The execution is by director Jessica Stone, who wanted to make it extra special for the audience when they finally get to see the big reveal at the end of Act 1. She thought it had to be awe-inspiring, tender and the spirit of an elephant. "People were talking about how moved they were when they finally were seeing her in full and I was like, 'OK, I think it's going to be OK,'" Stone says.
It's been more than OK for Stone, whose show earned seven Tony Award nominations, including one for best new musical and one for her heroic efforts to seamlessly create a big Broadway musical with elements of circus. Stone knits puppets and vaudeville acts, songs and somersaults, as well as melds two groups of people who might not have shared a lunch table in high school — the jocks and the theater geeks. "It's a very humble, disciplined, hard-working, loving cast," she says.
"I overuse this metaphor, but it couldn't be more true: We literally and figuratively hold out our arms and catch each other." The show — adapted by Sara Gruen's popular 2006 historical romance novel and with music by the band PigPen Theater Co. — follows a love triangle in a traveling circus during the Depression.
The New York Times called it "a stunning, emotional production that "leads with movement, eye candy and awe." Variety raved that Stone brought "it all under one spectacular tent without forgetting its human — and animal — hearts." Her skill is on show with the first big song — "The Road Don't Mak.
