Broadway Licensing, an imprint of Broadway Licensing Global (BLG), has revealed an update on the licensing availability of Broadway’s “Water for Elephants.” The 2024 Best Musical Tony Award nominee, which was recently acquired by BLG, is now available for licensing exclusively for high school productions.
“We are overjoyed to offer high schools the chance to stage ‘Water for Elephants,’ knowing they will bring their own innovative ideas to life through their productions,” said BLG chief executive officer Ted Chapin in a statement.
Featuring a Tony-nominated book by Rick Elice and a score by PigPen Theatre Co., “Water for Elephants” is based on Sara Gruen’s 2006 novel of the same name. The musical follows soon-to-be-veterinarian Jacob Jankowski, who, following an unexpected event, joins a Depression-era traveling circus, in which he forges familial bonds with both its humans and animals.
Following previews that began on Feb. 24, 2024, the Jessica Stone-directed musical opened on March 21 at Broadway’s Imperial Theatre, and closed on Dec. 8. “Water for Elephants” was nominated for seven 2024 Tony Awards, including a nod for Best Musical and one for Stone.
The news of the musical’s licensing update comes on the heels of an announcement of the its upcoming national tour. As previously reported, the tour will launch in the fall at the Hippodrome Theatre in Baltimore.
“We’re thrilled to collaborate with the producers of the first national tour,” Chapin said. “By concurrently licensing high school productions, together we are building the widest possible audience for this extraordinary new musical.”
In addition to Broadway Licensing, other imprints of BLG include Playscripts, Stageworks, Broadway on Demand and Dramatists Play Service, the latter of which recently acquired Delia Ephron’s “Left on Tenth,” Alex Edelman’s “Just for Us,” Cola Escola’s “Oh, Mary!,” Jocelyn Bioh’s Tony-nominated “Jaja’s African Hair Braiding” and John Leguizamo’s theatrical catalog.
Licensing availability for community and professional theater productions of “Water for Elephants” will be announced.
