the mommy avenger

I went into Water for Elephants not really knowing what to expect. This new Broadway musical had just arrived to Salt Lake City. I had no idea how in the world you turn a circus novel into a live stage musical. Puppets? Real acrobats? A literal elephant? I walked into the Eccles curious and maybe a little skeptical, and I walked out knowing exactly why this show earned so much buzz.

If you don’t know the story, here’s the setup: an elderly man named Jacob Jankowski wanders into a rundown circus lot, and as he watches the modern-day performers set up, the memories come flooding back. We’re swept into his past, back to the Great Depression, when a young Jacob loses his parents, drops out of veterinary school, and jumps onto a passing train with nowhere else to go. That train belongs to a struggling traveling circus, and Jacob talks his way into a job caring for the animals. There he meets Marlena, the star of the equestrian act, who is married to August, the circus’s charismatic but dangerously volatile animal trainer. He also meets Rosie, an elephant everyone has written off as untrainable, until Jacob finds the one thing no one else thought to try: kindness. What follows is a story about found family, second chances, and the idea that life can absolutely begin again, no matter how old you are or how far off the rails things have gone.

And honestly, that story is the least flashy part of the show, because visually, this production is a stunner.

I need to talk about the artistry, because it is genuinely some of the most beautiful stage work I have ever seen. The circus performers on that stage are not actors pretending to do tricks, they are real acrobats, aerialists, and tumblers who happen to also sing and act. There are performers flying on silks and straps, spinning on a Cyr wheel, tumbling across the stage in ways that made my stomach drop in the best way. And then there’s Rosie the elephant, brought to life through the most stunning puppetry I’ve seen on a stage, revealed to you in pieces, a trunk here, a massive leg there, until the whole gentle giant comes together right in front of you. It doesn’t feel like a puppet. It feels like an animal with a soul. Every time the ensemble moved together, blending choreography with genuine circus skill, I found myself holding my breath. Those scenes, the aerial work, the physical storytelling, the way movement itself carried so much of the emotion, were absolutely my favorite part of the night.

If I’m being fully honest, though, the music didn’t land for me the same way. It’s not bad, but nothing from the score stuck with me the way the visuals did, and by intermission I caught myself thinking this story might actually work even better as a straight play than as a musical. The book and the performances carry real emotional weight, but the songs sometimes felt like they were pausing the momentum rather than building it. That said, I want to be clear that this is a small quibble in an otherwise gorgeous production. The artistry, the physical storytelling, and the sheer craftsmanship on that stage were the real stars of the evening, and they alone make this worth seeing.

There’s a lot to take away from this story, too. It’s a reminder that the family we choose can matter just as much as the family we’re born into, and that some of the deepest bonds form in the most unlikely places. It’s a story about resilience, about people who have lost nearly everything still finding purpose and even joy. And it’s a beautiful picture of what patience and gentleness can do, Jacob doesn’t tame Rosie through force, he earns her trust, and that’s a lesson that applies well beyond the big top. Mostly, though, I walked away thinking about how it’s never too late to choose the ride, to say yes to something new, even later in life, even after loss. That’s a message I think we could all stand to be reminded of.

Water for Elephants is playing a limited run in Salt Lake City as part of the Broadway at the Eccles season, and because it’s a limited engagement, I wouldn’t wait too long to grab your seats. You can check exact dates, showtimes, and ticket availability directly through Broadway at the Eccles. If you’re a fan of jaw-dropping physical performance, gorgeous stage imagery, and a story with real heart underneath the spectacle, this is one worth building your evening around.

^{*we were invited to facilitate a feature, all opinions are our own*}