Water for Elephants is a touring theatrical adaptation of Sara Gruen’s best-selling novel that brings a mix of drama and live circus spectacle to proscenium stages. The production presents the story of a young man who joins a traveling circus during the Depression, using period production design, music, and physical performance to evoke the era and the wonder of the big top. This engagement plays at the San Diego Civic Theatre, a major downtown performing-arts venue known for hosting musicals, opera, and touring shows.