By SHARON EBERSON
The reasons to flock to see Water for Elephants are not your typical musical theater must-haves. They include thrilling circus artistry and innovative puppetry, and, for those in the know, experiencing the adaptation of a beloved book-turned-movie-turned-theatrical romance.
I am 100 percent in for the gasp-worthy daring now on display at the Benedum Center. The touring company, each with their own set of skills, put me on the edge of my seat on opening night, as performers were tossed and caught, or were hanging and tumbling by a figurative thread, with only each other as a net.
When the curtain was pulled back on the amazing acrobatic skill and puppeteers, however, much of what was left was a bit of a downer, about those with the will to rise above grief, poverty and abject cruelty, and those subject to the will of a tyrant.
Some very high highs — animal puppets made to connect on a deeply emotional level — and ugly lows — a cartoonish, over-the-top villain — provide the background for love at the circus.
of Water for Elephants. (Image: Matthew Murphy for MurphyMade)
I came to Water for Elephants a relative newcomer, having never read Sara Gruen’s best-selling historical fiction, nor having seen the Robert Pattinson-Reese Witherspoon movie, nor having experienced the Tony-nominated Broadway original. But such is the popularity of this story of love and loss under a Depression-era big top, I was familiar with the plot.
Call it pop culture osmosis. The 2006 book alone has sold more than 10 million copies worldwide.
Yet the characters and songs here are mostly overshadowed by the action and spectacle, with the intricate choreography and performances ultimately the standouts.
Early sequences of performers elegantly spinning on aerial ropes or climbing and plunging from the big-top “king pole,” set expectations soaring, and they were continually met, starting when veterinary student Jacob hops on a fast-moving scaffold/train that turns out to be filled with members of the Benzini Circus.
In a nutshell, the memory musical is narrated by Jacob Jankowski (Robert Tully), a nursing home resident who visits a modern-day circus, and recalls his past: Young Jacob (Zachary Keller) has fled from familial tragedy, and runs headlong into the circus, finding friendship and love, cruelty and violence, and some spectacularly talented “kinkers” (performers) and “rousts” (laborers).
The company’s brutish foreman Wade (at the opening night performance, played by John Neurohr) takes an immediate dislike to Jacob, but the newbie is championed by kindly, sickly Camel (Javier Garcia), and spurned, then accepted, by Tyler West as Walter, and his “dog,” the shaggy puppet Queenie. Joined by the sassy and savvy Barbara (Ruby Gibbs), they mentor Jacob in the ways of the circus and avoiding the wrath of their tyrant of a boss.
When Jacob sets eyes on the circus’ star performer, Marlena (Pine-Richland High’s Helen Krushinski), sparks fly in many directions. He is quickly put in his place by her husband, ringmaster, circus proprietor and all-around bad dude August (Connor Sullivan, in a dual role as nice-guy, latter-day circus runner Charlie).
Sullivan’s August is the kind of guy who likes to point out that he pulled his wife out of her boring hometown, Cleveland. As the ringmaster, he shares a memorable throwback-to-vaudeville number with West’s Walter, but even then, the joke is how he keeps managing to hit Walter in the face.
In a stunning scene, circus performer Yves Artieres expresses the emotional depth of a horse, Silver Star; the puppet is seen only from the neck to head, but fully realized through Artieres’ performance.
The scene reveals the horrendous treatment of animals in circuses of the day, or at least, the Benzini Circus, which bills itself as “The Most Spectacular Show on Earth.” It also provides a break from often pounding and ornamental music, with Krushinski’s Marlena singing the sad and soothing Easy to her horse. She is a standout again, in a duet with Jacob, when they finally express their feelings for each other.
We are told often that Marlena, first with Silver Star, then with Rosie the Elephant, are the circus’ star attractions. Rosie arrives as just an expressive, nuzzling trunk, but when she is seen in full, guided by five puppeteers, she further cements the bond between Marlena and Jacob. Even Rosie can sniff out the evil emanating from the boss, who treats animals and humans with equal contempt, a point driven home in the song, “The Lion Has Got No Teeth.”
and the Water for Elephants cast. (Image: Matthew Murphy for MurphyMade)
The title of the show comes from what older Jacob acknowledges is a joke: Elephants drink hundreds of gallons daily. It is perhaps a subtle reminder that the storyteller might not be 100 percent reliable, but that his memories are no less impactful and vivid.
Water for Elephants earned Tony nominations for the book by Rick Elice (Jersey Boys, Peter and the Starcatcher, The Addams Family), and original Broadway direction by Jessica Stone, as well as choreographers Jesse Robb and Shana Carroll, the latter, with Cirque du Soleil experience. The music and lyrics are by the seven-man PigPen Theatre Co., the innovative artists who met as Carnegie Mellon freshmen, in their Broadway debut.
Most moving throughout proved to be the plight of the animals and the virtuosity of the performers who brought them to life. I would board the Water for Elephants train any time for the thrills of the artistry on display.
TICKETS AND DETAILS
The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust PNC Broadway in Pittsburgh presents the tour of Water for Elephants: The Musical at the Benedum Center, Downtown, Through April 5, 2026. Tickets: https://trustarts.org/production/100748/water-for-elephant.
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