WRFH/Radio Free Hillsdale 101.7 FM - The WRFH Interview: Stars of 'Big Fish"

Episode Date: February 23, 2026

The Hillsdale College Parents Weekend musical, Big Fish, opens on March 4. The two leads, Aidan Bauer and Rachel Dunphey, join Ella Rose Klein on WRFH to discuss the show.From 02/20/26.

This is Radio Freehilsa 101.7 FM. I'm Ella Rose Klein, and with me today is Aiden Bauer and Rachel Dumfey from the upcoming Tower Players musical Big Fish. Can you need to introduce yourself and tell me your name and your year? Hello, my name is Rachel. I play Sandra in Big Fish and I'm a senior. And I am Aiden. I'm a sophomore and I will be playing Edward Bloom in Big Fish. For listeners who may not know the show, how would you describe Big Fish in your own words? It is one grand epic tale about a father's son Wait

Yeah A father's son relationship in Alabama That is Tried and tested But has a very wholesome Ark to it Yeah Yeah it's a very creative story

With a very grounding sense to it. But it's kind of all over the place in the best way possible. It's hard to describe. Without giving too much away, who are your characters and how do they relate to each other? So like I said, I'm playing Edward Bloom and he is the father. He likes telling a lot of stories about his childhood, but they just are so absurd because he talks about meeting giants. and mermaids and witches. And, but he is married to Sandra, who Rachel plays.

And they have a child together, Will. And yeah. Yeah, so Sandra is who I play. She's married to Edward. And I think that she's kind of a good mediator, especially at the beginning of the show, between that father-son relationship between Edward and Will, kind of trying to bring them together a little bit, because she is the only person really who sees truly both of them at the beginning of the play for who they are

because they don't see each other for who they are yet. So what initially excited you about taking on these roles? I think the music is really fun in the show. There's a lot of different styles from like an American marching band, when we have like some like circus music in there. And then there's like, oh, the witch's song is so great. It's like this beautiful like bell ballad. And then I get to sing this beautiful lullaby.

So there's a big variety in music that is super fun to listen to and also to sing. This is Radio Free Hillsdale 101.1.1.7 FM. I'm Ella Rose Klein. And I'm talking with Aiden Bauer and Rachel Dunphy from the upcoming Tower Players musical Big Fish. So how long has the cast and crew been preparing for this production? Since last semester we held the auditions. What day? It's like right before Hell Week?

Yeah, pretty much. So we had all of winter break to look at our lines and kind of prepare ourselves. But I think the production team has been starting up since January. And they've been holding meetings. the set's been built. The costumes are being fitted now. I have my fitting today, actually. Oh, boy.

This show has a crazy amount of costumes. That's what I heard. 200? Yeah, about 200 costumes. Wow. It's crazy. That's insane. And they're all like, because the story is pretty fantastical.

They're all like very fantastical costumes. Corinna out did herself. I think this is some of the best costumes I've ever seen. I'm so excited to see the costumes. So what have rehearsals been like so far for the production? Lots of work. Lots of work, yes. We started with the music, trying to get all of the music down, especially as a whole company.

And then we kind of just went scene by scene. And Tori does a good job, I think, with that, trying to keep continuity so that it's easier to kind of fall into the scene. But yeah, and then we've gone back and forth from music, dancing, scene work, and now we're doing runs of each act. We've had a couple runs of the whole show. And we've also sang with the orchestra, because there will be live music. Oh, wow. When we perform. Yeah.

It's like a whole spectacle. It is because it's three hours a night, five days a week. So we got, we all get to know each other pretty well. It's a lot of time together. For sure. Now, how big is the cast? Is it 20, 26, 23, somewhere in between there. In the 20s.

Yeah. That's wild to me because all the costumes and the size of the cast. Yeah. And we're all from different, like, it's pretty actually remarkable that the cast is all from like different ages, like in at school, but they're also all different backgrounds. Wow. All of us are from completely different parts of campus and we all come together and it's really fun. Oh, absolutely. So what's it like working together as the two leads?

I think working with Aiden has been really, really fun. We've got to work together on a few productions of Silent Sky when he was a freshman, but it's really great to work with someone who loves a craft for the craft and who really explores it, especially in the ways that we learn here with the different theater classes. And so getting to work with Aiden has been just a joy because he pushes me to be a better actor because he's so fantastic himself. Oh, my goodness. I would say the same for Rachel. It's when you act with a scene partner, it takes a level of trust.

And I completely trust Rachel. She's a very high caliber actress and super kind. And when mistakes are made, it's just easy to forgive. and keep going. Mm-hmm. For sure. That's awesome. That sounds like so much fun.

Have there been any funny rehearsal moments? Oh, man. It's just a matter of which one. Yeah, exactly. We have a lot of really fun silly guys in the cast who kind of keep entertaining. We have Peter Kaiser who's in the cast, Danny Doyle, Aidan. a lot of guys who just keep it really interesting. We're having a human canon.

So that was pretty funny to watch yesterday. Yes. As they got that prepared. But overall, I just feel like every day is super funny. We're always taking videos and sending them on the chat of different people being really silly. But also very professional. You know, it's play, but it's structured play. So that you know when to have fun, when to really kind of give into that goofy self.

and then when to kind of lock in. And how has pulling together the choreography and the dance elements been in the musical? It's been kind of an interesting ride. But we've, like I said with the music, we started with that and trying to get that done as soon as possible so that as the show continues, we're thinking less about what our notes are or what our moves are, like, for dance and choreography. So that way, it's more natural and less anxious when the time comes to do it on stage. I would say, though, that we've had less practice for dancing than we had for music. And so that's going to be something that will continue to work on and get down in these next couple of weeks.

Yes, for sure. Are there different dance styles in the show or is it, you know, just general musical theater jazz? There are a couple. So a lot of it is the musical theater jazz. Some of it's kind of like a Western type of like, like, hoe-down type of style. And then there's also some tapping. Okay. Oh, wow.

Yeah. Aden's got a tap battle here. Yeah. And it's pretty great. Did you have any previous tap experience or is this like your first time? I did. In my junior year of high school, I played Don Lockwood and singing in the rain. Okay.

And so I took about six months of tap lessons for that. I wouldn't say I'm. an amazing dancer. I'd say I'm more of a mover, but I do really enjoy learning different styles trying my best at it. Yes, yeah. No Tap is so fun. So how are you guys, have you seen all the costumes yet or are you still like doing all the I've seen all my costumes. Okay. What about you? I have not seen all of mine. I I just know about there's a there's like a a daredevil jumpsuit that I wear

that I tried on and it's really cool but other than that I just know I have like a bathrobe and some other stuff but I'm excited to see what I have Yeah what's fun about our characters is that we are switching ages a lot So we go like together from being like an old couple To being like oh here's their love story of them falling in love And you jump back and forth a lot Okay so there's a lot of

costume jumps in that, which is really fun, but it's going to be like a really great challenge of how fast can you change your costume? Oh, yes. Yeah, with 200 costumes, I can imagine all sorts of quick changes. Have you guys seen the set yet? Yes, they're building it right now. It's kind of like three individual, like three circle platforms, basically. It's very, it just gives into that storybook feel. A lot. Yeah, with kind of an open back, because I think they'll do a lot of lighting for behind the set. So they're trying to keep it as open as possible. And I know there's some additions that they're going to be making here in the next weeks with just some pillars on the sides.

But overall, the set is finished. This is Radio Free Hillsdale 101.7 FM. I'm Ella Rose Klein, and I'm talking with Aidan Bauer and Rachel. to Dumfee from the upcoming Tower Players' musical Big Fish. Is there a song from the show that's been stuck in your head? I mean, you have some great songs. I can name one that stuck in my head is Showdown. Yes.

It is this awesome nightmare, kind of like schizophrenic nightmare, but also a Western. And it's so good. Oh, wow. And Aiden sings it with Rowan, who plays our son. And it's just so good. The choreography is so good. It's so much fun. To be honest, I can't really think of a singular one because I think they're all just on shuffle play.

But yeah, some of Rachel's songs, the lullaby comes on when I'm kind of trying to study. Or that one's called I Don't Need a Roof. Or Fight the Dragons is one that I sing to Yonge. Will when he's a when he's a boy your ending song makes me cry every time how it ends how it ends yes there's a lot of there's a lot of heartfelt moments in the show yeah yeah despite all the craziness I was it for how silly it is the writers did a really good job of grounding it in a really humbling reality oh so that's interesting it seems like super emotional and heartfelt moments, but also super fun and exciting.

So how would you guys like describe the overall vibe of the show with that in mind? It's a show for all ages and all walks of life. Okay. Yeah, I think there's something for everyone in this show. Yeah, I would agree completely. I kind of, I don't know if this is a great comparison, but I kind of like to say it's like a really fun, like if Death of a Salesman was a really fun show.

Like, it's kind of that vibe, but it's happy. It's happy. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. Why should people come to see Big Fish? There's been a lot of hard work put into this show. All around, costumes,

set design, lighting, and directing and acting, of course. and I haven't mentioned this yet, but I did, one of the reasons I did, I was prepared kind of for this, this role in this show was because I had done it previously with my older brother. Okay. And I remember when we performed it, there was so much audience receptivity and there were grown, men who were crying that hadn't cried in years. There were lots of people who said, yes, this show changed me in some way or another.

And I don't see why it won't happen again. I think very few, specifically musicals, but shows really touch upon a father-son relationship the way that this one does. I think that's kind of an underrepresented relationship in media in general. And so the fact that this show does it, but it does it in a sense that people can come and they can relax when they watch it. They don't have to feel stressed. It really is just like a fun show. You watch it and you're entertained and you're fun and it's not, you know, there obviously is a deeper message, but you're not coming to be like, like it's not a lay miss.

It's like you're not going to leave being like, oh my gosh, like that like took it out of me. Like this is going to be like you feel rejuvenated and a new spirit in it. And so I think for a lot of people, that's what they're looking for when they go see. especially a musical is a really fun show that they can learn, they can feel with it, but that they feel happier and better and lighter when they leave the show. So when and where are the performances for everybody listening? It is March 4th through the 8th at Markle Auditorium in Sage on campus. The shows are 7.30 at night for 4th.

Friday, or for Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and then it's at 2 o'clock, 2.30. I think it's two. Two. Be there at two. Yeah. Two o'clock. Okay. And where can people buy tickets? You just have to send an email reserving the amount of tickets you want to box office at hillsdale.org. Or, edu, sorry. Make sure you get them soon that they're going really fast, especially for the weekend performances because it's parents weekend. Oh, that's right. So bring your parents. Yes. Everybody come to see this show. Seriously. It sounds like such a spectacle. So much work has been put into it.

And it's probably going to be unlike any musical you've seen here at Hillsdale, right? How does this compare to other musicals that have been put on? I mean, the only experience I have is Bright Star we did two years ago. in that one. And I think that you know, in some ways it's it's a little similar, not in story but in in feel as an actor. But in other ways

I just can't emphasize how like amazing this cast is. Like every single person is so talented. There is not a single like hair out of place in anybody. It's they're all just such amazing actors in any in any role on the entire stage. We're just lucky enough to get to represent

all of them today. For sure. All right. Well, thank you so much for being here today. Is there anything else you'd like to say about the production, anything related to it? No? No. Come see the show.

Yes, just come see the show. That's it. All right. Well, our guests have been Aiden Bauer and Rachel Dunphy. And I'm Ella Rose Klein on Radio Free Hillsdale, 101.7 FM.