Heritage High School presented its spring musical of the year Big Fish. The musical is a heartwarming story of a son trying to figure more about his father’s life, leading him to discover more about him but also learn everything a hero should be. Mr. Fallows, the director of the show, was very excited to showcase this musical.

“This musical is definitely so heartwarming for the soul! It’s a great story about not just a father and son relationship, but the story of man that strives to be a better man and greatness. By far, this has been of my favorite productions to work on and with the help of the cast and crew members, it makes the experience that much better,” said Fallows.

Much hardwork and dedication went into making Big Fish come alive. Fallows’ vision for the musical was to make it as realistic as possible although it had many imaginary aspects to it. Actors worked long nights trying to memorize their lines and also the eccentric dance numbers throughout the musical. For Chris Wheeler (11), who plays Edward Bloom, this was a very special opportunity for him to play this character.

“I really enjoyed playing this character personally, it was such a great experience that I wish I could always have. I loved playing Edward Bloom, because I saw a lot of his characteristics he had to be similar to me and if I’m honest, he is the type of man I want to be,” said Wheeler.

Crew and set members had to get very creative when it came to building the sets for the musical. They knew they would have to do the perfect blend of imaginative and realistic, including a magical forest and Auburn University. As for costume crew, finding the perfect look for the witch and the mermaid was a success as it was a crowd pleaser during all the performances. Everyone working on set all worked together along with the two directors, Mr. Fallows and Mrs. Pedrotti to create something wonderful that everyone from all ages can enjoy.

“ Working on crew was so much fun, not only do you help in creating the magic of making a musical, but you meet so many new people and make new friends! I think working on sets and even doing light crew, you create really close bonds with people because at the end of the day, we want it to be a great show,” Autumn McKim (10) said.

Opening night was a huge success for Big Fish, as tickets were selling out like crazy the week before and the week of. Frantically, everyone involved was preparing for their big performance and anticipating for the reaction of the crowd once the musical was finished. By the end of the musical, the audience was left amused and left very happy.

“I absolutely loved the musical, it has to be one of my favorites that I have seen at Heritage. I usually never get emotionally involved with musicals, because I know they aren’t real but this musical left me in tears at some points of the show. If you haven’t seen Big Fish, you are definitely missing out,” said Taylor Lofton (10).

Big Fish is a heartwarming story that will leave you feeling nothing but good feelings after watching it. Even for people that are not big into theatrical productions, they highly enjoyed it and impressed. Big Fish was the talk around campus even weeks after the show ended and an addition to more memories for the Rising Stars