The 7-time Tony-nominated 2024 Broadway musical
Water for Elephants brings the circus to town for one week only at the Orpheum Theatre in Minneapolis, and it's pretty thrilling! The circus elements, puppetry, and great score by the indie folk band PigPen Theater Co. combine for a show that has both spectacle and substance. I've not read the book upon which it is based nor seen the 2011 movie adaptation, but I really enjoyed the touching, if not particularly unique, memory play about a man looking back on his life in the circus in the 1930s.
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The story is told in two timelines, cleverly woven together by book writer Rick Elice (who also wrote Peter and the Starcatcher, Jersey Boys, and more). We meet Mr. Jankowski (Robert Tully) when he visits a circus on a day trip from the nursing home where he lives, and starts telling stories to a couple of circus workers. His stories then come to life, with the present-day circus worker stepping into the story, as he watches a particularly momentous few months in his life. After the sudden death of his parents, young Jacob (Zachary Keller) jumps on a train to escape, and finds himself in the middle of a circus. The almost graduate of vet school gets hired as the circus vet, and falls in love with animal trainer/performer Marlena (understudy Zakeyia Lacey), who happens to be the ringmaster's (played by Connor Sullivan) wife. Spoiler alert: he's not a very nice guy, and treats his wife and his employees almost as horribly as he treats these poor animals. When Marlena's beloved horse dies, they buy an elephant from another circus, and have only a few months to train her and prove her worth.
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| photo by Matthew Murphy |
With direction by Jessica Stone (who also directed the much smaller scale musical
Kimberly Akimbo, seen at the Ordway just last week), circus design by Shana Carroll, and choreography also by Shana along with Jesse Robb, the show flows dynamically from past to present, wild circus romp to quite character moments. The stripped down design has the Orpheum stage completely open, with large rolling scaffoldings used as train cars and other structures, the cast climbing all over them. The thrilling tent-raising scene is accomplished with a rope and large tarp, turned into a red tent with lighting. Subtle projections on the back wall create the landscape of the open country the troupe travels through, all open skies and wide fields. The costume design ranges from '30s era working attire, to bright splashy circus costumes. (Scenic Design by Takeshi Kata, lighting design by Bradley King, projection design by David Bengali, costume design by David I. Reynoso.)
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the horse's spirit (Yves Artieres) flies
through the air (photo by Matthew Murphy) |
All of this circus business provides an excuse to witness some truly jaw-dropping acrobatic performances. This cast is full of quadruple threats - they can sing, dance, act, and perform acrobatic stunts include aerial performance on silks and ropes and rings, jump-roping, and gymnastics. Many cast members have actual circus performance experience, including Minnesota's own Sam Kellar-Long, who studied for 14 years at
Circus Juventas, and serves as an acrobatic swing for the show. We were lucky to see him on opening night as he climbed ropes, lifted people over his head, threw them across the room, or effortlessly caught them. I was also impressed by Yves Artieres, who gorgeously embodies the sick and dying horse, twirling and swinging high up in the air on white silks. Parents - send your kids to the circus, they might end up in a Broadway show!
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the love triangle (Zachary Keller, Connor Sullivan,
and Helen Krushinski, photo by Matthew Murphy) |
Another gorgeous and unique element of this show is the puppetry design of the circus animals, done similarly to
Lion King, but a little more stripped down and ragtag (in a good way). Typically just the head of the animal (lion, horse, giraffe) is represented but a puppet, the actor manipulating that puppet forming its body. The highlight is the elephant, seen first only in silhouette, then in body parts (a trunk here, a thick leg there), then Rosie's full glorious body, the actors behind her creating a personality, complete with blinking long eyelashes (puppet design by Ray Wetmore, JR Goodman, and Camille LaBarre).
I love the idea of an indie folk band / theater company that creates their own musicals. I loved this score, and I'd like to hear more from PigPen Theatre Co. (they've written several other musicals that didn't make it to Broadway). This score has a real 1930s Americana sound, the eight-piece pit orchestra (conducted by Sarah Pool Wilhelm) including unique and authentic instrumentation including a harmonica and multiple guitars and other stringed instruments. This talented ensemble creates some thrilling harmonies, the songs ranging from beautiful ballads to up-tempo numbers, with a more folky sound than we usually hear in musicals.
Water For Elephants is in town through Sunday only. Recommended for those who like circuses, animal puppetry, high-flying acrobatics and aerial work, folky Americana music, and memory plays with romance.
