Little Fish (musical)
Encyclopedia
Little Fish is a musical
with music, lyrics and book by Michael John LaChiusa
. The musical is suggested by two short stories by Deborah Eisenberg, "Days " and "Flotsam ". It concerns a group of friends living in New York City
, one of whom, Charlotte, decides to stop smoking and then swims to compensate for the lack of nicotine. LaChiusa has said that he sees Little Fish as a "parable of sorts" for New York after the September 11 attacks.
at the Second Stage Theatre
in New York City on February 13, 2003 and closed on March 9, 2003. Directed and choreographed by Graciela Daniele
, it starred Jennifer Laura Thompson
in the lead role of Charlotte, and featured Hugh Panaro
as Robert, Lea DeLaria
as Cinder, and Jesse Tyler Ferguson
as Marco. During the run educational workshops were run by Tracy Bersley.
Alice Ripley starred, with Gregory Jbara
and Chad Kimball
, in a production running from October 9, 2007 to November 18, 2007 at The Blank Theatre, Hollywood, California.
The Europen premiere was at the Finborough Theatre, London, from October 27, 2009 through November 21. The production was produced by JQ Productions and directed by Adam Lenson, with the cast featuring Ashley Campbell, Michael Cantwell, Katie Foster-Barnes, Nick Holder, Alana Maria, Laura Pitt-Pulford, Lee William- Davis and Julia Worsley.
Charlotte thinks back to 1993, when she lived in Buffalo with her lover Robert, in his 40s, and she studied English Literature with him. She reflects on her childhood heroine, Anne Frank, who warns her about flotsam: emotional "debris" that blocks the flow of life. As Charlotte sees that she has been addicted not only to cigarettes but "fleeing", she is able to connect with her friends and her writing.
Ben Brantley
, reviewing for the New York Times, wrote: "About halfway into its intermissionless 90 minutes, Little Fish starts to lose its shapely, sharp-edged contours and turn into a sentimental, well, blob...Mr. LaChiusa...and Ms. Daniele have done a swell job of fashioning a lively musical about what it means to feel lifeless in contemporary Manhattan...Like many American musical composers under 50, Mr. LaChiusa is an artistic descendant of Mr. Sondheim, and in many ways Little Fish can be regarded as a direct, latter-day answer to Company. Certainly Riccardo Hernández's terraced, silver-toned set, with its evocation of concrete canyons enhanced by Peggy Eisenhauer's shifting lighting, brings to mind Boris Aronson's fabled designs for the original Company. And Mr. LaChiusa's Charlotte, like Mr. Sondheim's Bobby, is a wistful, disengaged soul who is surrounded by people who advise her on how to live....The problem, as the show goes on, is that there's an inevitable monotony to Charlotte's interior life."
The talkinbroadway review noted:"It hits all its marks well, but never has quite the "oomph" needed to put it over the top. This may be due to Graciela Daniele's direction and choreography which are fine but unexceptional, never completely communicating in the same urban language that drips from every LaChiusa's score and libretto...LaChiusa can and does impress, time and time again, though perhaps never more effectively than in Charlotte's late-show song, "Simple Creature." It's one of the most stirring and artfully constructed musical scenes to hit the New York stage in years."
as Marco, Gregory Jbara
as Mr. Bunder, Robert Torti
as Robert and Samantha Shelton
as Cinder.
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
with music, lyrics and book by Michael John LaChiusa
Michael John LaChiusa
Michael John LaChiusa is an American musical theatre and opera composer, lyricist, and librettist. He is best known for complex, musically challenging shows such as Hello Again, Marie Christine, The Wild Party, and See What I Wanna See...
. The musical is suggested by two short stories by Deborah Eisenberg, "Days " and "Flotsam ". It concerns a group of friends living in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, one of whom, Charlotte, decides to stop smoking and then swims to compensate for the lack of nicotine. LaChiusa has said that he sees Little Fish as a "parable of sorts" for New York after the September 11 attacks.
Production history
The musical premiered off-BroadwayOff-Broadway
Off-Broadway theater is a term for a professional venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, and for a specific production of a play, musical or revue that appears in such a venue, and which adheres to related trade union and other contracts...
at the Second Stage Theatre
Second Stage Theatre
Second Stage Theatre is an award-winning contemporary Off-Broadway theater company.-Mission:The theatre's mission is to give new life to contemporary American plays and to produce the world premiers of new plays by both established and emerging playwrights...
in New York City on February 13, 2003 and closed on March 9, 2003. Directed and choreographed by Graciela Daniele
Graciela Daniele
Graciela Daniele is an Argentine-American dancer, choreographer, and theatre director.-Biography:Born at Buenos Aires, Daniele began her dance training at the age of seven at Teatro Colón, Argentina's equivalent of Moscow's Bolshoi Theatre...
, it starred Jennifer Laura Thompson
Jennifer Laura Thompson
Jennifer Laura Thompson is an American stage actress and singer. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Musical Theatre from the University of Michigan and graduated in 1991....
in the lead role of Charlotte, and featured Hugh Panaro
Hugh Panaro
-Life and career:Panaro was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and resided in the East Oak Lane section of the city with his family. As a schoolchild, he attended St. Helena’s parochial school in the adjoining Philadelphia neighborhood of Olney. He played organ for the parish church from age twelve...
as Robert, Lea DeLaria
Lea DeLaria
Lea DeLaria is an American comedienne, actress, and jazz musician. The "famously controversial" DeLaria was "the first openly gay comic to break the late-night talk-show barrier" with her 1993 appearance on The Arsenio Hall Show....
as Cinder, and Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Jesse Tyler Ferguson is an American actor who portrays Mitchell Pritchett on the ABC sitcom Modern Family. Previously he played the role of Richie Velch in the CBS sitcom The Class. He is openly gay.-Life and career:...
as Marco. During the run educational workshops were run by Tracy Bersley.
Alice Ripley starred, with Gregory Jbara
Gregory Jbara
-Early life:Jbara was born in Nankin Township , Michigan, the son of an advertising office manager and an insurance claims adjuster. He is of Lebanese and Irish descent. After graduating from Wayne Memorial High School in Wayne, Michigan, Jbara attended the University of Michigan from 1979 to 1981...
and Chad Kimball
Chad Kimball
Chad Kimball is a Tony Nominated American theater actor. Kimball was raised in Seattle, Washington and graduated from Boston Conservatory with a BFA in acting in 1999. After moving to New York, he was hired for the Broadway musical, The Civil War, joining the show 3 weeks before it closed...
, in a production running from October 9, 2007 to November 18, 2007 at The Blank Theatre, Hollywood, California.
The Europen premiere was at the Finborough Theatre, London, from October 27, 2009 through November 21. The production was produced by JQ Productions and directed by Adam Lenson, with the cast featuring Ashley Campbell, Michael Cantwell, Katie Foster-Barnes, Nick Holder, Alana Maria, Laura Pitt-Pulford, Lee William- Davis and Julia Worsley.
Synopsis
In the present time, Charlotte, in her early 30s, lives in New York and is a short-story writer. She has given up smoking cigarettes, but without them she sees herself clearly, and believes that it is not an attractive picture. She is frightened by her new-found reality, thus her friends Marco and Kathy suggest various activities, such as collecting dolls or a new drug. But she picks the best and least silliest, swimming.Charlotte thinks back to 1993, when she lived in Buffalo with her lover Robert, in his 40s, and she studied English Literature with him. She reflects on her childhood heroine, Anne Frank, who warns her about flotsam: emotional "debris" that blocks the flow of life. As Charlotte sees that she has been addicted not only to cigarettes but "fleeing", she is able to connect with her friends and her writing.
Songs
- Opening: Days
- Robert
- It's A Sign
- The Pool (Part 1)
- Lockerroom (Part 1)
- Winter Is Here/The Pool (Part 2)
- Short Story
- Perfect
- John Paul/Disco
- He
- Cigarette Dream
- Flotsam
- Lockerroom 2
- I Ran
- The Track (Part 1)
- Mr. Bunder/By The Way
- Remember Me
- Anne
- Little Fish
- Poor Charlotte
- The Track (Part 2)
- Flotsam Reprise
- Simple Creature
- Gallery/Perfect Reprise
- In Two's and Three's
Response
Both Daniele and LaChiusa said Charlotte's struggle to quit smoking is "a metaphor for the crises that force people to reconsider who they are and what is important. Mr. LaChiusa said the musical was his oblique response to Sept. 11: 'After that happened, nobody was thinking about how to get rich and famous. You wanted to be around the people you love.' "... LaChiusa went on to add that " 'But after you've been here [New York] a while, you realize that you don't always have to swim upstream and battle the elements. When you're little fish in a big pond, it's safer to swim in schools.' "Ben Brantley
Ben Brantley
Benjamin D. "Ben" Brantley is an American journalist and the chief theater critic of The New York Times.-Life and career:...
, reviewing for the New York Times, wrote: "About halfway into its intermissionless 90 minutes, Little Fish starts to lose its shapely, sharp-edged contours and turn into a sentimental, well, blob...Mr. LaChiusa...and Ms. Daniele have done a swell job of fashioning a lively musical about what it means to feel lifeless in contemporary Manhattan...Like many American musical composers under 50, Mr. LaChiusa is an artistic descendant of Mr. Sondheim, and in many ways Little Fish can be regarded as a direct, latter-day answer to Company. Certainly Riccardo Hernández's terraced, silver-toned set, with its evocation of concrete canyons enhanced by Peggy Eisenhauer's shifting lighting, brings to mind Boris Aronson's fabled designs for the original Company. And Mr. LaChiusa's Charlotte, like Mr. Sondheim's Bobby, is a wistful, disengaged soul who is surrounded by people who advise her on how to live....The problem, as the show goes on, is that there's an inevitable monotony to Charlotte's interior life."
The talkinbroadway review noted:"It hits all its marks well, but never has quite the "oomph" needed to put it over the top. This may be due to Graciela Daniele's direction and choreography which are fine but unexceptional, never completely communicating in the same urban language that drips from every LaChiusa's score and libretto...LaChiusa can and does impress, time and time again, though perhaps never more effectively than in Charlotte's late-show song, "Simple Creature." It's one of the most stirring and artfully constructed musical scenes to hit the New York stage in years."
Recordings
The cast recording of the Blank Theatre Company's production was released on the Ghostlight Records label on September 9, 2008 with Alice Ripley as Charlotte, Chad KimballChad Kimball
Chad Kimball is a Tony Nominated American theater actor. Kimball was raised in Seattle, Washington and graduated from Boston Conservatory with a BFA in acting in 1999. After moving to New York, he was hired for the Broadway musical, The Civil War, joining the show 3 weeks before it closed...
as Marco, Gregory Jbara
Gregory Jbara
-Early life:Jbara was born in Nankin Township , Michigan, the son of an advertising office manager and an insurance claims adjuster. He is of Lebanese and Irish descent. After graduating from Wayne Memorial High School in Wayne, Michigan, Jbara attended the University of Michigan from 1979 to 1981...
as Mr. Bunder, Robert Torti
Robert Torti
Robert Felix Torti is an American actor.Torti was born in Van Nuys, California. He married DeLee Lively on June 24, 1999. Together, they have three children.-Filmography:*Quincy M.E....
as Robert and Samantha Shelton
Samantha Shelton
Samantha Sky Shelton is an American actress and singer.-Early life:Samantha Shelton was born in Los Angeles, California, to director Christopher and Carol Stromme. She has three older sisters, Koren, Erin and fellow actress Marley Shelton...
as Cinder.