Water for Elephants, 08 March 2024

Water for Elephants is a thoroughly dazzling theatre experience. The design elements are almost as breathtaking as the ensemble full of circus kinkers performing acrobatic stunts, graceful aerial silks, and highly impressive leaps, twirls, and flips. Despite great leading and featured cast members who did their best with the material they were given, the trust and connection in the ensemble was the greatest strength and most impressive feat of this show.

Lead actress Isabelle McCalla (Marlena) stood out for her beautiful voice and breathtaking stage presence as an individual in a cast that was otherwise trying very hard to blend together as a single unit or concept. She was incredibly adept at taking a song that had very few words and making each repetition mean something slightly different. Additionally, there were some really beautiful ensemble moments, especially the a capella work songs led by Wade McCollum (Wade) where the harmonies were gorgeous and the highlighted ensemble members all supported their own part and really pulled their weight.

The uninspired nature of the lyrics and inconsistent musical genres (folk, traditional musical theatre, elusive alternative) carried the story forward, but for me it wasn’t a story that inspired emotion or intellectual thoughts. It was a fun experience, but I didn’t walk out with a memory of a particular line, lyric, or idea that moved me. Like the circus, it felt like this show was just passing through. I enjoyed being there. It held my interest the whole way though. The fantastic sound and lighting design created moments of reality and moments of magical illusion. I spent the whole performance transfixed. But when it was over, it really felt over. I had no desire to reengage with the material or share it with my friends or come back and see it again. I had the experience, I don’t regret it in the slightest, but I don’t have anything further to unpack here.

The performance I attended was a preview performance.

I did not attend this performance on a press pass.