Review Roundup: Critics Sound Off On WATER FOR ELEPHANTS World Premiere at Alliance Theatre

The Alliance Theatre world premiere musical, WATER FOR ELEPHANTS is now on stage. Based on the critically acclaimed and best-selling novel, WATER FOR ELEPHANTS takes audiences on an adventure filled with romance, deception, and a little bit of magic. This moving story of finding where you belong will have its world premiere on The Coca-Cola Stage at Alliance Theatre through July 9, 2023.

"WATER FOR ELEPHANTS is a story about fragility, resilience and love; all set amidst a depression era traveling circus," said Director Jessica Stone. "What excites me most about the production is the opportunity to, quite literally, get it off the page and into the air. We have gathered an incredible group of storytellers, from circus artists to puppeteers, to do just that. We can't wait to see you, Atlanta!"

The cast of WATER FOR ELEPHANTS includes Stan Brown as Camel, Joe De Paul as Walter, Bryan Fenkart (Waitress) as August, Sara Gettelfinger (A Free Man of Color, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels) as Barbara, Tony Award nominee Harry Groener (Crazy for You, Spamalot) as Mr. Jankowski, Isabelle McCalla (The Prom, Aladdin) as Marlena, Wade McCollum (Wicked, My Fair Lady) as Wade, and Ryan Vasquez (Hamilton, The Wrong Man) as Jacob.

The ensemble includes Brandon Block, Antoine Boissereau, Paul Castree, Taylor Colleton, Isabella Luisa Diaz, Gabrielle Elisabeth, Keaton Hentoff-Killian, Nicolas Jelmoni, Caroline Kane, Joel Malkoff, Michael Mendez, Jo'Nathan Michael, Gabriel Olivera De Paula Costa, Samuel Renaud, Marissa Rosen, Alexandra Gaelle Royer, Sean Stack, Matthew Varvar, and Michelle West.

The WATER FOR ELEPHANTS creative team is led by Director Jessica Stone (Kimberly Akimbo). The musical's book is by three-time Tony Award nominee Rick Elice (Jersey Boys), with music & lyrics by the groundbreaking theater-makers, PigPen Theatre Co. (The Tale of Despereaux).

WATER FOR ELEPHANTS features circus design by Shana Carroll (Cirque du Soleil Paramour), choreography by Jesse Robb (Miss Saigon) and Shana Carroll, scenic design by Takeshi Kata (Clyde's), costume design by David Israel Reynoso (Sleep No More), lighting design by Tony Award winner Bradley King (Flying Over Sunset, Hadestown, Fat Ham), sound design by Tony Award winner Jessica Paz (A Beautiful Noise: The Neil Diamond Musical, Hadestown), projections by David Bengali (1776, Beetlejuice), puppetry design by Camille Labarre (Into the Woods), rigging design by Danny Zen, music supervision and arrangements by Mary-Mitchell Campbell (Some Like It Hot, Moulin Rouge! The Musical, The Prom) and Benedict Braxton-Smith (Kristin Chenoweth: For the Girls), music direction by Matt Hinkley (Bandstand), orchestrations by Daryl Waters (Memphis), associate direction by Ryan Emmons (Kimberly Akimbo), production stage management by Timothy R. Semon (Company) and casting in association with Tara Rubin Casting.

Let's see what the critics have to say!

Kelundra smiht, ArtsATL: Still, with all the spectacle, the book by Rick Elice (Jersey Boys and Peter and the Starcatcher) and music and lyrics by PigPen Theatre Co. leave a lot to be desired. Water for Elephants is based on the 2006 bestselling novel of the same title written by Sara Gruen. The book was adapted into a film in 2011, starring Rob Pattinson as young Jacob and Reese Witherspoon as Marlena. The gaps in the libretto may be reflective of holes in the novel, in which case it may be time to make something up. 

Malika Bowling, News Break: The show has plenty of terrific musical numbers and many of the individual cast members have an opportunity to sing and perform and show the pipes they have on them! PigPen Theatre Co. is the organization behind the songs an score of the show. They hail from Carnegie Mellon School of Drama. Not only have they produced lots of plays themselves, but they have gone on tour, even performing on the Virgin Voyages cruise line. Their music perfectly aligns with the sentiments of Water for Elephants, as you will see.

Check back for more reviews as they come in!

Photo: Matthew Murphy

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