SpeakEasy to Collaborate with BIG FISH Writers for Alternate Version

From March 13 to April 11, 2015, SpeakEasy Stage Company will proudly present the New England Premiere of BIG FISH, a new musical based on the celebrated novel by Daniel Wallace and the beloved film directed by Tim Burton.

BIG FISH centers on Edward Bloom, a traveling salesman whose larger-than-life stories of epic adventures delight everyone around him-except his pragmatic son Will. Just as Edward's health begins to decline, Will learns that he is about to become a father, and sets out to discover his family's real story by seeking the truth behind his father's tall tales.

SpeakEasy Stage Company is thrilled to team up with the show's book writer John August and the show's composer/lyricist Andrew Lippa to craft a new, more intimate version of their acclaimed musical. With this new adaptation of BIG FISH, Mr. August and Mr. Lippa hope to further ensure a long theatrical life for the show by creating an alternate version that reduces the size of the cast from 30 actors to 12 and re-orchestrates the score for a six-piece bluegrass band. This new, more intimate version will stand beside the large cast show as a wonderful option for theatrical licensing.

Book writer John August is best known for his work in film, and has credits that include Go, Titan A.E., Charlie's Angels, Corpse Bride, and the Oscar-nominated film Frankenweenie. In 2004, he received a British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) nomination for his screenplay for Big Fish.

Mr. Lippa is a Tony- and Grammy-nominated composer who wrote the music and lyrics for and subsequently starred in the San Francisco premiere of I Am Harvey Milk. His other credits include The Addams Family (music and lyrics), The Wild Party (book, music, and lyrics), A Little Princess (music), jon & jen (music/co-wrote book) and You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown (additional music/lyrics and arrangements).

Two-time Norton Award-winner Paul Daigneault, SpeakEasy's Founder and Producing Artistic Director, will direct and help re-imagine this new version of BIG FISH. Mr. Daigneault's most recent SpeakEasy directing credits include The Color Purple, In the Heights, and Next to Normal.

IRNE nominee Matthew Stern will serve as music director, and IRNE Award-winner and Broadway veteran Larry Sousa will choreograph.

New England Conservatory faculty member and Brookline resident Steven Goldstein will play Edward Bloom. Mr. Goldstein has appeared onstage in Boys' Life and Our Town (Lincoln Center Theater); Romance, The Vosey Inheritance, The Water Engine (Atlantic Theater Company, founding member); Intimate Apparel (Center Stage); and Harmony (La Jolla Playhouse). Steven can also be seen in the films The Untouchables, House of Games, and Things Change. He has also sung with the Metropolitan Opera, New York City Opera, Seattle Opera, LA Opera, Vancouver Opera, Cleveland Opera, Israeli Opera, Chicago Opera Theater, and Gotham Chamber Opera.

Popular Boston actors Aimee Doherty, Sam Simahk, Will McGarrahan and Aubin Wise are also featured in the cast, along with Katie Clark, Sarah Crane, Jackson Daley, Zaven Ovian, Sara Schoch, Lee David Skunes, and Daniel Scott Walton.

The design team includes Jenna McFarland Lord (scenic), Elisabetta Polito (costumes), Karen Perlow (lighting), David Reiffel (sound), Seághan McKay (projections), and Kat Nakaji (props).

BIG FISH will run for five weeks, from March 13 to April 11, in the VirginiaWimberly Theatre in the Standford Calderwood Pavilion at the Boston Center for the Arts, 527 Tremont Street in Boston's South End. Ticket prices start at $25 with discounts for students, seniors, and persons age 25 and under.

For tickets or more information, the public is invited to call 617-933-8600 or visit www.SpeakEasyStage.com.

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