WATER FOR ELEPHANTS Broadway Previews — Page 6

Remember how the puppet was revealed in King Kong.

I didn't like the show, but wow, I loved seeing the puppet for the first time.

When the elephant’s front legs first appeared, I couldn’t help but think of the giant in Into the Woods. I really thought that all we’d ever see of Rosie was her trunk, so I was surprised when the full animal came out.

I saw this and The Notebook on back-to-back nights. I still can’t decide which I liked better because I found both to be underwhelming.
I just didn’t care for any of the characters in W4E, except for maybe the ringmaster. The score was forgettable. Hard to believe Gustin was the best they could find for the lead role. As many have mentioned, the circus elements dazzled, Paul Nolan shined, great sound and lighting designs.


As for The Notebook, I could not get over the odd casting. What worked for me were the book, sets, and older Allie and older Noah actors. Some nice melodies, but the lyrics overall were bland.


It’s a toss up.

Updated On: 3/9/24 at 01:46 PM

I think you meant Gustin - poor guy has no charisma.

Unfortunately, I think none of the new musicals this season will be of Hadestown qualty.



bwaylyric said: "I saw this and The Notebook on back-to-back nights. I still can’t decide which I liked better because I found both to be underwhelming.
I just didn’t care for any of the characters in W4E, except for maybe the ringmaster. The score was forgettable. Hard to believe Austin was the best they could find for the lead role. As many have mentioned, the circus elements dazzled, Paul Nolan shined, great sound and lighting designs.


As for The Notebook, I could not get over the odd casting. What worked for mewere the book, sets, and older Allie and older Noah actors. Some nice melodies, but the lyrics overall were bland.


It’s a toss up."

go in with chill expectations, prepare for nothing original new, and dont pay too much money for your seat- and you will have a fine time accepting it for what it is. I still think MacCalla's (underdeveloped) scene with her horse is one of the more creative/beautiful things I've seen on stage in a while, set to a beautiful song.

theatrefan18 said: "I saw the matinee today and really enjoyed it. In reading this thread, I thoughtthat the people who attended the first preview were pretty harsh on the show. I know it's a chat board and everyone has an opinion, but some of these seem very mean spirited. Almost like they hope it fails. As a theatre lover, I am always rooting for a hit or at least a fun time. I had a fun time, especially in the first act. I thought the lead Grant Gustin was great. I did not know who he was and thought he was charming and sang great. Izzy was excellent and Paul Nolan was fantastic. Also great to see an old pro like Gregg Edelman. I enjoyed the circus elements and thought they were well integrated. I had not read the book or seen the movie and I was moved by the story. I agree that the second act was a little slow compared to the first act, and didn't love all the music, but it's certainly an enjoyable night at the theater. And I thought the puppets were fine. Maybe not up to the level of Lion King, but quite good."

Lol. That's almost the default approach to any show here, unless it's a Sondheim property.

Caught the matinee yesterday and truly do not understand the bad cinderella references. My expectations were for a flop and I was pleasantly surprised and at times wickedly entertained. Everyone complaining about the puppets...despite the title, the elephant and animal puppets barely factor into the story, it's more of a macguffin than anything else. I thought the aesthetic fit the depression-era circus story quite well.

I very much enjoyed the design, especially the extremely gorgeous, understated projections. I would not be surprised if this picked up more than a few nods, including one for Paul Alexander Nolan who is outstanding.

Whenever the preview reviews tend negative, someone always comes along to accuse the board of being too harsh and hoping for shows to fail.

Whenever the preview reviews tend positive, someone comes along to say the board likes everything and people who attend early previews are too hyped up to be critical and of course they're going to like it. (Remember the initial raves for Beanie Feldstein in the Funny Girl previews thread?)

Thus has it always been, and thus shall it always be.

Caught this over the weekend and will echo those who felt let down overall. Did I enjoy it? Sure. Would I recommend it? No. I had no prior knowledge of the source material and I'm certain it is a much better read then a physical interpretation. I thought the cast was uniformly great. Paul Nolan is very good but after reading such praise for his performance, I was expecting something really nuanced. He has great vocals but to me felt very by the numbers of an abusive partner. There really isn't much to the story and asks the audience to try and cling to something that simply isn't there. The score for me might be the biggest issue. The songs are enjoyable but don't do much as far as story telling and advancing the plot. Often too long and not saying much. I feel like the writers don't understand the structure of a musical and when the show has to "sing". The acrobatics are great but very often stall the show. Puppets were fine and I got on board with the "homemade" look. I do wish the Elephant was a bit bigger overall. Overall a 5/10

Overall the members of this little theatre community are respectful and thoughtful.

However, I have seen several 'reviews' that are just mean. One wonders if these posts are from people who hold a personal grudge to someone involved with the show.

I saw this a couple of weeks ago and really, really enjoyed it. I’m honestly surprised by so many negative reviews on here. Is it a perfect show? No – but, the things I liked more than outweighed the things I didn’t and I was entertained the whole time.

There are some truly beautiful and moving moments in the show (“Easy,” being a standout for me) and, overall, I really enjoyed the score. I thought the puppets were great. I loved getting to just see little bits of Rosie before we see her in full.

The acrobatics were very impressive and I thought just enough – any more and I would have felt like it detracted from the story, but, as is, it all felt like it was there to help tell the story (as well as be entertaining!).

In different hands, I feel like this show could have felt extremely formulaic and bland like so many other book/movie adaptations to musicals, but I appreciate that this show tried (and mostly succeeds) to do something different and doesn’t feel cookie-cutter.

Izzy McCalla and Grant Gustin performing “Wild” on GMA3 today:

EDSOSLO858 said: "Izzy McCalla and Grant Gustin performing “Wild” on GMA3 today"

Nice, they both sound great. I somehow remember someone mentioning that he didn’t sing very well in the theatre. He has a great voice here. (Unrelated to W4E: seems like he could handle Christian in Moulin Rouge if they ever wanted another “name”.)