From Novel to Stage: The Origins of Giant

The musical is based on the 1952 Edna Ferber novel of the same name, with music and lyrics by Michael John LaChiusa and the book by Sybille Pearson. The project came about when Edna Ferber’s great-niece, Julie Gilbert, approached LaChiusa about five years earlier to write a musical based on the novel.

LaChiusa and Pearson initially thought it impossible to stage as a musical. The novel covers decades and has a large number of characters, with a massive backdrop in wide-open, early 20th-century Texas.

A key creative decision shaped the entire adaptation: Pearson said she and LaChiusa decided to use the novel, rather than the movie, as the basis for their adaptation because “the movie, in its own greatness, changes some of the plot.”

The show closely follows the novel, rejecting the many plot changes that were made for the classic 1956 film of the same name starring Elizabeth Taylor, Rock Hudson, and James Dean.

The Signature Theatre commissioned LaChiusa to write the musical as the first installment in its American Musical Voices Project.

Synopsis

In Texas in 1922, Jordan “Bick” Benedict, a rich cattleman, marries Leslie from Virginia. Bick is focused on working the family ranch, Reatta, but exhibits bigotry against Mexicans.

This racism is seen in his older sister, Luz, who is against outsiders. Jett Rink is a handyman but discovers oil; he is infatuated with Leslie. A neighbor and Bick’s reclusive uncle, Uncle Bawley, tells the tale of the legend of the coyote. Bick ends the relationship with a girlfriend, Vashti.

As they age over the years, Leslie feels rejected by Bick and realizes that they do not really know each other. Leslie and Bick’s son marries a Mexican woman as Leslie tries to help the downtrodden Mexican American workers and Bick comes to accept his son’s choice.

The story unfolds across 30 years — a domestic drama nested inside a sweeping portrait of Texas transformation: from open ranch land to the disruptive wealth of the oil boom, and from entrenched racial hierarchy toward a tentative, hard-won reckoning.

From Virginia to New York: A Journey Through Productions

The Public Theater Cast (2012)

The Off-Broadway production at the Public Theater brought together a distinguished company of musical theatre performers:

The production was directed by Michael Greif (known for Rent and Dear Evan Hansen), with orchestrations by Bruce Coughlin.

Music, Lyrics & Song List

The music displays various musical styles from Mexican folk to country to rock ‘n’ roll, jazz and mariachi. This stylistic range mirrors the cultural collision at the heart of the story — Anglo cattle culture meeting Mexican heritage, old Texas yielding to oil-boom modernity.

The score was composed and written by Michael John LaChiusa, widely regarded as one of contemporary musical theatre’s most ambitious composers. Below is the known song list from the production:

The complete two-disc original cast recording was released on the Ghostlight label in 2013 and is available on Spotify.

What the Critics Said

The show received mostly positive reviews, hedged by concerns over its length (3 hours, 45 minutes) and the nontraditional use of three acts — in the later production at the Public Theater, the length was cut considerably and the show was reduced to two acts.

Terry Teachout of The Wall Street Journal gave the Public production an unqualified rave, calling it “the most important new musical to come along since The Light in the Piazza”, and stated that LaChiusa and Adam Guettel of Piazza were “the two most prodigiously gifted musical-theater songwriters to come along since Stephen Sondheim.”

The Washington Post’s Peter Marks praised the world premiere, writing that LaChiusa “has written for this world premiere some of the lithest, most dramatically compelling music of his career” and that librettist Sybille Pearson “brings to the stage some potent Lone Star State characters.” He added that “at its epic length, it becomes an advanced-placement sort of musical — more for the ardent enthusiast than the casual entertainment-seeker.”

Not all critics were unreservedly positive. The Variety reviewer noted that the “inventive score is filled with pleasant melodies that hark to the old West, along with more soaring operatic pieces.” However, he felt that “the show is humorless and sometimes incoherent. There are choppy, unconnected scenes, especially in the dark and leaden third act.”

Awards & Nominations

The musical received eight Drama Desk Award nominations. It also received a nomination by the Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding New Off-Broadway Musical.

Original Cast Recording

A two-disc cast album of the musical was released on the Ghostlight label in 2013. The recording preserves the Off-Broadway Public Theater production featuring Kate Baldwin, Brian d’Arcy James, and P.J. Griffith. It is available to stream on Spotify.