'Water For Elephants' making its mark on Broadway with several Tony nominations
NEW YORK (WABC) -- From page to screen and now the stage, 'Water For Elephants' is making a mark on Broadway.
The show is nominated for seven Tony awards, including the coveted 'Best Musical.'
The show is part puppetry, part circus and part Broadway musical spectacle.
The story isn't exactly easy to translate to the stage. A lot of it takes place on a train. It jumps around in time, there are big circus acts and circus animals.
Director Jessica Stone, a ringmaster in her own right, was up for the task of bringing it to life on Broadway.
"I think the most challenging aspect was making sure that this story was always the star," Stone said.
The story is about a young man during the great depression, who after losing everything, jumps aboard a moving train. He finds a new home with a traveling circus -- finding life and love beyond his wildest dreams.
The show starts Grant Gustin and Isabelle McCalla.
"I've worked with a lot of stunt performers in my career. And these people are like the same type, where it's like, it's a different breed of human," Grant said.
The show blends dance, circus artistry, puppetry and music.
McCalla said she recently found out her family immigrated to Haiti to join the circus and attributed that heritage to the reason she feels at home on the trapeze.
"We say we choose the ride in our show. And that's kind of the metaphor for joining the circus joining a company of a Broadway show. It's understanding that this life is hard, and beautiful, and stressful and glamorous. And we wouldn't want to do anything else," McCalla said.
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