Falcon Playhouse presents ‘Big Fish’
By Ashley Shah
Members of the Falcon Playhouse at Scripps Ranch High School will be opening with their newest production, a musical called “Big Fish,” on Feb. 29.
“‘Big Fish’ was a book, then it became a film. The film was later made into a musical. The musical made it to Broadway. This musical is not greatly well-known, but it has a great story line,” artistic director Patrick Garcia said.
The musical centers around a relationship between a father and son, with elements of tall tales and life stories incorporated.
Edward Bloom, the father, played by Demian Deonarine, is a salesman who travels a lot for his career.
“Edward tends to tell exaggerated stories about his travels to his son, Will,” Garcia said.
Will Bloom, the son, played by Nathaniel Feria, has a good relationship with his father. However, he is suspicious of the stories his father tells.
“Will is a logical guy. He does not believe his father’s grand stories. He feels like he doesn’t really know his dad,” Garcia said.
Josephine Bloom, Will’s love interest, is played by Sarah Shea Norton.
“Will ends up starting a family with Josephine, and that’s when the plot builds. They are expecting a son, and Will realizes that he does not know his own father. He does not know how his relationship with his son will be,” Garcia said.
At the same time that Will is expecting his son, Edward becomes very ill.
“Will ends up going to help his mother out in taking care of his father. As he’s helping his father, he starts to try to understand his father. Will learns that many of the great things his father did, his father never told stories about. As his dad passes, Will ends up connecting and understanding his father,” Garcia said.
The play ends with hope, and the idea that the stories from Edward will be passed down to Will’s son.
Garcia explained his interest in this production.
“I always tell my students that the theater is all about telling stories about the human experience, and this whole musical is just that,” he said.
While rehearsals went well, there were some challenges that the team faced with this production.
“Because of the schedule this year, we ended up having about two weeks less of rehearsal this year than we usually do. It gave us less time to work on the lines, music, etc. However, we have done well regardless,” Garcia said.
In addition to Feb. 29, the musical will be on March 1, 2, 7, 8 and 9. The performances will be in the evening.
Their final production of the school year will be “Clue” in mid-May. There will also be one last production in summer.
“The incoming freshmen have an opportunity to join the summer production. It is a great way to get the incoming freshmen involved in a program at the high school, so that they feel as if they have a place they can go to,” Garcia said.
Tickets and more information for this production can be accessed at falconplayhouse.com.
“All of the proceeds from the ticket sales go right back to our program. We are in desperate need of a new sound system. We are trying to raise money to replace the sound system,” Garcia said.
The GoFundMe for the new sound system for the Falcon Playhouse is https://gofund.me/d42445c7.