Review: High-Flying Feats in WATER FOR ELEPHANTS at the Denver Center

The national tour of Water for Elephants is the latest show to stop at DCPA as it makes its way across the country. I only just last year read the novel by Sara Gruen followed quickly by the feature film starring Reese Witherspoon and Robert Pattinson. As most things are, the original source material outweighs its movie counterpart, but the stage production comes equipped with some added bells and whistles to make up for the underrepresentation of live animals.

Generally speaking, I left the show feeling like it doesn't quite know what it wants to be - where it tries to be a Jack of All Trades it would have been better to be a Master of One. Between the musical stylings, staging, acrobatics, and puppetry, it was difficult at times for the eye to find a place to land. The music and lyrics by Pigpen Theatre Company have a bluegrass/folksong vibe that matches the time period of the piece and evokes comparison to Ingrid Michaelson or perhaps Sara Bareilles - both with Broadway credits of their own - but it all sounds like low-rent versions of their work and struggles to find its melody. I can't imagine Michaelson having a show on Broadway at the same time as this show helped matters. The only real exception to this is Marlena's solo in the first act, "Easy", that is beautifully sung by Helen Krushinski in the role.

Admittedly, I didn't think all the elements meshed well together, but individually these elements were pretty incredible. The acrobatic components to the show were simply outstanding and dare I say, death defying. The puppetry was, in fact, a great complement to the acrobatics especially with regard to the presentation of Silver Star the Horse (portrayed by Yves Artieres) and Rosie the Elephant (portrayed by Ella Huestis, Bradley Parrish, John Neurohr, Carl Robinett, and Grant Huneycutt). My only real complaint, though, is that the elephant puppetry isn't fully introduced at the time Rosie comes into the show - I think we can afford to see her sooner instead of the finale of Act One. Perhaps my favorite creative element, though, was the choreography by Jesse Robb and Shana Carroll. Their work is not only impressive, but performed excellently by the ensemble cast.

I want to largely commend the performers and crew of the show. Although I found some individual characters to be rather boring and lack development, I was nevertheless impressed with their tenacity. Among the notable standouts is Tyler West as Walter. Although a secondary character, West gives Walter a healthy balance of caring and charisma. Connor Sullivan as August also lives up to his own character's documented charisma while also capturing the wolf beneath the sheep's clothing. Sullivan has an almost Jim Carey-like quality that works well in the role. I largely find the role of Jacob Jankowski to be the most boring of them all - and please take no offense; I felt that way about the character reading the book and watching the movie. I just don't quite feel like his motivations are fully fleshed out. That being said, Zachary Keller has a lovely lyrical tenor voice that brings the character to life. 

The star of the show - outside of Rosie the Elephant - is Helen Krushinski's Marlena. Krushinski is truly captivating in the role and tackles all the right beats so masterfully. The show struggles to pull the audience in from the outset and it is Krushinski singing the word "easy" that has everyone “sat,” as the kids say, from that moment forward.