‘Water for Elephants’ brings circus spectacle and found family to Seattle’s Paramount

A young man loses what he loves most, jumps aboard a train, and finds a new life with a traveling circus. But beneath the acrobatics, music, and larger-than-life puppetry, “Water for Elephants” tells a story about finding somewhere to belong.

The musical, playing at Seattle’s Paramount Theatre through Sunday, brings that world to life through theatrical storytelling and circus feats. Cast members Bob Tully and Connor Sullivan joined “Seattle’s Morning News” to discuss the production, its physical demands and the connections behind the spectacle.

Tully plays Mr. Jankowski, whose memories guide the audience through his younger self’s adventures. Sullivan plays August, the circus ringmaster and the show’s villain.

When young Jacob joins the circus, he meets August and the ringmaster’s wife, Marlena, its star performer. A love triangle develops, while August’s abuse of both animals and performers reveals the danger beneath the circus’s dazzling exterior.

For Sullivan, playing August means finding recognizable emotions without excusing the character’s behavior.

“What is the thing that is driving them that you can relate to?” Sullivan said. “And we all know something about feeling betrayed, feeling frustrated and stressed.”

A real circus performer in the play

Tully brings an unusual perspective to the production: He was a real circus ringmaster. In 1998, he worked with Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey, traveling by train across the country and to Mexico City.

Returning to a circus setting now brings back memories, particularly of the community that formed among performers from different backgrounds.

“The main message of this show is the thing I liked most about being on Ringling Brothers, and that is having a family,” Tully said.

The experience of living alongside people from around the world, he said, was the most amazing part of his time with the circus. He sees that same spirit of inclusion reflected in “Water for Elephants.”

Creating the show’s spectacle takes preparation. The cast performs eight shows a week, with acrobats arriving an hour to an hour and a half before each performance to warm up and rehearse stunts and lifts.

Onstage, musical theater, dancing, and acrobatics share space with animal puppets, including a full-size elephant operated by three puppeteers. One controls the trunk, while others inside work the legs. Mechanisms also allow movement of the eyes and tail.

The actors must respond to those puppets as living creatures, helping the audience believe the illusion.

The score, created by PigPen Theatre Co., blends Broadway, jazz, and bluegrass, adding another layer to the production’s mix of styles.

For Sullivan, one highlight comes toward the end of the first act with “The Grand Spec.” After seeing pieces of the circus throughout the story, the audience finally watches the larger performance come together.

“We perform sort of the whole circus for them, and they get to see the whole thing come together,” Sullivan said. “And it’s a really great moment.”

For audiences, that moment brings the production’s many moving parts into a single spectacle, with the characters’ stories still at its center.

Tickets are available through Seattle Theatre Group here.

Manda Factor is the host of “Seattle’s Morning News” on KIRO Newsradio. Follow Manda on X and email her here. 

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