There’s a huge gap between what you see and what you hear in “Big Fish.” Visually speaking, this new Broadway musical is inventive, playful and often downright magical. But then, we expect nothing less from director Susan Stroman, the whiz behind “The Producers” and “The Scottsboro Boys.”
Unfortunately, Andrew Lippa’s score is a hack job stringing one banal non-tune after another. Every time Broadway takes one step forward musically (“Matilda,” “Once”), it takes two back with safe, witless junk like this. Those who heard Lippa’s disposable contribution to “The Addams Family” can’t say they weren’t warned.
That the score would be the show’s downfall is surprising considering the daunting staging challenges: The fantastical source material — Daniel Wallace’s 1998 novel and Tim Burton’s 2003 movie adaptation — features giants, witches and werewolves.
But Stroman rises to the occasion and illustrates the prodigious imagination of her hero, Edward Bloom, by skillfully weaving together Benjamin Pearcy’s fancy projections, clever sets by Julian Crouch (“The Addams Family,” “Shockheaded Peter”) and good old-fashioned razzle-dazzle.
Two-time Tony winner Norbert Leo Butz (“Catch Me If You Can,” “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels”) exerts himself tirelessly as Edward, a traveling salesman whose outlandish fabrications annoy his pragmatic son, Will (played by Bobby Steggert as an adult and Zachary Unger as a child).
“Be the hero of your own story,” Edward instructs his offspring before launching into yet another extravagant tall tale.
For the younger man, this just makes Dad an unreliable egomaniac who insists on being the center of attention.
“I don’t know when I’ll understand what made him wild,” Will sings in one of several dull ballads. “I don’t know when I’ll understand what made him fly.”
Flying as a metaphor for freedom? How novel.
Meanwhile, Lippa rarely reflects the show’s Southern setting. He’s at his tepid best with a couple of decent novelty numbers: the vocal trio “Little Lamb from Alabama” and “Red, White and True,” a big-band-style extravaganza that backs Stroman’s most fun choreography of the evening.
John August’s book (he also wrote the film’s screenplay) takes us from one set piece to another fairly efficiently, and some cast members transcend their fanciful get-ups to create appealing characters: Ryan Andes and the ever-reliable Brad Oscar (“The Producers”) provide key support as the giant and a circus ringmaster, respectively. Sadly, Kate Baldwin and Krystal Joy Brown are given little to do beside stand steadfastly by their spouses, Edward and Will.
Then again, the big theme of “Big Fish” is the bond between father and son, as Will gradually discovers the true extent of his dad’s generosity.
Too bad this journey concludes with yet another saccharine number plagued by an overabundance of chimes. “It ends with faith/It ends with love,” Edward sings. “It ends with water in the river and the sun above.”
No fish, big or small, would bite on that lure.