According to theater director Jodi Hatzenbeller, this year’s fall musical deviates from previous shows with its enchanting storyline and scenery.

“(The fall musical is) a story of epic tales and father and son relationships,” Hatzenbeller said.“It’s a contemporary piece that was just touching on different themes than what we’ve done in the years past.”

Sophomore Sam Sietsema, cast as Carl the Giant, said shifting the focus from reality to fantasy may prove difficult.

“Definitely getting the set and the people into the mindset of being in a fantasy show (will be a challenge),” Sietsema said.

Hatzenbeller said layers of storytelling within the musical deepens the plot.

“I just think that essence of storytelling, all theater is storytelling at its heart, but this one is upping the ante because we have to create stories within stories and sort of blend the line between reality and fantasy,” Hatzenbeller said.

According to Hatzenbeller, about 50 students auditioned for the show, while only 29 were cast.

“We had a large group of auditionees and they were really strong, unfortunately we only have room for so many people in the cast,” Hatzenbeller said.

Senior Katie Steiner said she was cast as a lead in the show and looks forward to taking on the role.

“This is my first big role, so personally I’m nervous about how I’ll pull it off, but I have a lot of confidence in everybody in theater and I know it will come together in the end,” Steiner said.

Sophomore Anna Long said she intends on attending the show when performances begin.

“It will probably be cool to see how they do (the show) because it’s got the fantasy aspect and everything,” Long said. “I have a lot of friends (in the show), so I’d probably go to see them.”

According to Hatzenbeller, challenges include tackling the show’s whimsical settings and exotic characters.

“It’s similar (to other shows we’ve done) because it’s a big musical, lots of singing and dancing, but in this one it’s also very fantastical,” Hatzenbeller said. “It’s very magical because it’s the tall tales that a father is telling his son, so there are witches and giants and assassins and all these larger than life characters that we have to bring to the stage.”

Steiner said she looks forward to being involved in the show.

“I’m just so excited to watch it all come together,” Steiner said. “I think the cast is really great, (Hatzenbeller) always does a great job and it’s just such a fun musical.”

According to Hatzenbeller, ‘Big Fish’ performances will be Nov. 10-12 and 17-19 in the auditorium.