PNC Broadway Opens ‘Water for Elephants’ at Benedum (Tues., 3/31/26)

WATER FOR ELEPHANTS (musical) based on the novel by Sara Gruen; book by Rick Elice, and music & lyrics by PigPen Theatre Co. Touring company at Benedum Center. March 31 – April 5.

During the depths of the Great Depression, young Jacob, a student of veterinary medicine, has lost his parents in a tragic accident. Not knowing where to go, he hops midnight trains, taking a ride on what magically reveals itself by daylight as a touring circus company. The Benzini Bros.’ attractions are an elephant named Rosie, a trained horse, Star, (ridden by the exquisitely beautiful equestrienne, Marlena,) tigers, lions, and a full company of acrobats. Our narrator for the evening is an aged Jacob, older and wiser, looking back on his life. And so we learn that the top-hatted ringmaster August is controlling and abusive, particularly of Marlena who confides her fears to her famous horse. Of course, there are aerial antics, clowning, juggling and every sort of circus art to entertain us, but much of it serves as a busy backdrop to the simmering emotions shared by the show’s two leads. The music for Water for Elephants is folksy and foot-tapping, and the set, principally a circus tent, is extraordinarily theatrical in utility and design. Not the least fantastical are the circus animals which employ puppetry on a mammoth scale. You gotta see it to believe it! Step right up and focus your attention on the center ring for Water for Elephants as part of the PNC Broadway in Pittsburgh series. Visit the Cultural Trust page for tickets. Benedum Center, 7:30 p.m. 237 7th St., Cultural District. (C.P.O.)

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