The tour of the revised version of Big


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If someone were to ask me to come up with a list of movies that would be good candidates for translation to the musical stage, I doubt that the 1988 comedy/fantasy Big would make the top ten - or even the top 100, for that matter. I haven't seen the film in years, but I remember it as a sweet, slightly incredible entertainment held together largely by Penny Marshall's adroit direction and the incredible charisma of Tom Hanks.

Big - the Musical is on stage at the Fox through this Sunday, in a version that's been heavily re-written after a disappointing Broadway run last year. Despite an outstanding cast and impressive production values, it demonstrates clearly just how weak the original premise was. John Weidman's book does nothing to improve on the inconsistent characters and implausible situations of the original screenplay. David Shire and Richard Maltby, Jr. - a songwriting team little known by the public at large but much admired by lovers of theater music - have produced a surprisingly lackluster and forgettable score. Only rarely - as in the infectious Act I dance finale "Cross the Line" - does it actually take flight. Most of the time it simply meanders along in a pleasant but ordinary manner, going in one ear and out the other painlessly.

In fact, that's what the whole show does. Big is the musical theater equivalent of popcorn - light, tasty, mostly harmless, and not very nourishing. This isn't so much a book musical as a musical assembled "by the book" - a love duet here, individual character numbers there, the obligatory flashy tap sequence in Act II, a high-energy ensemble dance number to end the first act... Well, you get the idea. Individual scenes are fun and occasionally touching, but after two hours and forty minutes I realized that I'd been looking at my watch quite a lot during the evening.

But, as I say, the cast is impressive, and they deserve credit for making the most of this material. Jim Newman, as the "big" version of the 12-year-old Josh, is charming and believably childlike. He's also a wonderfully controlled and precise physical comic and dancer. Brett Tabisel is Billy, Josh's best friend - a role he originated on Broadway - and he's probably one of the strongest performers in the cast. He's funny, he's convincing, and his timing is great.

Ron Holgate is a delight as MacMillan, the toy magnate who is amazed by Josh's insight into the twelve-year-old mind, and Jacquelyn Piro is a winning Susan, the hard-nosed executive who falls heavily for Josh. They're backed up by a fine supporting cast and chorus.

All things considered, Big is an amusing and pleasant diversion, and if it were being produced by a small company in an intimate space for, say, twelve bucks it might be worth seeing. But in the opulent Fox with a top ticket price of $42 its just out of it's league. If you really want to see Big again, go to your local video outlet and rent the tape.

Big is on stage at the Fox through Sunday, October 26th, 1997. Call 314-534-1111 for ticket information.


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