The circus has come to town, and it’s wrapped in a new Broadway musical, Water for Elephants, at the Imperial Theatre. Together, under the thoughtful direction of Jessica Stone, they complement each other perfectly to create an enchanting evening of escape and joy.
What I appreciated was the simplicity. Ever since Andrew Lloyd Webber’s shows began transferring regularly to Broadway in the 1980s musicals have competed to add more and more extravaganza, which I tired of long ago.
Elephants has the element of a real life circus in it, which sounds as if it is an extravagance, but this circus is set in 1931 when skilled women and men performed with just their highly trained bodies. To watch them soar, suspended by just a single rope, and perform their acrobatics is thrilling, a significant contrast to today’s overdone circuses like Cirque du Soleil with all its bells, whistles and high tech.
I was transported to the circuses of my 1960s childhood. My father took me and my friend Gina every year to both the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus and the Shine Circus in Baltimore. My favorite was the Shrine Circus because it had just one ring for me to focus on, rather than three.
Those good memories are the basis of my appreciation for what Stone has created. She cast seven professional circus performers to bring to life the circus at the heart of this story.
Elephants was first a best-selling book by Sara Gruen, then a movie, neither of which I was familiar with. It’s a simple story, which as you can tell is appealing to me. A young man, Jacob Jankowski (Grant Gustin) is all set to go into a veterinary practice with his father. Right before his final exam at Cornell University his parents are killed instantly in a car accident. Two days later a sign arrives in the mail, Jankowski & Son. Broke after the bank took their house and with no other family, Jacob leaves school without taking his final to qualify him to practice and hops a train heading to upstate New York. He sings “Anywhere”: This train is bound for anywhere./I’m going there too./Don’t care much where we end up/as long as it’s new/and free of everything behind me.”
Once onboard, he learns it’s a circus train taking the show from town to town He asks Camel (Stan Brown) for a job for one day so he can buy food. The other workers see him as a threat but he assures them he’s not trying to take their jobs. “Just a day and I’ll be gone/I’ve got nothing left to lose.” That’s fine with Camel, who tells him, “You didn’t jump just any old train, son. This here’s the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth. Welcome to the circus.”
And so Jacob’s new life begins. When the Ringmaster and circus owner, August (Paul Alexander Nolan), a dazzler in the spotlight who abuses his wife, Marlena (Isabelle McCalla), employees and the animals, finds out about Jacob’s background he hires him for “three bucks a week” as a traveling vet.
The unfurling is nicely framed by the elderly Jacob (Gregg Edelman), now a retired veterinarian living in a senior residence, visiting a contemporary circus and regaling them with tales of his experience. “Man,” he says with feeling, “this place. The sawdust, the smells. It’s old but it’s new.”
Jesse Robb and Shana Carroll’s choreography never overwhelm the story. Neither does Carroll’s circus design. In keeping with this balance are Rick Elice’s book, Pigpen Theatre Co.’s music, Takeshi Kata’s scenic design, David Israel Reynoso’s costumes and Bradley King’s lighting. All elements come together like clockwork. The two hours and 40 minutes flew by.
While the acrobats are magnificent, a circus is nothing without animals. These are people-powered puppets designed by Ray Wetmore & JR Goodman and Camille Labarre. I loved Rosie the life-sized white elephant.
And I loved the sweet ending, which I won’t spoil for you. Make your own escape to Water for Elephants.
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