Jim Lynch stars in this musical adaptation of the movie at Bucks County Playhouse.
By: Stuart Duncan
By 1995, composer David Shire and lyricist Richard Maltby Jr. felt they were ready for a big Broadway hit. Each had successes Maltby, for example, had directed Ain’t Misbehavin’ and translated Miss Saigon for Broadway. Together the pair had penned musical reviews such as Starting Here, Starting Now, still used by many community theater groups as their opening productions, and Closer Than Ever. They had a modest success with Baby.
So when they turned their talents to adapt the movie Big into a stage piece, much was expected. A large fan following was eager; certainly Broadway was ready. They decided to call their project big, the musical. Notice no capital letters that might suggest pretension.
The show is on stage at Bucks County Playhouse with a company of 31, including many super-talented youngsters who sing, dance and act with such energy, it lights up all of New Hope, Pa. Stephen Casey’s choreography and direction sparkles with youthful exuberance, even in a season that has seen much of that. Moreover, he has "cut and pasted" the second act to avoid the sag that doomed the Broadway original.
Film buffs will remember the plot: Josh Baskin is a 13-year-old boy desperate to grow up. At a local carnival, he approaches a fortune-telling machine with the wish to be "big." In a flash plus a little stage smoke he gets his wish, and in his grown-up state becomes the adviser to the grumpy CEO of a toy company. He gets the big title, the big corner office and a real chance at a big romance.
Naturally enough, he also gets some infuriated company peons as challengers and thereby some small concerns that a script might latch onto. The evening will undoubtedly remind you of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (but notice that show did have capital letters).
The Broadway show fizzled to a stop when it stopped searching for an ending, despite pretty if not particularly memorable music, a lot of attractive dancers and the like. Big, the musical closed after 23 previews, 193 performances and a loss of $10.3 million dollars it was immediately deemed one of Broadway’s biggest financial disasters.
Don’t worry about the Bucks revival. With a new ending and performers such as Jim Lynch back to revive the leading role as grown-up Josh, audiences are flocking to the Playhouse. Lynch has developed his own fan base over the years (he will be back to close out the season in a fortnight with Miracle on 34th Street). He gets help in this outing from Tressa McCallister, who has the best voice in the area, and Bob Marcus as the CEO.
Among the youngsters, I couldn’t take my eyes off Taylor Stabler and Kyle McClellan (who plays Josh’s best friend).
big, the musical continues at Bucks County Playhouse, 70 S. Main St., New Hope,
Pa., through Dec. 3. Performances: Wed.-Thurs. 2, 8 p.m.; Fri. 8 p.m.; Sat. 4,
8 p.m.; Sun. 2 p.m. Tickets cost $22-$24. For information, call (215) 862-2041.
On the Web: www.buckscountyplayhouse.com

