Grant Gustin wears a lot of hats. He is an actor and a singer. The actor is widely applauded and recognized for his portrayal of Barry Allen in Flash. He recently retired from his beloved role in Flash as he felt tired of playing the role. Now Grant Gustin is headed towards an exciting new chapter in his life. Just last month, Grant made his big Broadway debut with the show Water for Elephants. In an interview with People, Grant Gustin gets candid about his upcoming Broadway debut and reveals that it is physically demanding.
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Grant Gustin opens up about working on his Broadway debut, Water for Elephants
Grant Gustin’s debut Broadway performance is far more difficult than being a superhero. The 34-year-old Flash alum made his Broadway debut as protagonist Jacob Jankowski in the new Water for Elephants musical on March 21. In a recent interview with People, he revealed that there is no competition for which role demands him to expend more energy.
Gustin told people, “This Broadway show is for sure more physically demanding. I mean, with Flash and any film like that, I had a stunt double the entire time. Cody Laudan was my stunt double throughout Flash, and he was incredible.”
Recalling his superhero days, the actor said, “The hardest things I would do on the show are run from time to time, throw myself on the ground, fall in fights, and so on.” The actor then opened up about performing in front of a live audience. He said that doing it live in front of an audience eight times a week requires much more of him than his prior cinematic parts. He then added, “Specific parts of your body are taking the same beating over and over again, so that’s the hardest part of your body.”
Grant Gustin also opened up about his vocal challenges on his Broadway debut
Gustin Grant stars in Water for Elephants as Jankowski, a young veterinary student who, after being forced to quit school, works as an animal caretaker for a touring circus. In the dynamic show, he can be seen moving, climbing, and dancing through various different sets, as well as performing acrobatic wire acts and circus tricks.
Moving on to his vocal challenges, in the same interview with People, he admitted that his singing and vocal performance in the production are very taxing. The actor said, “You have to really take care of your general health; make sure you’re getting sleep, drinking a lot of water, and resting your voice when you can because you’re singing a hard show.”
He further added, “We’re also screaming a lot during the performance. There’s a lot of yelling dialogue. Then Isabelle McCalla and I literally scream in each other’s faces just before I start singing a song. So it’s rather taxing on the chords and the body.” The actor acknowledged that he’s never been someone who’s very confident in his singing, but with practice, it’s been easier for him to deal with the vocal demands each night.
Meanwhile, along with Gustin and McCalla as Jacob and Marlena, the musical also features four-time Tony Award nominees Gregg Edelman, Drama Desk, Paul Alexander Nolan, Stan Brown, Joe De Paul, Sara Gettelfinger, and Wade McCollum. The Tony-nominated director Jessica Stone directs the Broadway show, which has music and lyrics by the musical group PigPen Theatre Co.
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