Broadway’s ‘Water for Elephants’ to Close in December

“Water for Elephants” is concluding its Broadway run this winter.

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The musical will play its final performance at the Imperial Theatre on Dec. 8. At the time of its concluding show, “Water for Elephants” will have played 301 regular performances and 25 previews. It’s planning a national tour to begin in the fall of 2025.

“Water for Elephants” is the latest in a string of musicals to close amid tough times for Broadway, joining in the company of “The Notebook,” “Lempicka,” “The Heart of Rock and Roll” and “The Who’s Tommy.”

“Water for Elephants” opened on Broadway in March and received seven Tony Award nominations, including best musical and director, but it went home empty-handed. Variety’s critic Frank Rizzo praised the show, calling it “spellbinding entertainment” and saying the stage version “transcends the literalness of the 2011 film (which starred Robert Pattinson, Reese Witherspoon and Christoph Waltz), making it a unique and imaginative creation of the stage and live performance.”

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In recent weeks, though, ticket sales have been struggling and “Water for Elephants” has been playing to half-empty houses. The show, which features a sizable cast and plenty of acrobatics, is expensive to mount and will close at a loss, according to the New York Times.

Based on Sara Green’s 2006 bestseller, the romance drama follows a young man (Grant Gustin) as he decides to travel cross-country on the Benzini Brothers Circus train after the sudden death of his parents. The musical also features Gregg Edelman, Isabelle McCalla and Paul Alexander Nolan.

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