Grant Gustin Will Depart WATER FOR ELEPHANTS on September 1

Grant Gustin will play his final performance as “Jacob Jankowski” in WATER FOR ELEPHANTS on Broadway on Sunday, September 1, 2024, at Broadway’s Imperial Theatre. Replacement casting will be announced at a later date.

WATER FOR ELEPHANTS won Drama Desk Awards for Outstanding Direction of a Musical (Jessica Stone), Outstanding Sound Design of a Musical(Walter Trarbach), Outstanding Fight Choreography (Cha Ramos) and Outstanding Puppetry (Ray Wetmore, JR Goodman, & Camille Labarre), the Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Director of a Musical (Jessica Stone), the Broadway.com Audience Choice Award for Favorite Male Breakthrough Performance (Grant Gustin), and Chita Rivera Awards for Outstanding Choreography (Jesse Robb & Shana Carroll) and Outstanding Dancer in a Broadway Show (Antoine Boissereau).

Two-time Tony Award-nominated and Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Award-winning director Jessica Stone’s “huge, heart-filling” production (The New York Times) features a book by three-time Tony nominee Rick Elice adapted from Sara Gruen’s novel, and a soaring score by the acclaimed PigPen Theatre Co.   

After losing what matters most, a young man jumps a moving train unsure of where the road will take him and finds a new home with the remarkable crew of a traveling circus, and a life—and love—beyond his wildest dreams. Seen through the eyes of his older self, his adventure becomes a poignant reminder that if you choose the ride, life can begin again at any age. 

The cast stars Grant Gustin (“The Flash”, “Glee”) in his Broadway debut, Isabelle McCalla (The Prom, Shucked), four-time Tony Award nominee Gregg Edelman (City of Angels), Drama Desk and Outer Critic Circle Award nominee Paul Alexander Nolan (Slave Play), Stan Brown (“Homicide: Life in the Streets”), Joe De Paul (Cirque du Soleil’s Dralion), Sara Gettelfinger (Dirty Rotten Scoundrels) and Wade McCollum (Wicked) and features Brandon Block, Chita Rivera Award winner Antoine Boissereau, Rachael Boyd, Paul Castree, Ken Wulf Clark, Taylor Colleton, Gabriel Olivera de Paula Costa, Isabella Luisa Diaz, Samantha Gershman, Keaton Hentoff-Killian, Nicolas Jelmoni, Caroline Kane, Harley McLeish, Michael Mendez, Samuel Renaud, Marissa Rosen, Alexandra Gaelle Royer, Asa Somers, Charles South, Sean Stack, Matthew Varvar and Michelle West.

WATER FOR ELEPHANTS features circus design by Tony Award nominee Shana Carroll (The 7 Fingers), choreography by Tony Award nominee Jesse Robb (Miss Saigon) and Shana Carroll, scenic design by Drama Desk Award winner Takeshi Kata (Clyde’s), costume design by David Israel Reynoso (Sleep No More), lighting design by two-time Tony Award winner Bradley King (Hadestown), sound design by Tony Award nominee and Drama Desk Award winner Walter Trarbach (Spongebob Squarepants), projections by David Bengali (The Thanksgiving Play), hair & makeup design by Luc Verschuren forCampbell Young Associates (A Beautiful Noise), puppetry design by Drama Desk Award winners Ray Wetmore (Spamalot) & JR Goodman (Gutenberg!),and Camille Labarre (Into the Woods), music supervision and arrangements by Drama Desk Award winner Mary-Mitchell Campbell (Some Like It Hot) and Benedict Braxton-Smith (Kristin Chenoweth: For the Girls), orchestrations by Tony Award winner Daryl Waters (New York, New York), Benedict Braxton-Smith and August Eriksmoen (Come From Away), music direction by Elizabeth Doran, fight direction by Drama Desk Award winner Cha Ramos (Jagged Little Pill), production stage management by Timothy R. Semon (Company), and casting by Tara Rubin Casting. 

WATER FOR ELEPHANTS is produced by Peter Schneider, Jennifer Costello, Grove Entertainment, Frank Marshall, Isaac Robert Hurwitz, Seth A. Goldstein, Jane Bergère, Elizabeth Armstrong, Jason M. Brady, Carl & Jennifer Pasbjerg, Erica Rotstein & Crista Marie Jackson, Jana Bezdek & Jen Hoguet, John H. Tyson, Rich Entertainment Group, Jeremiah J. Harris, John Gore Organization, Jeff & Shannon Fallick, Patti & Mike Sullivan, Rodney Rigby, Larry Lelli, Bonnie Feld, Yonge Street Theatricals, Larry J. Kroll, The Shubert Organization, Nederlander Presentations, Nancy Gibbs, Jack Lane, Amy & PJ Lampi, Gwen Arment & Vasi Laurence, Mark Parkman, Fairview Productions, Nothing Ventured Productions, Pam Hurst-Della Pietra & Stephen Della Pietra, Steven Spielberg & Kate Capshaw, Glasshouse USA, Willette & Manny Klausner, John Paterakis, Hope Tschopik Schneider, Patty Baker, The Burcaws & Q’d Up Productions , Crescent Road, Cynthia Stroum , Sally Jacobs & Warren Baker, Tawnia Knox & Stuart Snyder, Madison Wells Live & Takonkiet Viravan, Terry H. Morgenthaler, Pamela Moschetti, Gabrielle Palitz & Fahs Productions, The Roehl Family & Chema Verduzco, Shapiro Jensen Schroeder , Tre Amici Productions, We Eat Dreams Productions , Rachel Weinstein, Margot Astrachan, Maik Klokow, and Mehr-BB Entertainment.