Review: BIG FISH THE MUSICAL at Arkansas State University Beebe Reels in the Audience Over and Over

If you like tall tales, BIG FISH will reel you into a world full of magic and fantastical adventures. Arkansas State University-Beebe Theatre Department, 1000 W. Iowa St., in Beebe, tackled BIG FISH Thursday, Nov. 3, to Saturday, Nov. 5, in the newly remodeled Owen Center auditorium, to crowds who returned multiple times. With direction by Ryan Gibbons and Music Director Frank Pitts, the thespians swam their way through this funny, endearing, and partly sad musical and had you rooting for the hero of the story.

With music and lyrics by Andrew Lippa and book by John August, BIG FISH centers around Edward Bloom (Ben Byrd), a traveling salesman who loves to embellish his life journey to his son Will (Dominic Abraham/Edward Holtz). Unfortunately, Edward is dying, and their father-son relationship is strained. To understand his father, Will has to remember all of the tales to learn who his father truly is.

First, Edward tells young Will (Estella Cordero/Carter Kirby) of his first kiss with a mermaid (Brandy Davis); He talks of his adventure of meeting the witch (Dezirae Loftis) with his friends Don Price (Caleb Davis) and Zacky Price (Zack Holland); He speaks about how he met Karl the Giant (Mark Ledbetter) and left the town of Ashton and young Jenny Hill (Kimmie Ham), who is madly in love with him; Then there was the story of joining the circus and making a deal with the owner Amos Calloway (Caleb Hart) to get clues of the identity of the red-haired girl Sandra (Vannah Brown) that he wanted to marry; and somewhere in there is the war story where he intercepted a poison arrow shot by Red Fang (Emma Bertram) to kill their leader. The only real story that he never told his son was about how he saved his home town and helped the older Jenny (Taylor Daniel) have a place to live. With the help of his wife Josephine (Savannah Newberry/Angel Able), Will tries to piece together the stories to understand their true meanings.

BIG FISH definitely tugged at the heartstrings. Ben Byrd was charming and commanded the stage as he weaved story after story. He was suave when doing his story telling, yet sympathetic as his health declined. I was fortunate enough to talk with Mr. Byrd about his character and where his inspirations came from.

"Edward reminds me a great deal of my grandfather," Byrd said. "He's the kind of guy that walks into a room, tells a few jokes, and within 10 seconds, he'll have everybody laughing. He tells wonderful stories, and he's the Bruce Wayne of any event that he goes to. So, I've tried to model Edward after him slightly, but Edward's character is much more flawed and is more narcissistic."

Sandra Brown was a terrific supporter to her dying husband, and her songs were beautiful. The larger than life supporting cast were enjoyable to watch as well. I loved Loftis' exaggerations as the witch; Daniel's Jenny was heartbreaking; and a quick shoutout to my child Emma Bertram for her crazy ninja portrayal. The cast as a whole had some fun musical numbers and looked like they were having a great time, and I'm pretty sure they were crying real tears on stage at the end of the show. This was a bonding experience for the characters as well as the cast.

The set was massive, and I loved the use of the fog machine. The costumes were elaborate from scene to scene, and I really enjoyed the Alabama Stomp. All of this was a group effort from the theatre students at ASU Beebe, with the help of their leaders Gibbons, Stage Manager Hope Hargrove, and Tech Coordinator Jason McCoy. Professional Opera Singer Frank Pitts was flown in for a two-week push to assist with the music, and ended up accompanying half of the show. He talked about how much he enjoyed working with the students.

"The kids are doing a great job, which is a trigger in a good way, because when I'm watching them, especially with the ones who have maybe struggled a little bit more, and I see them pushing through their anxiety and their fear of being onstage, and they're just going for it, you know, that always tears in my heart strings a little bit," Pitts said.

In the past few years, the theatre program at ASU-Beebe has grown tremendously. Exciting things are happening for this group, and I can't wait to see what comes next. For more information on their program, visit https://www.asub.edu/theatre.

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