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| A scene from the musical 'Big Fish' / Courtesy of CJ ENM |
By Kwon Mee-yoo
The musical "Big Fish," based on the 1998 novel by Daniel Wallace and the 2003 film directed by Tim Burton, breathes new life into the father-son story set in the southern U.S. state of Alabama.
Korean entertainment company CJ ENM was one of the associate producers of the musical's original production on Broadway in 2013 and six years later, the musical finally arrived at the Seoul Arts Center in southern Seoul.
The plot interweaves two different timelines ― in the present-day world, newlywed journalist Will Bloom faces his big talker father Edward's illness, while teenage Edward unravels whimsical adventures featuring a mermaid, a witch, a giant and a werewolf in the fantasy world.
Unlike any other previous productions of "Big Fish," the new Korean production helmed by Scott Schwartz begins with a flashback in which young Will listens to his salesman father's mermaid tale.
"This version of the script has never been done before. I think one of the major differences is the very beginning of the show. The first scene where you see Edward, around 40 years old, come in and talk to his young son and inspire him with the song 'Be the Hero.' That has never been the opening of the show," Schwartz at an interview with The Korea Times on Dec. 6, when the show was still in previews.
Schwartz said when CJ ENM first approached him, the company told him they were interested in bringing "Big Fish" to Korea, but in a new production.
"Someone from CJ had seen my work. I directed Disney's 'The Hunchback of Notre Dame,' which premiered in America but now has been done around the world. I guess they saw something in that ― even though they are very, very different shows ― might be applicable to Big Fish." Schwartz said.
"One of the things I'm passionate as a director is putting real people on stage, bringing the humanity and complexity out of the characters. That's certainly something I try to do in The Hunchback of Notre Dame and try to do in Big Fish."
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| Scott Schwartz, director of the Korean production of 'Big Fish' / Courtesy of CJ ENM |
A great advantage of bringing Schwartz to stage "Big Fish" in Korea was his enthusiasm to make an ultimate version of the show taking virtues from the previous productions.
"I've known Andrew Lippa, the composer of Big Fish, for 25 years actually. And we've never worked together on a full production, but we've worked together on a couple of things developmentally and just been friends," Schwartz said. "So I have a good relationship with Andrew and when CJ approached me, I called Andrew to say I'm very excited to do the show and I have a couple of questions and thoughts on the material."
Lippa shared different versions of the show with Schwartz ― the Broadway version and the London version as well as some songs that have been cut or moved around.
"Basically, he gave me permission to put together a version the script that took aspects from all of them. And I did collaborate with Andrew and book writer John August, who I know as well, in this final version and they have approved and blessed this version," Schwartz said.
Schwartz picked the famous daffodil field scene, in which Edward brings Sandra to court her, as one of his favorite scenes and one of the visually most exciting scenes from the show.
"People remember it very well from the movie. Obviously it's on stage, so very different than in the movie, but we have this big fact that brings us to the world filled with daffodils. I'm not gonna discuss the details so the audience will be surprised. But I'm very pleased with that scene and how the scenery, the lighting, the projections and the acting all come together. I think it's very romantic and quite beautiful," the director said.
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| A scene from the musical 'Big Fish' / Courtesy of CJ ENM |
Schwartz also noted how the show moves between the two different worlds where the story takes place.
"There's this sort of real story with Edward and his son and his son's wife and Edward's wife which takes place basically in the present. And the fields are pretty naturalistic ― we approached it as real people interacting almost more like a play though they sing," Schwartz explained. "Then you have these amazing fantasy stories, the stories Edward tells about his past, which have giants, witches, werewolves and circuses with show business numbers. The way in which we go between those two worlds ― one morphs into the other and back ― is also very much something I'm excited about this production."
To visually differentiate the monochromatic present-day world and the colorful fantasy world, Schwartz incorporated the children's vision as if the fantasy world is seen through 10-year-old Will, using toy and paper cutout concepts.
The director collaborated with puppet maker and puppeteer Lee Jee-hyung to add a whimsical atmosphere to the show.
"The whole idea of the puppetry was inspired by when I researched visual ideas for the show. I looked at the folk art of America, specifically junk artists worked in Alabama, taking materials you find in everyday life and repurposing them into fantastical visuals," Schwartz said. "These stories are whimsical, magical and fantastical. How can we heighten them? How can we make them larger than life? Puppetry gave us a language that allows us to have a giant who actually is a giant as opposed to someone wearing an extender."
However, instead of hiding the puppeteer and actor completely behind the mask, Schwartz revealed them onstage as they are.
"It was important for us and me to keep the humanity. Even while you are seeing puppetry, you are still seeing the actors who are playing the role within the puppet and emerge from the puppet, so you still got the human heart in the characters," he said.
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| A scene from the musical 'Big Fish' / Courtesy of CJ ENM |
In telling the subtleties of the father-son relationship, Schwartz knows well about a good and close one. He is the son of Broadway and film composer Stephen Schwartz, best known for "Wicked." Schwartz is also currently directing the West End-bound "The Prince of Egypt," composed by his father.
"I grew up exposed to theater my whole life. My father was always writing and my mother also has been an actress, before she had my sister and me. So both of my parents come from the world of theater, but they never pushed me into it," Schwartz said. "I think I discovered (theater) ― not just through my family ― but when I did school plays when I was a child. I felt comfortable in it."
He said one of the nice things about his relationship with his father is that they work in the same industry, but do different things.
"I'm not interested in being a composer or a writer, and nor is he interested in being a director. So occasionally we work together as well, but we work in different areas of the same field to tell the stories through musical theater on stage," Schwartz said.
Schwartz thought a lot about his relationship with his father while working on "Big Fish."
"Every parent-child relationship is complicated. It's just the nature of it. I think part of it is as a child you start off your life thinking that your parents are perfect and they are heroes. One of our journeys of becoming adult is realizing that your parents are human beings who are flawed and make mistakes and don't know everything. That's a very difficult journey for many people if not all people. I think that's one of the great universal things about the show shares the dynamic," he said.
The Korean production of "Big Fish" is staged at CJ Towol Theater of the Seoul Arts Center until Feb. 9, 2020.
