Tony nominee Bobby Steggert will be making Broadway magic this fall in the new musical Big Fish, with the help of co-stars Norbert Leo Butz, Kate Baldwin and a few larger-than-life tales. Rehearsals won’t begin until next week, but Steggert, who will play estranged son Will Bloom in the new adaptation, can’t wait to get started.
“It’s one of the classiest projects I’ve ever been hired to do,” Steggert told Broadway.com. “Every decision they’ve made, from design to the creative team to the cast, is really spot-on, and I can’t wait for people to see it. I think you’re going to be really blown away.” Steggert also couldn’t be more thrilled with his new Broadway parents: Tony nominee Kate Baldwin (who also played his mother in off-Broadway’s Giant earlier this season) and two-time Tony winner Norbert Leo Butz, whom Steggert has always admired. “He’s an amazing, genius actor, and I can’t wait to play his son,” he said.
Big Fish is a musical take on David Wallace's 1998 novel, which was further popularized by Tim Burton’s 2003 film adaptation. Steggert stars as Will (played by Tony winner Billy Crudup in the movie), a young man trying discover the truth about his ill father Edward's (Butz) life by revisiting the incredibly grand (and possibly false) stories he was told about his father as a child. Directed by Susan Stroman, featuring music and lyrics by Andrew Lippa and a book by John August, Big Fish is billed as “a larger-than-life Broadway musical”—but Steggert insists it will still have the heart of a more intimate production.
"Big Fish will be as theatrically inventive as it is true,” he says. “I think the balance between a real heartfelt story and fantastical storytelling will be a new thing for Broadway. It’s going to be a really, truly wonderful experience.”
Audiences can catch Steggert in Big Fish, beginning September 5 at Broadway’s Neil Simon Theatre. Check out the song "Time Stops" from the musical below!