![]() In addition to Daniel Jenkins, who plays the adult Josh, the cast includes Crista Moore as the woman Josh falls in love with Jon Cypher as the toy magnate he works for Barbara Walsh as the young Josh's mother Patrick Levis as the young Josh, and Brett Tabisel as his best friend, Billy. On April 2, seven days before the first Broadway preview, the cast assembled at a rehearsal space in lower Manhattan to run through the new "Big" for the first time. To make him drive the action rather than respond to it, the character of Josh was rewritten. Also, the second store scene was eliminated, along with the performance of the ersatz theme song and the promotional lines. Even before "Big" left Detroit, the jolly little tune was replaced by "Chopsticks." Between March 10, the end of the Detroit run, and the first Broadway preview, four new songs were added to Act I, two were substantially rewritten and the first act was given a new closing number. The store, for its part, would push the musical by creating a "Big" boutique at its Fifth Avenue headquarters and advertising the show in its windows.Ĭhastened, the producers and creators sat down and began to revamp the show. The keyboard dance, a pivotal scene in the film, was performed not to "Chopsticks," as in the movie, but to a jolly little tune that would serve as the store's theme song in the show. Schwarz, a brief later scene set in the same place, characters who chirped lines praising the store and dozens of tie-in toys and products. This nonstop mutual massage involved a major dance-on-the-piano-keys production number at the store that would promote F.A.O. Schwarz toy store, a principal backer and the cornerstone of an ambitious merchandising and marketing plan for the musical. Then the thunderbolt fell: a Variety review from Detroit mauled "Big" not only for allegedly lacking heart but for relentlessly celebrating the F.A.O. The result? Worldwide grosses of more than $150 million. Presto, chango! He becomes a 30-year-old man and, in a series of twists and turns, winds up as an executive at a toy company and falls in love. In a rash moment he expresses that wish to Zoltar, a carnival fortune teller. The musical is based on the hugely popular film of the same name released in 1988 and starring Tom Hanks as Josh, a 12-year-old who wishes he were a grown-up. ![]() In an uncertain world, "Big" operates on one certainty - audiences know the story and they like it. Next Sunday, when "Big" opens at the Shubert Theater on Broadway, five producers, one of them a toy store, will be betting at least $10 million that "Big" can draw adults and children with equal power. The show was "Annie," and since then (1977 and more than 2,300 performances), the number of contemporary American blockbuster musicals that have appealed to both parents and children can be counted on the fingers of one hand. The musical becomes a must-see for young and old alike and, as a result, it runs for what seems forever. Imagine a heartwarming musical with lots of adorable children and funny adults. EVERY SO OFTEN, AN IDEA comes along that's so simple it's a license to print money.
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