Norbert Leo Butz Slams Negative Review of BIG FISH During His Performance at The Festival

Norbert Leo Butz is not here for the negativity. 

The actor was one of the many Broadway icons who performed over the weekend at The Festival, held at Hutton Brickyards in Kingston, New York. During Saturday night’s Big Show on the Broadway Direct mainstage, he serenaded fans with a performance of “Fight the Dragons” from the 2013 Broadway musical Big Fish — but wanted to get something off his chest beforehand. 

“I wanted to just say a word about Big Fish,” he told the crowd. “I think it was the New York Post. The show was not received well when it opened up. I think the New York Post very pithily and wittily said, ‘Something washed up on the shores of Broadway this morning, and it smells like dead mackerel on the shores of Coney Island’ or some s**t. They think they’re so clever with their reviews.” 

While the Post’s review didn’t say exactly those words when it was published in October 2013, it called songwriter Andrew Lippa’s score a “hack job,” and an article published two days later was filled with puns that opened with, “Big Fish, little splash” and said the show would “be swimming against the tide” that Broadway season. 

While the show — in which Butz starred as leading man Edward Bloom — only ran for 98 regular performances during its relatively short run at the Neil Simon Theatre, the actor had nothing but praise for the work by Lippa and book writer John August. 

“I love this show,” Butz said. “And it needs a comeback! It needs a revival.” 

“We all love New York, but it’s a cynical city,” Butz continued. “I don’t know if a show like Big Fish ever could have been successful.” 

“We’re living in a time that is so incredibly divisive and so incredibly cynical,” he continued. “And I hate cynicism. It’s my least favorite quality in people. And Andrew Lippa’s music is an antidote. It’s a weapon against cynicism. And this character Edward Bloom is against cynicism, especially in this tune where he talks to his son about having the strength of character to overcome life’s difficulties.” 

“Do not be afraid to dream big,” Butz concluded, before launching into a beautiful and heartfelt performance of “Fight the Dragons,” one of the show’s standout songs. 

While the critical response to Big Fish was mixed, it received Drama Desk nominations for Outstanding Orchestrations (Larry Hochman), Outstanding Music (Lippa) and Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical (Bobby Steggert). 

Butz was among the many Broadway performers who brought the house down at the inaugural Festival, where he also joined Jason Robert Brown for some tunes from The Last Five Years, in which he originated the role of Jamie Wellerstein. 

He also performed in The Festival’s 1980s set with Lena Hall and Renée Elise Goldsberry as his background singers and dancers, and he joined Matt Rodin for a late-night intimate campfire singalong. 

Read BroadwayWorld’s full recap of The Festival here.

Photo Credit: Michaela Reynolds, Austin Ruffer