Big Fish, Little Fish (play)

Big Fish, Little Fish is a comedy in three acts by playwright Hugh Wheeler. The story concerns a former college professor, disgraced by a sex scandal, who now works in a minor post at a publishing company. The play explores his relationships with his parasitic group of friends and treats issues of homosexuality, guilt and friendship. The work was Wheeler's first play, and afterwards he turned to playwriting full-time.

After an out-of-town tryout in Philadelphia beginning on February 27, 1961, the piece premiered on March 15 at ANTA Playhouse on Broadway in New York City. The production was directed by John Gielgud. It ran for 101 performances, closing on July 10, 1961. The production did not make money at the box office, but despite only mixed to warm reviews, it won two Tony awards, Best Director and Best Featured Actor, and was nominated for two more. A London production the following year was a failure, closing within two weeks. The piece has rarely been revived, but it was adapted for television in 1971.

Big Fish, Little Fish was one of the first Broadway plays to explore frankly the issue of homosexuality, and Gielgud ignored advice to tone down the "implicit queerness."Hume Cronyn kept a diary of the original production. He reported that, during rehearsals, the cast and creative team engaged in long discussions about the homosexuality theme. He commented that attempts to "prejudge audience or critical reaction" could lead to a "safe but regretful" production. Cronyn praised Gielgud's process and his abilities as a "director-analyst." He also praised the talent, creativity and generosity of Wheeler and of the other actors in the cast.

The setting is William Baker's New York apartment in the East 30s. The time is the present (1961).

William has worked in a minor position in a publishing firm for more than two decades. Before that he was a rising academic, the youngest full professor at a prestigious university. He was forced out of the post after a scandal: a young student broke into his rooms and committed suicide, leaving a note claiming that William seduced and then abandoned him. William's denials were not believed.

His middle-aged circle of friends, who all have emotional demands on him, are Edith, a married woman with whom he sometimes sleeps; Jimmie, a schoolmaster with cultural aspirations and a crush on William; Basil, a retired publisher and lonely cat-lover; Hilda, a minor executive who aspires to be racy; and Viola a former lover of William's, who is not seen but rings him frequently, usually when drunk. William is kind and sweet to his friends, but it is not clear how much he depends emotionally on being a big fish in a small pond.

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