WATER FOR ELEPHANTS

At intermission, my intelligent and worldly friend Laura enthusiastically declared, “This is the best show I’ve ever seen!” And even with some sadness in the second half, she still felt the same at the end.

I loved Water For Elephants, as well. And not just because I was in a circus myself. It’s because everything is good about it. And, actually, most of the show is superior. I kept choking up. (I’m so glad I had the foresight to wear waterproof mascara!)

We loved it so much that I’m actually having a bit of a hard time writing this review! I don’t want to leave any little detail out!

So let me say up front that I can tell you from my time in a traveling three-ring Big Top back in the day, even sharing my Side Show performance tent with the elephants, that this script is pretty authentic. If you don’t know anything about the story, but think the title Water For Elephants sounds familiar, it was first a novel in 2006. And then a film, starring Reese Witherspoon and Robert Pattinson, in 2011. (I can hear many of you saying, “That’s it!”) But I didn’t read/see those, so this musical was all new for me.

And I loved everything about it—the talent, the music, the puppetry of the circus animals, the colors, how everything moves in harmony! I especially admired that, in many of the scenes, all the talents are combined—dancers, singers, and acrobats. And actors, of course. And it all blends so beautifully. You really can’t look away for one second because so much is happening at all times.

Water For Elephants is one of the most physical shows I’ve ever seen! It actually reminded me a bit of how Cirque du Soleil’s one Broadway endeavor, *Paramour, was done. That one was basically acrobatic acts with a story, while Water For Elephants is a story with acrobatic acts. And they’re both brilliant! Because of that extreme physicality, though, I doubt that this show will be produced often after this National Tour—I think it would be too difficult and costly. So don’t miss this chance to see it! *[Note: Paramour is now a long-running show in Germany. Of course.]

I cried early on when the ringmaster first appeared. And then I kept getting choked-up the whole time. I would have lost it when a beautiful aerialist left the “body” of a sick horse to soar through the air as the animal’s spirit, if my mouth hadn’t been opened wide with wonder.

Before I share Laura’s very many glowing thoughts on Water For Elephants, let me tell you a bit of the scenario. It’s the tale of a young veterinary student joining a traveling circus after his parents got killed in an accident during the Great Depression of 1931, juxtaposed with him as an old man visiting another circus and thus remembering his youth. And it’s actually all riveting.

Before I move on, in case you’re curious about what I, a twenty-year-old sheltered Jewish college student from Brooklyn, was doing in a circus, here’s the very quick version: I was Little Mina from Copenhagen, the star of the Side Show. (Too long a story of how I got that gig, so I’ll save it for my book.) I was billed as a “World Famous Contortionist,” and got cut into a dozen pieces in a box. And, just as the characters in this tale did, I experienced jealousy, danger, and violence. But it was also a wonderful adventure that no one else who grew up as I did will ever know. (And yes, my mother’s hair did turn white from it.)

Now here are some of the plethora of Laura’s accolades for Water For Elephants. She made me laugh when in the middle of sharing them, she declared, “I have no words.” (Perhaps she meant to add, “…left” at the end of that sentence because she sure had an abundance of them all the hour-long way home!) She was heaping sooooo much praise on this show, in fact, that she could write her own lengthy review! But here are her highlights:

“It’s incredible. I’m blown away.”

“It has everything! A love story, the controversy of the circus and how the animals were *treated back in the day, great special effects, and the choreography just worked so well. Even all the transitions are so well done! And they really know how to capture the emotion of each moment.” *[Note: Thankfully, most animal acts, specifically the elephants, were discontinued from circuses about a decade ago.]

She also explained that she adored “how they present the “animals,” like how they show the elephant’s feet one at a time.” She is correct—that bit of puppetry is very powerful.

Laura also appreciated that “everything about the action is very clear.” She stressed that she “was never confused about what was happening, or which version of the main character’s life I was seeing at any time.”

She also pointed something out that I’m sure few of us would notice. She said, “I’ve never seen a show where they use the curtain so creatively!” You just have to see the show for yourselves to understand what she means by that.

I wish that I had come up with all of those points myself!

As far as the non-circus-performer talent goes, of the lead, Zachary Keller, Laura gushed, “His voice is incredible!” And I add that Helen Krushinski, the lead girl, (in both this show and the fictional circus,) just could be the new young Sutton Foster, which is the biggest compliment I can give any newcomer to the stage!

I could literally see Water For Elephants every night! I’m really not kidding. (And Laura said the same thing, but I said it first this time!)

For those of you who are in LA, or anywhere not right adjacent to Costa Mesa, I promise you that it’s always worth the bit of a drive to see shows at the Segerstrom because it is just gorgeous! And more importantly, very comfortable. So you must see this one!

But hurry—you have only two weekends left before it’s gone forever!!! And I can just about promise you that when this National Tour is over, you won’t have many other opportunities over the years because it just looks too expensive and hard to produce anywhere else.

Water For Elephants November 22, 2026
Segerstrom Center for the Arts—Segerstrom Hall
600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa
714-556-2787 www.scfta.org