WATER FOR ELEPHANTS Cast Recording To Be Released On CD In August

The circus comes home! The Water for Elephants: Original Broadway Cast Recording will be released on CD on Friday, August 16.

The album is currently available in streaming and digital formats. The CD’s full-color 40-page booklet features production photography, complete lyrics, a synopsis, and liner notes by book writer Rick Elice.

The show was nominated for seven 2024 Tony Awards, including “Best Musical.” Produced by Peter Schneider, Jennifer Costello, Grove Entertainment, Frank Marshall, Isaac Robert Hurwitz, and Seth A. Goldstein, Water for Elephants is currently running at the Imperial Theatre (249 West 45th Street). Water for Elephants is based on the critically acclaimed and New York Times-bestselling novel by Sara Gruen. The new musical has a book by four-time Tony Award nominee Rick Elice (Jersey Boys, Peter and the Starcatcher) and is directed by two-time Tony Award nominee Jessica Stone (Kimberly Akimbo). The album is produced by Mary-Mitchell Campbell and Ian Kagey. Pre-order the CD, or stream or download the album, at ghostlightrecords.lnk.to/WaterForElephants

The cast stars Grant Gustin (“The Flash,” “Glee”) in his Broadway debut, Isabelle McCalla (The Prom, Shucked), four-time Tony Award nominee Gregg Edelman (City of Angels), Drama Desk and Outer Critic Circle Award nominee Paul Alexander Nolan (Slave Play), Stan Brown (“Homicide: Life in the Streets”), Joe De Paul (Cirque du Soleil’s Dralion), Sara Gettelfinger (Dirty Rotten Scoundrels), and Wade McCollum (Wicked), and features Brandon Block, Antoine Boissereau, Rachael Boyd, Paul Castree, Ken Wulf Clark, Taylor Colleton, Gabriel Olivera de Paula Costa, Isabella Luisa Diaz, Samantha Gershman, Keaton Hentoff-Killian, Nicolas Jelmoni, Caroline Kane, Harley McLeish, Michael Mendez, Samuel Renaud, Marissa Rosen, Alexandra Gaelle Royer, Asa Somers, Charles South, Sean Stack, Matthew Varvar, and Michelle West. 

Water for Elephants won Drama Desk Awards for “Outstanding Direction of a Musical” (Jessica Stone), “Outstanding Sound Design of a Musical” (Walter Trarbach), “Outstanding Fight Choreography” (Cha Ramos), and “Outstanding Puppetry” (Ray Wetmore, JR Goodman, and Camille Labarre), the Outer Critics Circle Award for “Outstanding Director of a Musical” (Jessica Stone), the Broadway.com Audience Choice Award for “Favorite Male Breakthrough Performance” (Grant Gustin), and Chita Rivera Awards for “Outstanding Choreography” (Jesse Robb & Shana Carroll) and “Outstanding Dancer in a Broadway Show” (Antoine Boissereau).

After losing what matters most, a young man jumps a moving train unsure of where the road will take him and finds a new home with the remarkable crew of a traveling circus, and a life – and love – beyond his wildest dreams. Seen through the eyes of his older self, his adventure becomes a poignant reminder that if you choose the ride, life can begin again at any age.

Water for Elephants features circus design by Shana Carroll (The 7 Fingers), choreography by Tony Award nominees Jesse Robb (Miss Saigon) and Shana Carroll, scenic design by Tony Award nominee and Drama Desk Award winner Takeshi Kata (Clyde’s), costume design by Tony Award nominee David Israel Reynoso (Sleep No More), lighting design by two-time Tony Award winner Bradley King (Hadestown), sound design by Tony Award nominee Walter Trarbach (Spongebob Squarepants), projections by Tony Award nominee David Bengali (The Thanksgiving Play), hair & makeup design by Luc Verschuren for Campbell Young Associates (A Beautiful Noise), puppetry design by Ray Wetmore (Spamalot) & JR Goodman (Gutenberg!), and Camille Labarre (Into the Woods), music supervision and arrangements by Drama Desk Award winner Mary-Mitchell Campbell (Some Like It Hot) and Benedict Braxton-Smith (Kristin Chenoweth: For the Girls), orchestrations by Tony Award winner Daryl Waters (New York, New York), Benedict Braxton-Smith and August Eriksmoen (Come From Away), music direction by Elizabeth Doran, fight direction by Cha Ramos (Jagged Little Pill), production stage management by Timothy R. Semon (Company), and casting by Tara Rubin Casting.

Water for Elephants had its world premiere in Atlanta on The Coca-Cola Stage at Alliance Theatre, running from June 7, 2023, through July 9, 2023. The critically acclaimed production had The Atlanta Journal-Constitution raving, “Water for Elephants is a triumph! Truly dazzles.”