Water for Elephants musical reveals principal Broadway cast

Grant Gustin, best known for his TV roles on The Flash and Glee, is set to make his Broadway debut.

Gustin will star as Jacob Jankowski, a young veterinary student who hops a train and joins the circus on the brink of graduation, in the Broadway premiere of new musical Water for Elephants.

The principal cast will also feature Isabelle McCalla (The Prom, Shucked), four-time Tony Award nominee Gregg Edelman (City of Angels), 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).

Based on the novel by Sara Gruen, Water for Elephants features a book by Rick Elice, a score by PigPen Theatre Company, and direction by Jessica Stone. It staged its world premiere in June at the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta.

The production features circus design by Shana Carroll (The 7 Fingers), choreography by Jesse Robb (Miss Saigon) and Shana Carroll, scenic design by 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 Walter Trarbach (Spongebob Squarepants), projections by David Bengali (The Thanksgiving Play), hair and makeup design by Campbell Young Associates (A Beautiful Noise), puppetry design by Camille Labarre (Into the Woods), music supervision and arrangements by 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), music direction by Elizabeth Doran, fight direction by Cha Ramos (Jagged Little Pill), and production stage management by Timothy R Semon (Company).

Water for Elephants is set to begin previews at Broadway’s Imperial Theatre on 24 February 2024, ahead of an official opening night on 21 March.

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