Father and son.
Past and present.
Fantasy and reality.
“Big Fish” is a story that lives in the fickle, shadowy place between such absolutes.
It’s been said there are two sides to every story — at least two, that is. But in this slippery story there are three lines of logic before the audience, three realities to choose from. And the truth is somewhere in between.
Based on the acclaimed film by Tim Burton, itself an adaptation of a 1998 novel by Daniel Wallace, the Bainbridge Performing Arts production of the Broadway incarnation of the story, opening Friday, May 12, features a cast and crew of newbies and old favorites alike, including director Ken Michels (he of “Mary Poppins,” “The Full Monty,” “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,” “Shrek,” “Avenue Q” and “Monty Python’s Spamalot” renown).
The story centers on Edward Bloom (played by Jason Gingold, in his BPA debut), a traveling salesman who lives life to its fullest — and then some. His notorious and incredible, larger-than-life stories thrill everyone around him, most of all his supportive and devoted wife Sandra (Kylee Gano). But their son Will (played by Ryan Patrick O’Donnell as an adult, and Julian Mudge-Burns as a child), about to have a child of his own, is determined to find the truth behind his father’s epic tall tales.
Rounding out the cast is Tori Konig, Jayln Green, Elizabeth Dangelo, Colleen Gillon, Max Lopuszynski, Lance Valdez, Teagan Howlett, Robert Craighead, Rico Lastrapes and Michael Loudon.
Choreography is arranged by Heather Dawson, musical direction by Aimee Hong (her first time fulfilling the role for a BPA show).
O’Donnell, who last appeared at BPA in “The Drowsy Chaperone,” said that after recently getting married, buying a house and moving, he’d been looking forward to the chance to get back on stage when he heard about auditions.
“I was excited to hopefully get to be a part of this show just because I’d been missing theater and it was something I was excited about,” he said.
“It’s sort of fun because the show takes place in these three different times periods. It takes place in the present and it takes place in the past, but then it also takes place in this fantasy world of the stories. It’s sort of fun in theater to go back and forth between those worlds and have the audience follow us through all of that.”
The movie was always a favorite, O’Donnell said, and he has since read the book as well. The musical, he explained, was kind of a best of both.
“It shares a lot with the movie but I think it also pulls a lot from the book,” he said. “The movie has a chance to really focus on the fantasy elements in a really strong way, but then I feel like we get to sort of play with some of the other stuff in the book.”
The cast has come together perfectly, O’Donnell said, and was shaping up to be something special from the earliest stages.
“When I came to callbacks, every single person who was here, no matter what they were called back for, was just incredible and was working really hard,” he said. “It was sort of exciting before I was even cast, the possibility of getting to be a part of this, because of that and because of [my] being familiar with the story.”
Stepping center stage in this, his BPA debut, Gingold said he is greatly enjoying his time so far at the island theater, and especially working with the director, who he knew previously from off-island productions.
“When I heard [Michels] was directing this I was eager to try for it,” Gingold, of Seattle, said. “I think if you are the kind of person who is just open and wanting to find stuff, and then find more stuff and even more stuff, Ken is — I don’t think there’s anybody better.”
The material and character also proved a pleasant challenge for the actor, he said, in both its demand and depth.
“[The role] is great, really juicy and flawed,” he said. “And the music is really nice and challenging, lyrical.”
The most poignant aspect of the Edward character, Gingold said, was, for him, the man’s well-intentioned motivations. He’s a liar — for all the right reasons.
“I think [it’s] the trying desperately to connect with your kids and sometimes missing,” he said. “Edward can be really funny and charming and really ingratiating in a wonderful way to a lot of people, and the one person he seems unable to connect with in an authentic way is his own kid.
“That’s really intriguing to me. I don’t suffer from that particular fate, personally, but there are a lot of things that are closer to me than I realized going into it.”
Tickets, $29 for adults, $24 for seniors and $21 for students, military and teachers, are available at www.bain bridgeperformingarts.org. Performances are 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday, Friday May 12 through Sunday, May 28. There is a special pay-what-you-can preview at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, May 11 and an opening night reception at 6:30 p.m. Friday, May 12.
