage during tech. The loaves and the fishes have nothing on theatre folk.

I must be sad because this miraculous process has come to an end. It's gone by too fast! I'm leaving Long Beach to return to New York once the show ends, and I'm sorry to leave such a fantastic theatre community behind, the members of which I'm just starting to know. Maybe the winds of fate will sweep me back to California in the future. Who knows? Until then I'm excited to share some production photos. If you live in the LA area, treat yourself to a ticket to see Big Fish. It's a fine, uplifting musical. You will laugh and you will cry. I hope you'll love it as much as we do.