The importance of unspoken physical language is a theme that Carroll and Robb return to frequently. And when building out such a language, it helps to have what Carroll calls “that little glossary in your head,” a way to find the right pairings of physical movement with an emotional moment. Through the risks they entail and the images they create, different circus techniques lend themselves to different metaphors. Aerial taps into freedom and liberation. Ground acrobatics calls to mind community and interdependence. Three-high stacking evokes a sense of victory — or at least it always has to Carroll, who at one point in the process found herself needing to revise her personal glossary. During the show’s development, director Jessica Stone wanted to employ three-high stacking to depict the practice of red-lighting, in which Benzini employees are hurled from a moving train when their services are no longer required. But to Carroll, the violence of red-lighting clashed with her understanding of the three-high stack as a victorious, uplifting image. Eventually, however, she came to realize that, “oh no, if we make it about danger and about the risk and the stakes, we can change that imagery.”
It’s a lot of geometry. We did not make our lives easy. We do things on the stage that are kind of crazy to do, rigging-wise. — SHANA CARROLL, CO-CHOREOGRAPHER
This kind of collaboration, cross-pollination, and flexibility is nowhere more evident than in the show’s cast. Most circus performers are specialists in a particular discipline such as tumbling or juggling. But in the case of Water for Elephants, the show’s relatively small cast — there are only seven dedicated circus performers — means that versatility is at a premium. As a result, the artistic team was constantly on the lookout for what Carroll calls “unicorns,” performers who could not only soar on a trapeze but could juggle a knife and tumble as well. While the Benzini Brothers are fictional, the most successful real-life circus of the 1930s — Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey — is still around today, preparing to kick off a new tour in 2026. For Robb, the enduring appeal of the circus has a simple and personal explanation: “I know my impetus [in becoming an artist] was wanting to run away to Cirque du Soleil when I was 20 years old, and it was the idea of finding a community of like-minded people.” The way Carroll sees it, the power of circus comes back to mechanics. “If five people are doing a trick and two people are throwing and one person’s catching, [you can’t ignore] the trust and the fact if one person doesn’t do their job, someone dies. It really is just the most profound way of showing interconnectivity and interdependence.”
NEXT UP FROM BROADWAY
HELL’S KITCHEN Alicia Keys’ Hell’s Kitchen (April 14-26) is not just a musical — it’s a love letter to New York City, adolescence, and the power of finding your voice. Loosely based on Keys’ own teenage years in Manhattan Plaza, the show pulses with the energy of 1990s Hell’s Kitchen, blending R&B, soul, and hip-hop into a theatrical experience that feels both personal and universal. Critics have called the musical “a rousing delight” (Entertainment Weekly), “a glorious tapestry” (Variety), and “easily the best new musical at the Public since Hamilton” (TheaterMania). But Hell’s Kitchen isn’t just about accolades — it’s about connection. The story of a young woman navigating family, ambition, and identity resonates far beyond the streets of New York. Keys reimagines some of her most iconic songs — “Fallin’,” “Perfect Way to Die,” and “Girl on Fire” among many others — to serve as emotional anchors, offering audiences a fresh lens on familiar hits. As the show travels the country, it brings with it a message that’s both timely and timeless: that music can be a lifeline, and that every city has its own rhythm worth listening to. Hell’s Kitchen is poised to inspire a new generation of theatergoers — one soulful note at a time.
WATER FOR ELEPHANTS FEB 11 – 22 • BUELL THEATRE
ASL Interpreted, Audio Described, and Open Captioned performance: Feb 22 at 1pm
Kennedy Caughell as “Jersey” and Maya Drake as “Ali” in the North American Tour of Hell’s Kitchen, the hit Broadway musical from Alicia Keys. Photo by Marc J Franklin.