WATER FOR ELEPHANTS Flies To Broadway — Review

There’s a refreshingly communal spirit in Water for Elephants, a new musical based on Sara Gruen’s novel which just opened at the Imperial Theatre under Jessica Stone’s connective direction. Though it thrills with incredible circus stunts (designed by Shana Carroll) and animal puppets (by Camille Labarre, Ray Wetmore & JR Goodman), there’s a lax, convivial air perfectly suited to its 1931 setting — it’s the Great Depression, and one must do as one must to scrape up some happiness.

That’s what leads Jacob Jankowski (Grant Gustin) to hop aboard a moving train and join the traveling performers traversing the country inside one of its carts. With an expansive sky behind them (via David Bengali’s unobtrusive projections) accompanying PigPen Theatre Company’s jaunty, tuneful score, he’s introduced to its members throughout an extended, impressively staged and paced number titled “The Road Don’t Make You Young.” 

Ringleader August (Paul Alexander Nolan) runs a tight crew, along with a tighter grip on his wife, star performer Marlena (Isabelle McCalla), on whom Jacob will naturally develop a crush. Over there playing cards is the brassy showgirl Barbara (Sara Gettelfinger), lovable hard-drinker Camel (Stan Brown), gruff clown Walter (Joe De Paul), and Wade (Wade McCollum), whose job consists mostly of throwing those whose services are no longer required off the train. 

Its featured animals are a wonder of shaggy-chic design; a combination of adult-sized costumes and puppets that require varying degrees of handling. Their deployment is a major source of the show’s delights, with an elephant sometimes suggested by a single trunk, sometimes by a well-coordinated multiple-person operation. A wounded horse is at one point represented (beautifully, by Antoine Boissereau) through aerial silks – McCalla’s elastic voice serenely paired to co-choreographers Carroll and Jesse Robb’s graceful movements, which can just as deftly spring into athleticism during the larger numbers.

Their performances, Stone’s direction, and Takeshi Kata’s ever-moving set are enough to keep the production on its track, though Rick Elice’s book often steers itself away. Each circus member has a backstory that’s hinted at during their introductions, then largely discarded. An interesting thread about animal cruelty is left undisturbed and, if I haven’t mentioned a plot yet, it’s because its wispy existence only materializes in the final moments of the first act, when the love triangle between Jacob, August, and Marlena musters up some drama. A frame story about Jacob in his senior years (Gregg Edelman), visiting a more modern circus, is tender but useless.

But PigPen’s score, period appropriate with strumming ukuleles and happy-go-lucky lyrics, creates a strong thread to tie together the production’s tendency to roam. And the ensemble — by far the best arms on Broadway — provides endless visual richness. You’re never supposed to look too closely at the circus but, here, there’s more than enough to keep you staring.

‍Water for Elephants is in performance at the Imperial Theatre on West 45th Street in New York City.