By Aliza Gans
“Ladies and gentlemen!
Children of all ages
Sinners, saints, kiddies, and corpses
I give you
Benzini Brothers’ Most Spectacular Show on Earth!”
Between the rising skyscrapers and rush of the city, a circus has moved into the Imperial Theater. Featuring acrobatics, clowns, and a whole menagerie of animals, there is something for everybody. Welcome to Water for Elephants.
As the curtain opens, the audience is introduced to Mr. Jenkowski (Gregg Edelman), as he visits a circus and reminisces about the past; immediately, the audience is taken back with him in a flash of lights and a cloud of fog.
Set during the Great Depression, the show follows a young and grief stricken Jacob Jankowski (Grant Gustin) who is on the run after his parents’ tragic deaths and stumbles upon a traveling circus. What starts as a day’s work in exchange for room and board turns into a full fledged job catapulting Jacob into the circus world. When he is hired as the circus vet by the ringleader August (Paul Alexander Nolan), he is quickly taught the art of pretending despite having never finished veterinarian school.
Throughout the show, Jacob makes relationships with other circus members. He sets an eye on Marlena (Isabelle McCalla), a love that is quickly diminished when he finds out she is the ringmaster’s wife. However, after an injury puts the circus’s horse out of commision, the crew acquires a stubborn elephant named Rosie as a replacement act. Jacob and Marlena bond over their shared care for Rosie, despite August’s repeated objections.
One of the first numbers in the show starts off as the circus is being built on stage. The cast launches into a folksy upbeat number called “The Road Don’t Make You Young,” using the hammering of nails and shovels scraping as the starting beat. With its harmonies, epic flips, jumps, and tricks, this number reveals from the start of the show how talented each company member is. After hearing this song, one will surely walk away humming as they leave the theater.
Known for his roles in Glee and The Flash, Grant Gustin delivers an excellent performance in this show vocally, choreographically, and emotionally. While he left the cast September 1, his performance is immortalized on the cast album. Grant’s co-star, Isabelle McCalla, stuns with her vocals as Marlena. Wade McCollum, who plays August’s right hand man and lackey, delivers an amazing performance vocally and character-wise. While his personality in the show is very gruff, having met him after the show, his personality is evidently the complete opposite of that of his character.
Now, how could one talk about the circus without talking about its animals? The colorful menagerie features a spectacular array of animals, from the king of the jungle to an elegant peacock, all puppeteered by the ensemble. Silver Star, the horse, is played by two actors, one using a puppet of its head while the other uses silks to show the horse’s emotions. Compared to the horse, the elephant in the show experiences an evolution. At first, the audience only sees specific aspects of the elephant’s form, and finally sees the fully formed elephant when Jacob and Marlena figure out how to communicate with her.
This show touches on many themes relatable to the audience, including how one can find their chosen family and the place they belong anywhere and in any setting. The show also brings awareness to the way circus animals were mistreated in the past, as most circuses nowadays are animal free to prevent animal abuse. Another theme illustrated in the show is how hard work can yield big results and pay off, if only one is willing to put in the effort to do so, as exhibited by how Marlena and Jacob worked tirelessly to build a relationship with Rosie. Throughout the performance, many characters experience the hardships of life, and come to the realization that life can change in an instant, from Jacob losing his parents to August’s death at the end of the show.
Speaking to the YU students who attended this performance with the Broadway club, everyone was very impressed. After a long and busy first few weeks of school, all who attended were grateful for the break it provided them to step out into the bustling streets of New York and experience the culture of the city together. Layla Hellman (SCW ‘28) told the YU Observer, “I forgot how it feels to see a show live!” After the show, some students waited at the stage door to meet the cast, and enjoyed catching a glimpse of Grant Gustin and meeting the talented performers.
“This place is always in motion
This place is so alive
If it’s a choice between nothing and nowhere
I choose the nowhere on wheels
I choose the ride.”
Photo Caption: YU Students attend Water for Elephants with the Broadway Club
Photo Credit: YU Broadway Club