On May 11, Challengers star Mike Faist (Dear Evan Hansen, Newsies) and three-time Academy Award winning director Steven Spielberg visited the Broadway musical Water for Elephants at the Imperial Theatre. Going backstage after the show, the West Side Story collaborators met with the cast and crew, as seen in the photos below.
Water for Elephants, which is based on Sara Gruen's acclaimed novel, opened March 21, after beginning previews February 24. The show features a book by Rick Elice (Peter and the Starcatcher) and music and lyrics by PigPen Theatre Co. (The Tale of Despereaux). Tony nominee Jessica Stone (Kimberly Akimbo) directs. The show is currently a 2024 Tony Award nominee for Best Musical.
Grant Gustin, Isabelle McCalla, Steven Spielberg, Wade McCollum, Paul Alexander Nolan, Sara Gettelfinger, and Mike Faist
Isabelle McCalla and Steven Spielberg
Steven Spielberg and Paul Alexander Nolan
Steven Spielberg and the cast of Water for Elephants
Speven Spielberg and Mike Faist with the cast of Water for Elephants
Steven Spielberg and Isabelle McCalla
Mike Faist, Grant Gustin, and Steven Spielberg
The cast features Grant Gustin (The Flash, Glee) in his Broadway debut as Jacob Jankowski, alongside Isabelle McCalla (Shucked) as Marlena. Joining them are Gregg Edelman (City of Angels) as Mr. Jankowski, Paul Alexander Nolan (Parade) as August, Stan Brown (Homicide: Life in the Streets) as Camel, Joe De Paul (Cirque du Soleil's Dralion) as Walter, Sara Gettelfinger (Dirty Rotten Scoundrels) as Barbara, and Wade McCollum (Wicked) as Wade.
Water for Elephants made its world premiere at Atlanta's Alliance Theatre in summer 2023. The work tells the story of a man who runs away from his life, only to find himself caught up in a traveling circus. This stage musical follows a 2011 film adaptation of the novel starring Reese Witherspoon, Robert Pattinson, and Christoph Waltz.
READ: How Water for Elephants Brought the Circus to Broadway
The company is completed by 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 Ross Beckwith McLeish, Michael Mendez, Samuel Renaud, Marissa Rosen, Alexandra Gaelle Royer, Asa Somers, Charles South, Sean Stack, Matthew Varvar, and Michelle West.
The production includes circus design by Shana Carroll, who's also co-choreographing with Jesse Robb. Also on the creative team are scenic designer Takeshi Kata, costume designer David Israel Reynoso, lighting designer Bradley King, sound designer Walter Trarbach, projection designer David Bengali, hair and makeup designer Campbell Young Associates, music supervisor and arranger Mary-Mitchell Campbell and Benedict Braxton-Smith, and orchestrator Daryl Waters. Puppetry design is by Ray Wetmore (Spamalot) and JR Goodman (Gutenberg!) alongside Camille Labarre (Into the Woods). Elizabeth Doran is music director, and Cha Ramos will provide fight direction. Timothy R. Semon will be production stage manager. All but Trarbach and Doran are continuing with the production after working on the Atlanta world premiere.
Peter Schneider, Jennifer Costello, Grove Entertainment, Frank Marshall, Isaac Robert Hurwitz, and Seth A. Goldstein are producing the Broadway debut.
Visit WaterForElephantsTheMusical.com
Paul Alexander Nolan, Isabelle McCalla, and Grant Gustin in Water for Elephants
Marissa Rosen, Gregg Edelman, Taylor Colleton, Sara Gettelfinger, Joe De Paul, and Stan Brown
The cast of Water for Elephants
The cast of Water for Elephants
The cast of Water for Elephants
Paul Alexander Nolan and the cast of Water for Elephants
Isabelle McCalla and Grant Gustin in Water for Elephants
Grant Gustin and the cast of Water for Elephants
