The Flash star Grant Gustin to make Broadway debut leading Water for Elephants

[Fordham2015]

Posted: 11/3/23 at 9:28am

Gustin will star as Jacob opposite Isabelle McCalla (The Prom, Shucked) as Marlena. The cast will also feature Gregg Edelman as Mr. Jankowski, Paul Alexander Nolan as August, Stan Brown as Camel, Joe De Paul as Walter, Sara Gettelfinger as Barbara, and Wade McCollum as Wade.

https://ew.com/theater/grant-gustin-broadway-debut-water-for-elephants/?utm_campaign=entertainmentweekly_entertainmentweekly&utm_content=new&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_term=6544ef91b754f300011e5f35

[Det95]

Posted: 11/3/23 at 9:46am

Not gonna lie, this is super exciting to me

[Jmuep2]

Posted: 11/3/23 at 9:48am

Having seen this in Atlanta, I think this is a brilliant piece of casting -- creatively and marketing-wise

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 11/3/23 at 9:59am

Sara Gettelfinger!!!!!!!!!

[RUkiddingme]

Posted: 11/3/23 at 10:11am

That Wild song is good.

(almost as wild as Gregg Edelman's headshot)

[A_Nicole079]

Posted: 11/3/23 at 11:15am

Very excited for him to make his debut! Interested to see him flex his singing chops again consistently

[Sauja]

Posted: 11/3/23 at 11:21am

Amazing that Ryan Vasquez originated roles in three new musicals all landing on Broadway this Spring. I imagine it must have been tricky to choose which of

the productions to stay

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 11/3/23 at 11:23am

I'm really excited for this. I loved both the novel and the film, and I think there is a great deal of potential in the material being turned into a stage musical. Sounds pretty promising based on the Atlanta reviews on word of mouth, and I imagine they will be making it even better for Broadway.

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 11/3/23 at 11:35am

Gustin’s casting here seems comparable to Chris Wood joining Almost Famous. 

Also, Paul Alexander Nolan is a pleasant surprise! He is going to KILL IT as the evil ringleader. 

[OMG U Guyz]

Posted: 11/3/23 at 12:04pm

Sauja said: "Amazing that Ryan Vasquez originated roles in three new musicals all landing on Broadway this Spring. I imagine it must have been tricky to choose which of

the productions to stay"

I’m guessing Water was always going to push for a name as it doesn’t have the same recognition as The Notebook.   

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 11/3/23 at 12:51pm

Sauja said: "Amazing that Ryan Vasquez originated roles in three new musicals all landing on Broadway this Spring. I imagine it must have been tricky to choose which of the productions to stay"

THE NOTEBOOK feels like the surest bet of all of these, considering the composer, producer, budget, and material. I'd certainly choose NOTEBOOK over OUTSIDERS or ELEPHANTS.

I don't know if Grant Gustin should be considered a "star" in the ticket-selling sense. He might get them additional press and some interest from a select number of casual buyers. But I think he's largely unknown (especially without saying "That Person From The Flash (The TV Show, Not The One Being Charged With Crimes" --- and as discussed ad nauseam, there's a big big difference between awareness and interest.

Not a 1:1 comparison, but Melissa Benoist is of similar stature (maybe slightly bigger) and made about a $200K difference in BEAUTIFUL during her 2-month stint.

Updated On: 11/3/23 at 12:51 PM

[AEA AGMA SM]

Posted: 11/3/23 at 12:57pm

Jordan Catalano said: "Sara Gettelfinger!!!!!!!!!"

Seriously. I can’t believe that her last Broadway musical was Dirty Rotten Scoundrels! I worked with her very briefly on Lone Star Love during an early out of town for that in Cleveland and absolutely adored her.

[B212323]

Posted: 11/3/23 at 1:45pm

ErmengardeStopSniveling said: "Sauja said: "Amazing that Ryan Vasquez originated roles in three new musicals all landing on Broadway this Spring. I imagine it must have been tricky to choose which of the productions to stay"

THE NOTEBOOK feels like the surest bet of all of these, considering the composer, producer, budget, and material. I'd certainly choose NOTEBOOK over OUTSIDERS or ELEPHANTS.

I don't know if Grant Gustin should be considered a "star" in the ticket-selling sense. He might get them additional press and some interest from a select number of casual buyers. But I think he's largely unknown (especially without saying "That Person From The Flash (The TV Show, Not The One Being Charged With Crimes" --- and as discussed ad nauseam, there's a big big difference between awareness and interest.

Not a 1:1 comparison, but Melissa Benoist is of similar stature (maybe slightly bigger) and made about a $200K difference in BEAUTIFUL during her 2-month stint."

I think Grant is comparable also the Flash ran longer than Supergirl plus Gleeks are pretty dedicated. 

[Hope Lombardo]

Posted: 11/3/23 at 2:23pm

having seen the show in Atlanta, it'll be interesting to see how this choice translates....the thing that Ryan Vasquez brought to the role was a sense of real longing and sorrow being alone in the world...that's a subtle emotion to bring across.....but i did just watch the Wild video and Gustin looks good on that song... I'm actually most excited about the cast change where Gregg Edelman will now play mr jankowski....that role felt too understated in the Atlanta production and it'll be interesting to see how it plays out.

Have the circus performers been announced yet? I can't imagine them doing this show without Antoine Boissereau, who played the horse. 

[yyys]

Posted: 11/3/23 at 6:57pm

Doesn't appear to have any movement in ticket sales...

[dramamama611]

Posted: 11/3/23 at 8:08pm

Its been less than 24 hours. 

[VintageSnarker]

Posted: 11/3/23 at 9:29pm

EDSOSLO858 said: "Also, Paul Alexander Nolan is a pleasant surprise! He is going to KILL IT as the evil ringleader."

If he takes the same relish in it as he did with his Doctor Zhivago role, I will be there.

[QueenTwinnied]

Posted: 11/4/23 at 3:29am

I’m a bit disappointed Bryan Fenkart isn’t continuing with the production as August. I saw the show several times in Atlanta and thought he portrayed the violent ringmaster perfectly. 
 

Luckily much of the supporting roles are continuing. Sara, Wade, Joe, and Paul were all fantastic.

Isabelle was absolutely radiant as Marlena and I hope she gets to record those songs on a cast recording 

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 11/6/23 at 4:37pm

This show needs to gross $960K a week just to break even, per offering documents.

Makes your teeth hurt and your eyes water.

http://broadwayjournal.com/inside-broadways-1-million-nut-cases/

Updated On: 11/6/23 at 04:37 PM

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 11/6/23 at 4:42pm

ErmengardeStopSniveling said: "This show needs to gross $960K a week just to break even, per offering documents.

Makes your teeth hurt and your eyes water.

http://broadwayjournal.com/inside-broadways-1-million-nut-cases/"

Wow, ATG really is doing a masterful job navigating the Broadway industry in its current state, obscene ticket prices and all. They’ve proven they can win Tonys AND make boatloads of money. 

Tip your hat.