“Water for Elephants,” a brand new musical primarily based on the novel by Sara Gruen, will contact your soul. This has a devastatingly highly effective e book by Rick Elice and gripping music and lyrics by Pigpen Theatre Co. Jessica Stone’s path is charming to look at.
The viewers sees the life lived by circus performers, each human and animal. On the animal aspect, we see the neglect, abuse, and cruelty that’s proven to them by the circus proprietor and ringmaster, August.
The viewers learns about this circus from an older Mr. Jankowski, who’s speaking about his outdated days touring with the circus as a vet for the animals. We meet the younger Jacob Jankowski and see a narrative that has a lot coronary heart and love, we get overtaken with emotion. There may be additionally a lot reality concerning the mistreatment of animals by the circus.
That is an business the place the one factor that may matter to the proprietor is the gate. No matter it takes for cash to be made is his precedence. August additionally discards his circus workers like rubbish. He treats his spouse Marlena like property and doesn’t hesitate to bodily abuse her when he feels prefer it. On this circus life, you additionally discover that individuals who have been with the circus for years—Camel and Walter—positively don’t have job safety and even their lives are in danger.
“Water for Elephants” has a number of the most authentic, charming, and detailed puppetry and masks you will note on Broadway. Acrobats carry out as animals like horses and seize maintain of your coronary heart as they soar within the air. The acrobats on this musical are greater than you’ll anticipate to see on a Broadway stage. They’re magnificent! “Water for Elephants” has such an awesome really feel of the enjoyable aspect of circus, whereas additionally displaying you the horror.
This solid is extraordinary. Gregg Edelman is gorgeous because the older Mr. Jankowski, who has seen, liked, and suffered a lot. Grant Gustin is fabulous as younger Jacob Jankowski. The chemistry between him and Isabella McCalla as Marlena is attractive.
Paul Alexander Nolan is sort of memorable because the merciless, power- and money-hungry ringmaster August.
Stan Brown is poignant as Camel, an older man working for the circus who is aware of the insecurity of his place, however realizes that it’s all he has. Joe De Paul is feisty and humorous as Walter the clown. Sara Gettelfinger is caring and touching as Barbara. Wade McCollum is gorgeous as Wade, who has to do the proprietor’s soiled work.
“Water for Elephants” options an enormous solid, stuffed with acrobats, puppeteers, and folks in animal costumes. The choreography by Jesse Robb and Shana Carroll is gorgeous, and the circus design by Shana Carroll positively works properly. This musical has marvelous scenic design by Takeshi Kata; costume design by David Israel Reynoso; lighting design by Bradley King; sound design by Walter Tarbach; projection design by David Bengali; large puppet design by Ray Wetmore, JR Goodman, and Camille Labarre; and orchestrations by Daryl Waters, Benedict Braxton-Smith, and August Ericksmoen, with music path by Elizabeth Doran.
“Water for Elephants” will quench your thirst for nice theater!
For more information, go to www.waterforelephantsthemusical.com.
