​ If you are planning a trip to New York City any time soon, make note of the newly opened Broadway spectacle of Water for Elephants.

​From a quick google you can learn that Sara Gruen's novel, Water for Elephants, has already been translated into 43 languages.This suggests that the archetypical childhood dreams of running away to join the circus are very cross-cultural.No wonder that there is something called World Circus Day toward the end of April.

If you are planning a trip to New York City any time soon, make note of the newly opened Broadway spectacle of Water for Elephants.

Water for Elephants is likely headed for a record-breaking run on Broadway with tickets difficult to get.It's hard to imagine how this show can then be launched into a nationwide or worldwide tour.Are there really that many flawless circus performers and aerial dancers on the planet?

It feels like the casting directors lured every overqualified Cirque du Soleil performer to show their stuff We see them fly up and down ropes and get caught after being thrown before we are able to catch our gasping breath.Fast moving always, the dancing happens on multiple planes, with especially graceful and flawless aerial dancing on silks tightly woven into the spectacle and used to great effect to tell the story.The music is not as memorable, but there may be a few songs that make their way into the torch singer's playbook.

The action unfolds via flashback— and in this case both the older and younger lead character are often on the stage together recounting the tale.He was the circus veterinarian for what was described as the most historic circus tragedy of history— when the circus animals were loose and went wild in a stampede.

Water for Elephants is also a love story told largely via song.The plot sticks to the novel and isn't very complicated. Boy-meets-girl who is already married.Her husband is a cruel and unstable maniac.The storyline of marital abuse is more than lost in the circus sawdust.A rating of R for adult content seems irrelevant when you have a show that includes clowns, breathtaking dance, aerialists and gymnasts galore.

Photos: Matthew Murphy

Read the related  review --

Useful links

WATER FOR ELEPHANTS Review — Run Away and Join the Circus!

For tickets-- 

Water for Elephants ticketing website.