Have you ever wanted to run away from home to watch a musical? So “Water for Elephants” could be the show of a selection that offers escapism, charm and excitement – and emotions too.
Based on Sara Green’s 2006 bestseller, the show premiered last year at Atlanta’s Alliance Theater and elevates the musical to new, literal heights with its seamless integration of theatrical and circus art.
It’s also the second new musical to open on Broadway in a week (after “The Pocket Book”) told in a flashback of a nursing home resident reconnecting with his younger self. But here the story being told is not melancholy but dynamic, its nostalgia sharpened with harsh realities and its sentimentality offset with humor, anger and darkness.
It also transcends the literalness of the 2011 film (starring Robert Pattinson, Reese Witherspoon and Christoph Waltz), making it a unique and creative creation of stage and live performance.
The show is powered by a speeding locomotive with a script by Rick Elice (“Jersey Boys,” “Peter and the Starcatcher”) and the characters aboard are on the journey of a lifetime. For many, it’s about survival. Set during the Melancholia, the story follows troubled young Jacob Jankowski (Grant Gustin, convincing) as he flees family trauma, all told in flashbacks by his older self (Gregg Edelman).
After embarking on a trip on what appears to be a circus train, Jacob’s day-long stay at the struggling touring company is lengthened after director/owner Augustus (Paul Alexander Nolan) sees this quasi-vet – Jacob quit shortly before of graduating Cornell – as a simple resource for the troupe’s hapless menagerie. (The song “The Lion Has No Enamel” says it all.)
Through Jacob, we enter a sawdust subculture and with him reveal the hierarchy, perspective and language of circus life where the performers are “eccentric”, the patrons are “rude” and the “red light” is being cast from a changing train.
With economy and intelligence, we learn a lot about the characters with whom Jacob quickly bonds: the elderly camel (Stan Brown, true), the sensible clown Walter (Joe De Paul, growling hysterically), seen-the showgirl Barbara (Sara Gettelfinger, fantastic ) and the particularly equestrian Marlena (Isabelle McCalla), the recipient of her husband August’s devotion – and his abuse. Always looming is the troupe’s menacing foreman (Wade McCollum).
The debt-laden circus’ fortunes are reversed when Rosie, a 53-year-old elephant, is introduced into the company. But the pachyderm resists the training until Jacob finds the right words and, with Marlena, transforms the intuitive animal into the star.
The compassion and appeal shared by the two trainers becomes noticeable throughout the troupe – including the ruthless, sadistic and fickle Augusto. It doesn’t take long for something depraved like this to happen.
The solid is of a higher grade. Edelman’s understated ease and self-aware humor make this nursing home escapee a seductive but clear guide to the distant past and this fascinating circus caravan.
Gustin, as young Jacob, shares this sympathy – and vulnerability – as a man who feels lost and alone until he discovers his true calling, chosen family, and love. McCalla plays Marlena not as a sufferer, but as an ever-resilient wife who walks a tightrope of constancy, worry, and despair. Nolan is fascinating as Augustus, a master businessman and sociopath in both fascination and menace.
Jessica Stone, who staged the modest-scale “Kimberly Akimbo,” and her creative team — especially circus designer Shana Carroll, who co-choreographs with Jesse Robb — mount a big screen production here, bringing it all under one spectacular tent without forgetting their human – and animal – hearts.
The production’s master illusionists include set designer Takeshi Kata, lighting designer Bradley King and Walter Trarbach, who created a soundscape. For the task of creating, yes, the elephant in the room – as well as the lions, orangutans and other creatures giant and small – puppet designers Ray Wetmore, JR Goodman and Camille LaBarre work wonders, capturing the essence of each animal, often with detailed designs. but also with the best suggestion, especially for Rosie who becomes, through puppeteer Caroline Kane, a perfectly realized character – and star of this show too.
The production’s septet of trapeze artists and acrobats come from the Montreal-based company 7 Fingers, which made the 2013 revival of “Pippin” so fascinating. His exploits are not just for puffing – a shout out here to the astonishing Keaton Hentoff-Killian – but are metaphorically tied to the story on stage. By way of illustration, as Marlena gently sings “Straightforward” to soothe her injured stallion, the poignancy is echoed in a beautiful Spanish Internet performance on hanging ribbons of bright white cloth by Antoine Boissereau.
The classification of the musical collective PigPen Theater Co. captures the melodious North American temperament of the time and mixes it with music that ranges from swing to folk. Particularly positive are the infectious “The Street Don’t Make You Younger”, the romantic ballad “Wild” and “Zostan”, the joyful celebration of Polish instructions.
For fans of the book and film, the climactic moment on stage remains equally thrilling — and the most creative stampede since the wildebeest race in “The Lion King” (whose co-producer Peter Schneider is also on top here).
This downtrodden circus troupe might promote their entertainment as “The Benzini Brothers’ Most Spectacular Show on Earth,” but for this hillbilly’s dime, “Water for Elephants” might be the best show on Broadway.
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