WATER FOR ELEPHANTS Broadway Previews — Page 7

EDSOSLO858 said: "$45 digital lottery begins on Tuesday."

Smart idea. The era of the in-person lottery died with the pandemic and it should stay that way.

My friends and I really do prefer playing the day before and being able to make plans as opposed to showing up two hours before showtime to gamble on a “maybe”

I saw this on Wednesday (just over a week before opening so probably close to being frozen?) and maybe it was because of all the negative reviews here, but I thought it was a lot better than I expected, a generally enjoyable if sometimes clunky show. I didn't know the book or movie so I thought the story overall with the way it integrated with the movement/circus acts was pretty cool, though admittedly somewhat trite (it's really not that far off from the extremely trite story that Paramour told).

I agree that the framing device is probably the biggest issue of the show. I thought the ending was sweet, but the way that older Jacob kept interrupting the show felt like it was just stopping all the momentum, and it seemed like the only thing that really gave us was to foreshadow the "Great Stampede". It also just felt like they weren't ready to commit fully to having Jacob retelling the story of his life--his narration all but disappears in the second act, outside of being in some of the musical numbers, so what was the point of having him there? (At least in Harmony it was done to create a picture of survivor's guilt). Some of the later musical numbers too seem like they're doing a song and dance number that's somewhat reminiscent of what's happening in the scene, but doesn't directly tie in (a bit like Cabaret/Chicago), and I thought that could've also been an interesting approach to take given the circus element, but it didn't happen enough to feel like consistent storytelling.

I thought the music was fine, and at the very least it was nice to hear a different kind of sound for a new Broadway score, but it seems like it doesn't quite crack the code of what a musical theater score should do, outside of a few specific songs. I think if they had taken the Cabaret Emcee approach with doing certain circus numbers that would be somewhat tied into the plot as an explicit decision this could've worked, but that never felt like their actual intention. I liked some of the montage songs like The Road Don't Make You Young and Zostan (though I have no idea what this song is supposed to mean), and Easy and Squeaky Wheel both worked for me in different ways, but the rest of the score felt mostly like it was talking around a point rather than addressing it head on (like a lot of pop songs tend to do). Though I feel like this could be a score I end up listening to, even if it doesn't necessarily work in the theater.

I haven't seen Pippin, and while I agree the circus stunts aren't as impressive as Paramour, I do think they're integrated really nicely into the show, whereas Paramour really just sketched out a thin plot for the purpose of showing off the stunts. I thought Easy and the other part with the horse was beautifully done, and while a little long and unclear as to its purpose, the fever dream in act 2 was pretty cool to watch in how it was stylized. The puppets were mostly fine, not as bad as I was expecting. The horses in general I thought were decent and the animals in The Lion Has Got No Teeth were adequate, but I'm not sure if the mixed mediums for the elephant worked for me with the way that they'd show different parts at a time. The puppet itself was okay, but just looked a little off (maybe the head needed to be bigger proportionally?), though I do wish they had gone a bit more of the interpretive route just so they could have the elephant do more things.

I definitely agree that Paul Alexander Nolan is the standout of this cast--he definitely has the most stage presence and made The Lion Has Got No Teeth a fun song to watch despite the lyrics being fairly elementary. The only thing is (and this is probably more on the direction/book) he seems to exude menace a little too early. Based on the Wikipedia summary of the book, it seems like it should be a bit of a surprise that August has a capacity for violence and cruelty, but there feels like there's always an evil glint in his eye right from the beginning. I liked Isabelle McCalla and she's great in the role, but nothing about the role really stands out (what even is her act anyway?), and Ken Wulf Clark was on for Jacob in my performance, and I thought he was quite good as well, but the material just didn't give him room to really develop a character.

I don't really expect any super positive reviews for this (probably mostly mixed to negative) but I did think it was an enjoyable watch, and if I knew people who like seeing circus elements, then I'd probably recommend it to them, though I wouldn't necessarily tell people to go out of their way to see this show.

Is this selling well? It’s not on TDF

I have been misunderstood. It is much stronger, better than the production seen in earlier previews!

We all know the level of changes that can be made during previews are minimal. Sure the pacing can tighten and little edits here and there but this needed some major re-working. I have no problem with a bare bones approach and the sets and "home made" looking puppets didn't bother me. What confused me was the "memory play" frame-work which felt completely unnecessary as well as the fact that none of the songs actually advance the story. I left thinking "I bet this is a really good read", sadly it didn't feel like a story that benefitted from a physical production.

dramamama611 said: "I'm not sure I'd put too much stock into a possible shill. But as I'm seeing the show in a few days, I remain hopeful.

I hear what you're saying (and you might be right) but I do worry that if I ever write positive things about a show that I might be seen as a paid shill, if you will. That said, I didn't write this one so we'll see how the opening night reviews go!

Updated On: 3/18/24 at 05:51 PM

Exactly. The "professor" joined just today but has read all the comments previously and already revisted the show, where EVERYTHING has been magically fixed. It's all possible, of course, but unlikely. There have been other good or positive reviews without accuasations of being a shill.

It's not about it being positive, it's all the other stuff. And, Hope, I think you've been around enough to be able to say what you think without facing that kind of scrutiny.

I saw the show on Saturday night having never seen the film nor read the book and I really enjoyed it.

The story is compelling and kept me invested through out and curious as to what was to come next. I thought the book was done well and my only real issue was Act One was a long one and they kept almost faking out the audience with - THIS is the finale, nope - THIS.. nope, just kidding - THIS is.. almost the act finale.

The music was very pretty and I would and definitely will be listening to the cast recording when it comes out. Was it the most memorable score ever? No. Did some of the songs start to sound the same? Yes. But, enjoyable nonetheless.

The choregraphy, the puppetry, and the aerial work was stunning. I've not stopped thinking about the sequences with the horse nor the moment we finally got to see the elephant in full for the first time. Those acrobats and dancers are absolutely crushing it on that stage.

I thought Grant was wonderful and making such a great Broadway debut. I kept thinking about how he had such an ease on stage and how it felt like watching someone coming home to a place they always belonged. He and Isabelle had really cute chemistry and sounded lovely on their duet in Act Two.

Isabelle is lovely and does the best she can with a rather thankless role, but she sings beautifully and we do connect with Marlena as a character.

Paul Nolan is such a star and his character is so slick and controlling, but still charming. He sounds great on his big solo moment in Act One.

If I had one another semi-gripe with the book/frame work, I just felt like the older Jacob character got too much in the way. I had just seen The Notebook for the matinee on the same day and the way the characters were able to breathe a bit more independently of each other was missed here. I felt like while Gregg Edelman was wonderful, I just felt like that character got too involved in things that were moments meant for the young Jacob.

I sat in the front of the rear mezzanine which was a really great view and I didn't miss any of the aerial or acrobatic work.

If stage door is your thing, Grant, Izzy, Greg, and many of the ensemble members came out after the show and signed and took photos.

Overall, it was a very entertaining show and I would absolutely go back and see it again.

To those who thought my posts were a "shill," shame on you. Yes, I only joined the day I wrote my post because I do not typically post in chat rooms because of similar discourse. I felt I had to join and post because what people who had attended earlier previews described was not the show I saw. Fact. I thought people should know that. I never said, "EVERYTHING was magically fixed," as one person wrote. Another person posted, "We all know the level of changes that can be made during previews are minimal." I do not view as minimal the cutting and/or learning of new songs and dialogue as minimal changes. More than minimal changes during previews have been documented in many, not all, musical theatre productions. No, one does not redesign the set in previews or throw out an entire book, but substantial changes are why previews exist. A man sitting near me at the performance I attended turned to me after the show and said, "I'm sorry for crying. I have not cried in years." Fact. Something in the show obviously moved him. The audience at the performance I saw thoroughly enjoyed the show and responded viscerally with laughs, sighs, gasps, tears, cheers, as well as applause. What if they did not have that experience because of words they read here?

Let's compare the song list from 1st preview with the song list from opening night...fairly confident it will be the same...

dramamama611 said: "The score was not exciting and some of the writing was clunky, but I actually shed a few years at the end. "

I know this is a typo, but I'd pay quite a sum of money if I could 'shed a few years' at this show.

I enjoyed this, as well. It was much better than I expected, and the acrobats created some really beautiful stage pictures. For me, on the whole, it’s a much more successful romantic drama adaptation than The Notebook.

Updated On: 3/21/24 at 11:11 PM