Grant Gustin, Isabelle McCalla and More to Star in Water for Elephants on Broadway

Roll up, roll up! Initial casting is set for Water for Elephants on Broadway. The new musical will star Grant Gustin in his Broadway debut, Isabelle McCalla, Gregg Edelman, Paul Alexander Nolan, Stan Brown, Joe De Paul, Sara Gettelfinger and Wade McCollum. Performances are set to begin on February 24, 2024, with an official opening of March 21 at the Imperial Theatre. Additional casting will be announced at a later date.

McCalla, Brown, De Paul, Gettelfinger and McCollum starred in the musical's world premiere engagement at the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta earlier this year.

“I truly can’t believe this is real,” Gustin said on Instagram. “I’ve been beyond excited to share this news. So grateful for the opportunity and appropriately terrified.” He added, “I feel so lucky to be joining such a unique show with a fantastic book and beautiful music. This company is incredible and I can’t wait to go on this ride with them.”

In 2010, Gustin played Baby John in the Broadway revival tour of West Side Story. He debuted on Glee in 2011 in the role of Sebastian Smythe and starred as the titular superhero in The Flash starting in 2014.

McCalla is currently starring on Broadway in Shucked, having previously starred in The Prom. Edelman made his Broadway debut in the 1979 production of Evita. He is a four time Tony Award nominee, most recently for his performance as the Wolf and Cinderella's Prince in the first Broadway revival of Into the Woods in 2002.

Nolan's many credits include Parade, Slave Play, Escape to Margaraitaville, Bright Star and Doctor Zhivago. Gettelfinger and McCollum appeared in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels and Wicked, respectively, while Brown starred in television's Homicide: Life on the Streets.

Meanwhile, De Paul brings genuine circus bona fides to the production. He made his clowning debut in the North American tour of Cirque du Soleil’s Dralion, going on to perform in “O” and Volta with the company. He has toured Europe with Los Galindos street circus and teaches Clown for Actors at Concordia University in Montréal.

The musical is directed by Kimberly Akimbo director Jessica Stone. It features a book by Rick Elice and music by theatrical music-making collective PigPen TheatreCo.

Based on the novel by Sara Gruen, Water for Elephants follows Jacob Jankowski (Gustin), a young man who joins Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth, a Depression-era traveling circus. Working as an animal doctor, he finds himself in the topsy-turvy world of acrobats, aerialists, jugglers and tumblers.

McCalla plays Marlena, whose equestrian act is the show’s star attraction; Nolan plays her husband August. Brown plays Camel, who helps Jacob get the job with the Benzini Brothers; De Paul plays Walter, a little person who was sold into the circus life involuntarily. Gettelfinger plays Barbara, the Benzini Brothers’ raunchiest act; McCollum plays the circus boy Wade.

The show features circus design by Shana Carroll, an artistic director of Montreal-based circus collective The 7 Fingers. Jesse Robb choreographs with Carroll.