Broadway's "Water For Elephants" Dazzles and Excites

By: Zach Lee

August 19, 2024

Courtesy Jenny Anderson and Natalie Powers for Jenny Anderson Photo | Pictured (Left to Right): Paul Alexander Nolan, Joe De Paul, Wade McCollum, Isabelle McCalla, Grant Gustin, Gregg Edelman, Sara Gettelfinger, Stan Brown

An experience with spectacular visuals, Water For Elephants is a must-see show on Broadway. From its dazzling opening number to a show-stopping stampede to its transformative set design, every aspect of this production draws in the viewer eye. Like how A Chorus Line is the show for dancers, Water For Elephants is the show for acrobats - Wade McCollum, who plays Wade the brawny, no-nonsense circus member, sat down with me to speak more about this acrobatic aspect as well as the entire process of putting together this extraordinary show.

"It's very different from a lot of shows I've worked on in that the circus arts and the theatre arts have a lot of corollaries, but they are really, in a lot of ways, disparate disciplines, they're very different. And the sort of locus operandi or the fulcrum point or the hub of the wheel is different. So the organizing principle of this show was how do we bring everybody together, and not make it seem as though it's multiple companies trying to achieve one goal, but one company," Wade said about WFE. The cohesion between acrobats, singers, and actors was very apparent from the audience standpoint. As Wade says, the "one company" aspect is something that as a creative, I was able to pinpoint would be a necessary challenge to overcome during the process - one that was not only triumphed, but surpassed.

McCollum, not only plays Wade, but is also the understudy for August, the toxic circus ring leader. We spoke about the differences between those two characters and how he developed the persona for two drastically opposite individuals:

"I think August and Wade are sort of two halves of a narrative element in the play being that Wade carries out a lot of August's despicable actions for him. And I feel like August has this well-educated, much more well resourced intelligence, brother. And then they're similar in that they have a core of they'll do whatever it takes. I do think that their ethical compasses are really different. I think August is a psychopath and a narcissist and borderline schizophrenic and has many personality disorders. And so his ethical compass is way different from Wade's - I feel like Wade is not a psychopath. He's a loner, and I think he has a lot of trauma, from the war and from his childhood. But I think August has leveraged those as his weapons."

Courtesy Matthew Murphy | Pictured (Left to Right): Gabriel Olivera de Paula Costa, Wade McCollum

The interesting challenge that faced McCollum as a performer is that August and Wade share many scenes together. Creating each role organically is something he spoke about a lot - keeping the mindset and approach separately; first, focussing on Wade [the character], then transitioning to fully creating August. We see this division in character very clearly in "You've Got Nothing", August's big villain reveal song near the beginning of Act 2. The motives of August and Wade work differently and are very apparent to the audience. While August belittles and takes the high road with his circus counterparts, Wade is faced with a fuming August, who attacks Wade in a slightly different fashion from the rest. Wade is hit with August's "You ARE nothing". We get a sliver of an insight to the pain that Wade carries from his past, as well as his strong reliance on the circus for some sort of livelihood. This all culminates to, without spoiling it, August's demands of Wade to carry out drastic consequences on some of the other circus members.

With a beautiful visual landscape and intense story arc, Water For Elephants was a unique experience that engaged myself and the rest of viewers for those short 2 hours and 40 minutes. Wade McCollum gives a passionate performance as Wade and leaves us wanting more. I cannot express how stellar this production truly is - every aspect down to the very minute detail was expertly crafted and beautifully executed. Bravo!

The production photos of this wonderful show speak for themselves:

Courtesy Matthew Murphy | Pictured (Left to Right): (1) Grant Gustin and the Cast of WFE, (2) The Cast of WFE, (3) Isabella McCalla and Boissereau

So, choose the ride! Tickets to see Water For Elephants on Broadway are available through February 2, 2025 at Imperial Theatre. You don't want to miss it!