The New York Times: At the sound of a gunshot, a performer, wreathed in white silks, tumbles from the ceiling. His body somersaults, over and over, faster and faster, until it hangs suspended, just above the stage floor. This scene, in the first act of “Water for Elephants,” a new musical that begins previews Feb. 24 at the Imperial Theater, portrays the death of an injured horse. And it captures the singular methods of the show — a synthesis of theater and circus, bedazzled for a Broadway audience.
7 comments:
Circus has never been my favorite form of entertainment. Probably for a couple of reasons, some of them being that I am absolutely terrified of clowns. But the other reason is that I cannot often find a story in it and I get lost in the tricks (that I do find impressive) but it is hard for me to connect with it on a significant level. I find this concept of a musical bringing circus to the stage intriguing. It still shows and exhibits the amazing skill that goes into circus art but it will also weave it through with storytelling and I think ultimately the audience will be able to connect more with the people flying through the air and doing dangerous stuff. I do wonder how the choreographer or stunt person will be working together, or maybe if there are several choreographers for those different types of dances and or stunts. Ultimately it sounds really interesting and I will be interested in seeing how it goes in the box office.
This example of integrating Circus and Musical Theater is one that I feel could be very effective but could also fall flat. I feel that it is very important for theater that there is a story at the core of the experience, and that it will take extra effort to make sure that story is represented when circus and experience are also a focus. While this does raise challenges in producing the show, I think that the implementation of other elements can drive the message of a musical home. I won’t know whether this particular production effectively meshes the story and circus until I actually see it.
The addition of circus elements also adds some complexity to the production aspects of the show. It requires a much higher maintenance of safety for the production because many circuit acts are inherently dangerous. It can also be difficult to design sets and lights because of the different ways in which performers move for the circus.
I spent my childhood at Saturday morning and summer theatre camps taught by two Georgian former circus performers. Miming, aerial silks, acting, and dancing were all part of the art. While I don’t care particularly for the flashy American circus tents, the art of circus is one I have much respect for. I particularly respect the care given for the stunts and the focus on how they aid in the storytelling of Water for Elephants. A quote that stuck with me was, “Nobody wants to throw in gratuitous flips,” Carroll said, referring to these sorts of cheapened thrills as “a kind of spectacle Band-Aid.” While this article only mentioned it briefly, it’s also exciting to see the CMU presence in this musical. My understanding is that PigPen Theatre Co, part of the creative team, met at Carnegie Mellon and believes they owe much of their success to Playground. While I don’t ever imagine being a book writer, it is nifty to see the connections between our education and Broadway.
I have been following this show for a little bit and I am so excited about it! I have been really impressed with their social media presence. It showed up on my tiktok a while ago and I didn’t think much of it and then it kept showing up. Something that really drew me in was the fact that they showed the entire tech process. Not just the performance aspect but they tech tables, and every crew working, introducing people and what they do. I really like how they did that and then paired it with showing the really cool performance aspects. Another thing that drew me in was the really cool lifts and partnering. The show kinda reminds me of the greatest showman and I cannot wait to see it. I hope the message is positive and the entire thing is well responded to. From what I can see on social media it looks insane.
.
First off, I am incredibly excited to watch this show. and Excited is the understatement of the year. Every year, my parents love to take me to New York City to explore the new theatre that's on broadway. Sadly, some of the new works on broadway have been getting closed down more often than not. This is a musical I've told my parents about and they are so intrigued to see it. First of all, as a kid, I was the biggest fan of The Flash, which was a show that aired on The CW for quite a while. They just wrapped up their last ever season of the show. Grant Gustin, the actor who played Barry Allen and The Flash is the lead in this show, Water For Elephants. I am quite excited to see how traditional circus will be affected by the different aspects of theatre, like tech theatre, singing, dancing, and acting.
I had heard nothing about this show before this article but it looks super interesting. I love the circus and I love musicals so I hope it’ll be great. I think it’s interesting that they cast Grant Gustin as a main character as he is by no means a circus performer, at least to my knowledge. I like him a lot as an actor though so I’m sure he’ll do great. There’s this part in the article where the director talks about how they want every acrobatic move or circus move to feel intentional. They don’t want anything to be for show. It all has to have a purpose. That really spoke to me. I feel like today there is so much flash and trash on broadway and oftentimes it takes away from the show. It was really refreshing to hear what this director had to say. Overall I’m super excited and I cannot wait to see what this show does.
I really, really would love to see this musical in New York. Other than being written by CMU alumni (which is incredibly neat), every video and press shot to come out of this show so far has been quite frankly, dazzling. I’ve always thought that the circus is a very cool mode of entertainment and performance, and as such, this is a musical that really appeals to me with how it meshes the styles of circus and the traditional style of musicals. It kind of reminds me of some of the more theatrical Cirque du Soleil shows (one of which, Ovo [one of their touring shows] was one of my first inspirations and curiosities in technical theater when I was younger) and how dynamic their performances consistently are. I’m really trying to get out to New York to see this production during its run, and I hope they release more videos of the work they’re doing!
Post a Comment