Original Broadway Cast, 2024 (Ghostlight) (2.5 / 5) Under the direction of Jessica Stone, Water for Elephants boasted an inventive set and a variety of entertaining circus acts on stage at the Imperial Theatre. The dazzling visuals were supported by music and lyrics from the seven-member band PigPen Theatre Co., which specializes in folk music, and this score leans heavily into that genre. The show’s book, written by Rick Elice, adheres closely to the 2006 novel of the same title by Sara Gruen. It presents a love triangle between the three main characters, and also largely concerns an elephant named Rosie, who can be heard briefly on the recording as well. The central character is Jacob Jankowski, played as an older man by Broadway veteran Gregg Edelman, who has sadly been handed the score’s duller songs. He sets the story in motion by recalling his time as a grieving young man who hitched a ride on a train with the Benzini Brothers Circus. Young Jacob is played by Grant Gustin in a performance that comes across as serviceable; his delivery sounds melodramatic in both the opening number, “Anywhere,” and the second act ballad “Go Home.” Throughout the show, Jacob frequently finds himself at odds with August Rackinger, the slick but cruel and murderous ring-leader of the circus, a role sung to villainous perfection by Paul Alexander Nolan. Although the cast album starts out slow, it’s jolted into focus by Nolan’s charismatic introduction of the circus: “The Lion Has Got No Teeth.” The triangle is completed by August’s wife, Marlena, played by Isabelle McCalla. Her seductively charming voice is featured in the song “Easy,” as she and Jacob work to tame Rosie, the circus’s newest addition. Jacob and Marlena develop feelings for each other while training Rosie to perform, leading to the show’s best number, a thrilling duet titled “Wild.” Gustin, Nolan, and McCalla are all compelling as the score builds to its climax in the confrontational “You’ve Got Nothing,” which proves that PigPen Theatre Co. can not only write great folk songs, but great theatre songs as well. Some of the tracks featuring the circus troupe — for example, “The Road Don’t Make You Young” and “Another Train” — are genuine knee-slappers as they blend a folk sensibility with theatricality in a very satisfying way. On the negative side, the show’s lyrics in general exhibit an over-reliance on slant rhymes, and superfluous songs such as “Funny Angel,” “Zostań,” and “Squeaky Wheel” don’t serve to move the plot forward or help us understand the characters.  — Forrest Hutchinson