Step Right Up with Water for Elephants' Isabelle McCalla, Episode 1: Accept Rage and Imperfection

Isabelle McCalla has been flying high at the Imperial Theatre where she stars—and trapezes—as Marlena in the new Broadway musical Water for Elephants. Now, she's giving audiences an inside look at Broadway's most death-defying production, filled with circus tricks, love triangles and backstage bromances.

In episode one of Step Right Up, McCalla takes us through her first week of previews alongside her co-stars Grant Gustin and Paul Alexander Nolan. Gustin, a veteran superhero, attempts new powers of invisibility as McCalla stalks him through the halls of the Imperial. Nolan, meanwhile, acquiesces to his co-star's Q&As in a variety of dialects. We also get to glimpse the show's acrobats mid-warm-up, and follow a fully feathered McCalla through a few of her dressing-room rituals.

Episodes air on Broadway.com every Friday. You can also catch highlights on The Broadway Show with Tamsen Fadal.