WATER FOR ELEPHANTS Will Launch National Tour in 2025

The circus is coming to town! BroadwayWorld has just learned that the critically-acclaimed, award-winning Broadway musical WATER FOR ELEPHANTS will launch its First National Tour in Baltimore, MD at the Hippodrome Theatre at the France-Merrick Performing Arts Center in the Fall of 2025. Additional cities and full tour route to be announced shortly. 

“Audiences are gasping on the edge of their seats eight times a week at WATER FOR ELEPHANTS on Broadway, and we now have plans in place to bring this full, gorgeous spectacle to theaters everywhere,” said WATER FOR ELEPHANTS’ producer Peter Schneider. “We are thrilled to now be able to share this dazzling production by Jessica Stone and her creative team with the rest of North America.” 

WATER FOR ELEPHANTS is directed by two-time Tony Award nominee and Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Award winner Jessica Stone, with a book by three-time Tony nominee Rick Elice adapted from Sara Gruen’s novel, with a soaring score by the acclaimed PigPen Theatre Co., and choreography by Tony Award nominees Jesse Robb (Miss Saigon) and Shana Carroll.  WATER FOR ELEPHANTS is playing at Broadway’s Imperial Theatre (249 West 45th Street).  

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, & 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 Tony Award nominee Shana Carroll (The 7 Fingers), scenic design by Drama Desk Award winner Takeshi Kata (Clyde’s), costume design by David Israel Reynoso (Sleep No More), lighting design by two-time Tony Award winner Bradley King (Hadestown), sound design by Tony Award nominee and Drama Desk Award winner Walter Trarbach (Spongebob Squarepants), projections by David Bengali (The Thanksgiving Play), hair & makeup design by Luc Verschuren for Campbell Young Associates (A Beautiful Noise), puppetry design by Drama Desk Award winners 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 Drama Desk Award winner Cha Ramos (Jagged Little Pill), production stage management by Timothy R. Semon (Company), and casting by Tara Rubin Casting.