What was your inspiration for writing Big Fish: A Novel of Mythic Proportions?
My love of myth and folktales collided with the tumultuous relationship I had with my father. Books are often born from moments like this, when two seemingly disparate things become one. Like a Reese's Cup.
Did you have an “Edward Bloom” in your life? If so, how did he/she change you?
I definitely did: my father. Without him there would be no Edward Bloom, just as there would be no Daniel Wallace.
Your North Carolina connection was one of the reasons Lauren Kennedy and I wanted to bring this musical to Theatre Raleigh. The themes of this musical are universal; however, are there aspects of this story and characters that you think Southern audiences could especially connect with?
I do think the themes of this story are as real and important here as they are in, say, London, where it was recently staged. But the characters and the setting definitely have a Southern source. Every Southern family seems to have an Edward Bloom in it: a larger than life charmer, a raconteur, the salesman who is selling himself.
Could you elaborate on the “mythic proportions” element of your novel?
Many of the stories in the book are lifted from Edith Hamilton’s Mythology. I don’t think she would have had a problem with that, since she lifted them herself from Homer et al. For instance, one of Hercules' Twelve Labors, to clean the Augean Stables, is, in my novel, set in mid 20th-century Birmingham, where my hero gets a job cleaning cages at a vet. Little myths are scattered throughout: if you find them all you might get a prize.
After the Broadway production, John August and Andrew Lippa reconfigured the musical script so that it can be performed by smaller theatre companies. This revised script allows for a cast as small as twelve to tell the story. Have you seen a production of this condensed version? If so, what are your thoughts?
I have seen the “12 Chairs” version, and prefer it to the bigger, pizzaz-filled Broadway show, though both are wonderful in their own ways. I like the intimacy of the smaller production; the smaller story packs a bigger emotional punch. More laughs, more tears, more transcendence, the way it should be.
What are some of the ideas and themes most important to you in the novel of Big Fish?
Forgiveness. Other things too, but let’s just highlight that one for now.
Is there an inherent aspect or tone of your book that is difficult to capture in the performance genres?
There are a lot of things a book can do that a musical can’t, and vice versa: but God, how I wish my book could sing!
Theatre is another form of storytelling. In reference to Big Fish, is there an example of how the musical can expand upon your incredible characters in a way that can’t be done on the page?
Music deepens character and emotional moments in ways that can’t be done on the page, at least not as quickly. What takes three bars in a musical takes twenty-five pages in a book, sometimes.
Do you have a favorite Southern joke or “tall tale” that you could share with us?
This is the worst best joke – or best worst joke – I know: It’s about a cat who lived in an alley behind a bar, who was in love with the cat who lived inside. Sometimes they stared at each other through the window, because she, the indoor cat, was in love with the alley cat too. But he could never get inside the bar. One night it became too much for him and as the bartender was hauling out a load of trash the old cat thought he’d make a run for it, and tried to slip into the bar while the screen door was open. But it wasn’t open long enough, and it slammed shut on his tail, lopping it off, and the old cat had a heart attack and died. Later, around two in the morning, the bartender was taking out the last of the trash, when he was confronted by the spirit of the old dead cat. In one little paw the cat was holding its severed tail, and the cat spoke to the bartender, saying, “I’m dead now, and heartbroken, but because I have no tail I am cursed to wander the feline afterlife forever. You kept me from my one great love, but now I ask one thing of you. Put my tail back on my body. Give me peace.” But the bartender shook his head. “I’d like to help you,” he said. “I would. But it’s against the law to retail spirits after 1 AM.”
About Daniel Wallace
Photograph by Brent Clark
Daniel Wallace is the author of six novels, including Big Fish (1998), Ray in Reverse (2000), The Watermelon King (2003), Mr. Sebastian and the Negro Magician (2007), The Kings and Queens of Roam (2013), and most recently Extraordinary Adventures (May 2017). His children’s book, published in 2014, and for which he did both the words and the pictures, is called The Cat’s Pajamas, and it is adorable. In 2003 Big Fish was adapted and released as a movie and then in 2013 the book and the movie were mish-mashed together and became a Broadway musical. His novels have been translated into over two-dozen languages.
Daniel Wallace is the J. Ross MacDonald Distinguished Professor of English at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, his alma mater, where he directs the Creative Writing Program.
For speaking engagements: Trinity@Tuesdayagency.com
(Bio courtesy of www.danielwallace.org) / Photo courtesy of Simon & Schuster
About Eric Woodall
In addition to Big Fish, Eric Woodall’s Theatre Raleigh directing credits include: The Light in the Piazza, Parade, August Osage County and Violet. On Broadway, Eric served as the resident director of Mamma Mia! (as well as on the National tour, Las Vegas and International companies.) Other directing credits include Gypsy, Jesus Christ Superstar, Mary Poppins, Billy Elliot, Driving Miss Daisy and Steel Magnolias (North Carolina Theatre); West Side Story, Big River, On Golden Pond (Casa Mañana); Amadeus (Memphis’ Playhouse on the Square); and Hay Fever (PlayMakers Repertory.)
Over the last 16 years, Eric has been working as a Broadway casting director in the office of Tara Rubin Casting. Through casting and developing new musicals, Eric has been fortunate to work alongside Stephen Sondheim, Cameron Mackintosh, William Finn, Sir Richard Eyre, Stephen Daldry, Susan Stroman, Stephen Schwartz, Casey Nicholaw, James Lapine, Phyllida Lloyd, and Hal Prince. A few of his Broadway casting credits include Dreamgirls (upcoming), Sunset Boulevard, Aladdin, Falsettos, Big Fish, Les Misérables, Phantom of the Opera, Billy Elliot, Mary Poppins, The Little Mermaid, and Mamma Mia! Eric is a drama graduate of Carnegie Mellon-University. Member of SDC and CSA. Thank you, Lauren! Dedicated to the memory of my dad, Bill Woodall.
Photo courtesy of EricWoodall.com