Big Fish, a musical adventure based on the novel by David Wallace and the film by John August, swam into Port Washington on Aug. 6 to 9 in the 44th installment of the annual Port Washington Summer Show. The Summer Show, a staple event in Port Washington since 1972, provides professional acting experience to 7th- through 12th-graders and allows all involved to express themselves creatively while putting together memorable shows of the highest quality.
Big Fish is a show of epic proportions, leaving the audience, as well as the characters in the show, wondering what is real and what has been exaggerated. And when Will Bloom, played by Wyn Stopford in a powerful performance reminiscent of a seasoned Broadway actor, approaches a new chapter in his life filled with marriage to the beautiful Josephine Bloom (Ariel Waldman), a baby on the way and the news that his father is becoming increasingly ill, he makes it his personal mission to find out who his father, Edward Bloom (played by Sameer Nanda), really is outside of the outlandish tales he has told Will ever since he was a kid.
The show begins with Edward explaining to a young Will, portrayed by Jack Gilsenan, that he must strive to be the hero of his own life story as Edward has been in all the tales he tells to his young son. Edward sings of meeting a witch in his youth who showed him how he would die, a beautiful mermaid who gave him his first kiss and, of course, the love of his life, his wife Sandra Bloom (played by Tessa Peierls whose singing voice truly shines throughout the show). The spectacular nature of the opening number, with its introduction of mythical creatures and magnificent beings, is carried out perfectly by the enthusiastic cast. Nanda brings Edward’s flair for exaggeration to life in an incredible way, with not only a beautiful singing voice to guide the audience through the encounters he has had in his lifetime, but also a stage presence that is as powerful and memorable as the stories that Edward explains. One of the most striking numbers comes early on in the show, when Edward Bloom tells the tale of a witch he once met who showed him his future. The cast of witches, each decked out in a beautiful yet eerie black dress, come onstage in a dance that employs both sharp movements and wonderful grace. When the head witch in charge, portrayed by Nina Grauer in an equally strong and chilling performance, emerges onstage she shows Edward the future, changing his life forever.
Edward Bloom meets many characters on the journeys he tells of in his elaborate stories, including Karl the Giant, portrayed by Jesse Epstein in an impressive performance carried out almost entirely on stilts. Karl serves as both a form of comic relief and Edward’s right-hand man as he eventually happens upon Amos Calloway (played by Evan Gilmore in an unforgettably flashy, as well as hilarious, performance) and the circus he runs. Here Edward meets a young version of his wife, played by Kimberly Winter, and he pledges to someday marry this girl. The first act comes to a close after the musical number “Daffodils,” as the stage stunningly fills with the aforementioned flower as a means for Edward to woo his future wife.
The second act of the play takes a slightly darker turn, as Edward Bloom becomes increasingly sick and Will struggles to figure out who his father really is. Will and Edward perform the number “What’s Next,” and, as Stopford explains, “it’s a very powerful moment from the audience’s perspective and, for my character, it represents the idea that Will is finally accepting what his father has been trying to teach him all along.”
Big Fish, with its 54-person cast, 14-person crew and 21-person pit, is executed in a way similar to a true Broadway show. With only six weeks to put the show together, it is truly a testament to the hard work of director Jason Summers, who has been involved in the Port Summer Shows for 12 years, as well as producers Jeanne Brennan, Lisa Verdino and the enormous network of parents and Schreiber alumni who put in an incredible amount of effort to make the show a success. Brennan explains that she continues to work with the summer show because it allows her to “watch the kids grow every year.”
And it is certainly true that many of the people involved in the summer show keep coming back. Nanda, who has been a participant in the Port Summer Show for five years, explains that the shows are “a testament to the closeness and the richness of the drama club community.” Similarly, Stopford explains his favorite part of the summer show is that “it’s a unique environment in that everyone is so eager to contribute in any way they can, which makes for a positive experience all around.” Every person involved in the show does so not only because of their love for theater, but because of the closeness and dedication that it inspires.
The Port Summer Show is largely made up of graduated seniors playing the leads, and for many of them this is their final hoorah when it comes to acting with people they have come to know as much more than just castmates. While Big Fish focuses a great deal on characters saying goodbye to Edward Bloom, the real people behind each character also have to say goodbye to one another. But with the help of Big Fish, each cast member that now heads off to college or elsewhere has learned to dream big and to be the hero of their own stories, a lesson that will surely follow the cast, and every member of the audience, throughout their own adventures.
