BWW Reviews: BIG FISH Has Big Heart

Centennial and Eagle High Schools in Meridian have decided to co-produce BIG FISH and the Treasure Valley should rejoice. This show is all about imagination and taking chances on love. It is a wonderful show and an enjoyable evening.

The evening starts with seeing all of the house crew having such fun and enjoying themselves. That sets the

tone for the evening, you know that if the house crew is still having fun, then the show and cast are having fun as well. When the curtain opened, that assumption was proven true. You could tell from the end of the first number that all of the students on that stage were enjoying themselves and looked like they were all a part of the same cast family.

The sets were simple, just a few levels and a few set trees, but that was all that was needed. The lighting was pretty straight forward with nothing particularly spectacular. However, I thoroughly enjoyed the reveal of the witches in the swamp. I have since looked up videos on Youtube to see how other shows have accomplished the reveal, and I give kudos to the Centennial and Eagle High School teachers, Sterling Blackwell and Tracy Harrison for enhancing what I saw on YouTube and taking mine and the audience's breath away.

The students who were performing in this production all had great voices, I just wish that the equipment would have been a bit better. There were a few times when the mics cut out but overall, I felt that the show had really good flow. (I do personally suffer from hearing issues, so that never helps.) Aside from the voices, I felt that the students encompassed the characters they were portraying.

The costume department also deserve a pat on the back. There were many students on that stage and there were many costume changes. A few times you know that the students who were on the costume crew had to make more than one version of the costume. In one scene all the females are in matching dresses. I know that when making and working on costumes, duplication is not always a good thing. All the costumes were very well made as seen from the audience.

The story is told through the eyes of the son trying to reconcile the stories his father has told him throughout his life with the man he realizes, he doesn't really know. It is a musical and the music in act one is fun and it feels like the first act is pretty much all told through song. It teaches us that although you do not feel like you know someone well, you know, deep down who they are and everything you will do for them.

If you are wanting to go out for an enjoyable night and support two local area high schools, you should consider BIG FISH. To see a video of the production, click here. For ticket information, click here. BIG FISH continues this weekend, February 19, 20, and 21.

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