On Friday November 10, the Luther College Theatre Department opened the doors of Jewel Theatre for the first night of the musical Big Fish, hooking guests of all ages.
The story follows Edward Bloom, played by Elliot Olson (‘26), through his action packed life full of — as the production puts it — “fantastical stories.” Meanwhile, his son Will, played by Gabe Goeddeke (‘24), grows up and comes to terms with what stories were true and what stories were false. The show is full of jokes, romance, and emotional moments.
“Edward Bloom cares deeply about making the everyday world seem larger than life,” Olson said. “I believe that is the point of theater. The goal of many plays and musicals, especially Big Fish, is to make the audience feel that life can be wonderful and fantastical, and as Edward Bloom, I can initiate that with the audience in a special way.”
Students, parents, and children were in the audience for a production that lasted just over two and a half hours. In addition to the 26 person cast that included students from first-years to seniors, the show also included a live pit orchestra, conducted by Josh Kainz (‘24). One of the 5 total first-year cast members is Joey Maiden (‘27) who was part of the ensemble.
“I really liked seeing it all come together,” Maiden said. “We rehearsed things in blocks like one day as blocking, another was choreography. But it was really cool seeing parts I wasn’t in, like the circus, come together because it was obvious everyone had so much fun.”
In an interest to promote the show, the program’s Instagram account (@luthercollegetheatre) hosted an account takeover on November 9th. The first one, hosted by Ruth Meehan (‘26), was an opportunity for followers to ask questions about the production, get a behind the scenes look at the rehearsal process, and finally hear from the cast about their favorite parts of the show.
“I think I’m most excited for the audience to see the circus scene,” Meehan said “I think it’s really just an awesome scene. And then, probably the entire last 15 minutes of the show, it’s very emotional but also very heartwarming.”
The original show opened on Broadway in 2013, written by John August. “Big Fish” is based on a book by the same name from 1998 written by Daniel Wallace and a film adaptation of the story directed by Tim Burton. The Luther production was led by Associate Professor of Theatre Dr. Bobby Vrtis.
The musical has been in production for the last few months, with tryouts and rehearsals starting in early September. The cast and crew will hold a total of 6 shows during the run at the Jewel Theatre, the bulk of which take place each night from November 15-18. On opening night, the show received strong reviews from its audience, ending with a standing ovation and heavy applause from a full theater. Eli Vorvick (‘27) had only good things to say about the performance.
“I had no real expectations for the show going in,” Vorvick said “I enjoyed it a lot, it was an amazing show, I was super surprised by how emotional it was but I still found myself laughing at the jokes.”
More information about “Big Fish” can be found on the Luther College Theatre’s Instagram page. Luther students get one free ticket to any show taking place during the remainder of its runtime from November 15-18th and doors open at 7 p.m. each night. Their next show will be “Stupid F*cking Bird” in early April. SPIN Theatre Company will also hold productions in February.
