Zachary Keller, Helen Krushinski, and Ella Huestis Photo by Mathew Murphy for MurphyMade

What little I know of Water for Elephants came from a production number on the 2024 Tony Award broadcast (the show received seven nominations, including Best Musical) and an online video clip of the leading man and lady paired for a romantically hot song, "Wild." I knew the show is set in the circus, and I've greatly enjoyed two other musicals with that setting, Carnival and Barnum, so was hopeful that Water for Elephant would be a three-peat. One more thing impressed me: the logo used to promote the show features an elephant's head made up of acrobats arcing their bodies while swinging on trapezes and reaching for their partners. What a stroke of genius! That logo triggered me to anticipate a work nurtured by creativity, even if I didn't know where it would lead.

Indeed, now that I have seen it, I can state that Water for Elephants is a work of immense creativity in its conception and execution. For much of its time, the stage is chockful of performers gifted both as circus artists and as Broadway singers and dancers, who deliver circus acts using ropes, hoops, trapezes, silks, and their own nimble bodies. Inventive puppets (by Ray Wetmore, Jr. Goodman, and Camille LaBarre) artfully represent animals from a puppy that nestles in a human actor's arms to a life-size elephant. David I. Reynoso's costume designs display a rainbow of color and flamboyance. The show projects its artistry proudly, confident that it offers a spectacle to dazzle the eye of every beholder.

Water for Elephants is also a treat for the heart, with its earnest story told by an aged Jacob Jankowski AWOL from his nursing home to see the circus that has taken up nearby. In flashback, Jacob narrates his days during the Great Depression when, after the death of his parents and foreclosure of their home, he abandons his study of veterinarian medicine and his hope of joining his father's practice, and hops a passing freight train headed for points unknown. Only this train, it turns out, is the travelling home of the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth.

Jacob talks his way into being accepted by the circus folk and is offered a day's work to give him some means for his journey into a murky future. He takes an interest in the circus' animals and is drawn to star performer, Marlena, whose co-star is a horse named Silver Star. Jacob tends to Silver Star's distress, and the circus owner, August–who is also its ringmaster and Marlena's possessive husband–offers him a job as circus vet.

The tale, with a well-scripted book by Rick Elice (Jersey Boys, Peter and the Starcatcher), goes on with the arrival of Rosie the Elephant, growing attraction between Jacob and Marlena, cruel retribution, and tragedy that affects everybody. Water for Elephants wraps up with a hard-to-swallow ending, but it is clearly meant to allow the audience to leave with uplifted hearts and a focus on the joy the show conveys through its circus performance and rousing dance sequences. Those elements are seamlessly melded together, with Shana Carroll serving as circus director as well as co-choreographer, with Jesse Robb.

The weakest link in Water for Elephants's creative chain is its score. The songs are by PigPen Theatre Co., a group of seven musician-actors who came together as students at Carnegie Mellon University to create theatre works with original music in a folk and Americana vein. Now based in New York, they have created several well-received pieces, while also recording their music as a band. Water for Elephants is their first collaboration with an established musical bookwriter.

Of sixteen original songs in the show, three stand out as effective and appealing theatre songs. "The Road Don't Make You Young" gives Jacob a glimpse of the grueling work done by circus laborers (or rousts, in circus lingo). The song is cleverly abetted by the rhythm of sledgehammers pounding on the stakes that will support the big top tent. "I Choose the Ride" marks Jacob's decision point when offered a chance to stay with the circus, weighed against its risks. "Wild," already mentioned, has a distinctive melodic line and offers the release of pent-up passion that we have seen all evening between Jacob and Marlena.

Aside from these three, "Zostań" (Polish for "stop," a command given to Rosie the Elephant) is a lively number, abetted by the ubiquitous circus performers (kinkers, in circus lingo), that documents the rising fortunes of Benzini Brothers as their newest act gains traction. Other songs make little impression and contribute little to advancing the plot. Indeed, while the show was Tony-nominated for its direction, choreography, and several design categories, in addition to best musical, it failed to be so recognized for its score.

Jessica Stone directed the production in its try-out and on Broadway, with her work recreated for the tour by Ryan Emmons. There are more moving parts on stage than in most any show I can recall, and Stone/Emmons has them well synchronized, with smooth transitions and evocative stage imagery. What is less fluid are the shifts in tone between raucous circus performance and the intensity of human drama, not only the triangle that forms among Jacob, Marlena, and August, but of the circus workers like Wade, Camel, and Walter, who hang on to their lives by a thread. This is not to fault any of those constituent parts, but the concept of putting both searing drama and giddy spectacle in one package is not fully realized.

This touring production kicked off in Baltimore last October, so the Minneapolis stop is fairly early in their run, and the non-Equity cast remains unchanged from its launch. Zachary Keller is a winning presence as Jacob, with a smooth and heartfelt tenor voice and earnest delivery of the young man's dramatic arc. He shares stage chemistry with Helen Krushinski, as Marlena, with a lovely voice and a performance that conveys the duality of Marlena's vulnerability and her strength. Keller and Krushinski each get a solo turn, "Silver Stars," and "What Do You Do?," respectively, both intended to give free range to the characters' feelings, and both actors deliver the emotional crux in spite of the songs being sub-par.

Connor Sullivan is convincing as August, acting with heartless vengeance and abuse of both people and animals, then crumbling into a mound begging for forgiveness, He delivers his songs with a fine voice. Also notable are Tyler West as Walter, the circus clown; Grant Huneycutt as Wade, the foreman trapped into doing August's dirty work, and Javier Garcia as Camel, a roust well past his prime and trying to hang on to the only life he has. Those last three, along with Ruby Gibbs as a chorine named Barbara, give a swell performance together in a number called "Squeaky Wheel," even if the song is forgettable.

Robert Tully plays Mr. Jankowski, the aged Jacob who starts off by telling his story, is often visible either observing or commenting on the narrative, and returns for the show's conclusion. Tully acts the part well, but he speaks with an accent I can't quite place, but sounds like a guy who comes from a big city, while his younger version, acted by Keller, doesn't have this accent. This discordance, along with Tully's lack of a smooth singing voice, are small but noticeable distractions from the otherwise polished production.

It turns out I was totally correct to anticipate in Water for Elephants a show with an abundance of imagination, buoyed by the flamboyant artistry and prowess of the circus. The production looks great, sounds wonderful (music director Sarah Pool Wilhelm conducts an eight-person orchestra), and moves with verve and invention. The performances are solid and the narrative is strong, albeit hampered by a contrived ending. It has a few memorable songs. Sum total, a good, not great, musical, but one so different in its look and feel, and exhilarating when all its cylinders are firing, that it is absolutely worth seeing.

Water For Elephants runs through March 8, 2026, at the Orpheum Theatre, 910 Hennepin Avenue, Minneapolis MN. For tickets and information, please visit hennepinarts.org or call 612-339-7007. For information on the tour, visit waterforelephantsthemusical.com/tour/.

Book: Rick Elice, based on the novel by Sara Gruen; Music and Lyrics: Pigpen Theatre Co.; Original Direction: Jessica Stone: Tour Direction: Ryan Emmons; Choreography: Jesse Robb & Shana Carroll; Circus Design: Shana Carroll; Music Supervision: Benedict Braxton-Smith; Scenic Design: Takeshi Kata; Costume Design: David I. Reynoso; Lighting Design: Bradley King: Sound Design: Walter Trarbach; Projection Design: David Bengali; Hair, Wig, and Make-up Design: Luc Verschuren/Campbell Young Associates; Props and Puppet Design: Ray Wetmore & Jr. Goodman; Additional Puppet Design: Camille LaBarre; Puppet Direction: Joshua Holden; Orchestrations: Daryl Waters, Benedict Braxton-Smith, August Eriksmoen; Music Arrangements: Mary-Mitchell Campbell & Benedict Braxton-Smith; Music Director: Sarah Pool Wilhelm; Music Coordinator: John Mezzio; Fight Director: Cha Ramos; Casting: The TRC Company-- Claire Burke CSA and Frankie Ramirez, CSA; Associate Choreographer: Paige Parkhill; Associate Circus Designer: Antoine Boissereau; Production Stage Manager: Kathleen Carragee.

Cast: Yves Artiéres (Kinker & Roust), Chris Carsten (swing), Adam Fullick (Kinker & Roust), Javier Garcia (Camel), Ruby Gibbs (Barbara), Ella Huestis (Kinker & Roust), Grant Huneycutt (Wade), Fran Alvarez Jara (Kinker & Roust), Zachary Keller (Jacob Jankowski), Sam Keller-Long (swing), Helen Krushinski (Marlene), Zakeyia Lacey (Kinker & Roust), Nancy Luna (Kinker & Roust), Andrew Meier (swing), Marina Mendoza (swing), John Neurohr (Kinker & Roust), Bradley Parrish (Kinker & Roust), Carl Robinett (Kinker & Roust), Summer Severin (swing), Connor Sullivan (August), Robert Tully (Mr. Jankowski), Serafina Walker (Kinker & Roust), Tyler West (Walter), Yemie Woo (Kinker & Roust).