Pittsburgh Owlscribe

            Rare is the person with a fisherman friend who hasn’t heard him boast about the huge fish he once caught. The finny prey only seems to get larger and larger with each repeated telling. The tendency to exaggerate, embellish and fabricate tales seems to be a commonplace human trait. In literature, ponder on James Thurber’s short story, “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty”,” considered Thuber’s best. To color the rather drab life experiences of Thurber’s title character, the writer has him delve into daydream fantasies that give him a heroic and, sometimes, outlandish adventures. Additionally, in playwright Peter Shaffer’s satirical comedy drama, “Lettuce and Lovage,” the protagonist is seen as a tour guide in a rather unremarkable, unassuming manor house, who embellishes her prepared script with impromptu exaggerated quips to make the tour experience more exciting and colorful. Which brings us to “Big Fish,” a musical base...