We Speak Arts

Amy Sherald Brings American Sublime Home to Baltimore

Published

3 days ago

November 12, 2026

Painter Amy Sherald. Photo by Philip Romano, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Baltimore is not just another tour stop for Amy Sherald. It is the city where she lived and worked for years, and where many of the sitters in her paintings come from. So when Amy Sherald: American Sublime opened at the Baltimore Museum of Art on November 2, 2025, it played like a homecoming: the most comprehensive presentation of her work to date, in the place that helped make it.

Organized by the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and curated by Sarah Roberts, the mid-career survey gathers some thirty-eight paintings made from 2007 to the present, presented at the BMA by director Asma Naeem with curators Cecilia Wichmann, Antoinette Roberts and Dylan Kaleikaumaka Hill. The arc runs from early, rarely seen works to the larger-than-life portraits that have defined Sherald’s career: everyday Black Americans rendered in her signature style, skin painted in grisaille tones against saturated fields of colour, meeting the viewer’s gaze head-on.

Sherald’s place in American art was sealed in 2018 when her official portrait of Michelle Obama was unveiled in Washington, and American Sublime includes the works that have since entered the national conversation, among them her portrait of Breonna Taylor and the 2024 painting Trans Forming Liberty. Painting after painting, the exhibition makes its argument quietly: ordinary moments, a man on a porch, a woman in a spotted coat, two men sharing a kiss, deserve the scale and care once reserved for history’s official subjects.

Baltimore answered in kind. Over its run through April 5, 2026, the show drew some 84,000 visitors from all fifty states and beyond, setting a twenty-first-century attendance record for the museum, with free Thursday evenings selling out weeks ahead. For a painter who built her vision in Baltimore’s studios, the city turned out to claim her.

We Speak Arts

Water for Elephants Brings Its Dazzling Circus Musical to Atlanta’s Fox Theatre February 2 to 7, With Tickets On Sale November 13

Published

2 days ago

November 13, 2026

We Speak Media

Water for Elephants musical production photo

Atlanta theatre fans get their chance tomorrow to step into the world of the traveling circus, as tickets for Water for Elephants go on sale for its Fox Theatre run February 2 to 7, 2027 — a New York Times Critic’s Pick that began its life right here in Atlanta before becoming a Broadway hit.

Regions Bank Broadway in Atlanta is pleased to announce that tickets for the North American tour of the critically acclaimed bestselling novel WATER FOR ELEPHANTS will go on sale Friday, November 13 at 10 a.m. The musical, hailed as a Critic’s Pick by The New York Times, will play Fox Theatre February 2-7, 2027.

After losing what matters most, a young man jumps a moving train unsure of where the road will take him and finds a new home with the remarkable crew of a traveling circus, and a life—and love—beyond his wildest dreams. Seen through the eyes of his older self, his adventure becomes a poignant reminder that if you choose the ride, life can begin again at any age.

WATER FOR ELEPHANTS is based on the critically acclaimed and New York Times Bestselling novel by Sara Gruen. The Broadway musical has a book by four-time Tony Award® nominee Rick Elice (Jersey Boys, Peter and the Starcatcher), a soaring score by the acclaimed PigPen Theatre Co. (The Tale of Despereaux), with tour direction by Ryan Emmons, recreating the original direction by Tony Award nominee Jessica Stone (Kimberly Akimbo).

WATER FOR ELEPHANTS features circus design by Tony Award nominee Shana Carroll (The 7 Fingers), choreography by Tony Award nominees Jesse Robb (Miss Saigon) and Shana Carroll, scenic design by Drama Desk Award winner Takeshi Kata (Clyde’s), costume design by David I. Reynoso (Sleep No More), lighting design by two-time Tony Award winner Bradley King (Hadestown), sound design by Tony Award nominee Walter Trarbach (Spongebob Squarepants), projections by two-time Tony Award nominee David Bengali (Good Night, and Good Luck), hair & makeup design by Luc Verschueren/Campbell Young Associates (A Beautiful Noise), puppet design by Ray Wetmore & JR Goodman, Camille Labarre (Into the Woods), puppet direction by Joshua Holden, music supervision and arrangements by Drama Desk Award winner Mary-Mitchell Campbell (Some Like It Hot) and Benedict Braxton-Smith (Kristin Chenoweth: For the Girls), orchestrations by Tony Award winner Daryl Waters (New York, New York), Benedict Braxton-Smith and August Eriksmoen, fight direction by Cha Ramos (Jagged Little Pill), associate circus designer by Antoine Boissereau, associate choreography by Paige Parkhill, and casting by The TRC Company, Claire Burke, CSA & Frankie Ramirez, CSA.

The WATER FOR ELEPHANTS tour stage management team is led by production stage manager Riley Gibson and is supported by Stage Manager Élianne Desilets-Dubé and Circus Stage Manager Stan Barile. The company management team is led by company manager Greg Bawdon with associate company manager Jose Amengual. The tour music director/conductor is Sarah Pool. Max Quinlan serves as the Executive Producer for the production.

WATER FOR ELEPHANTS won Drama Desk Awards for Outstanding Direction of a Musical (Jessica Stone), Outstanding Sound Design of a Musical (Walter Trarbach), Outstanding Fight Choreography (Cha Ramos) and Outstanding Puppetry (Ray Wetmore, JR Goodman, & Camille Labarre), the Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Director of a Musical (Jessica Stone), and the Chita Rivera Award for Outstanding Choreography (Jesse Robb & Shana Carroll).

GHOSTLIGHT RECORDS released the WATER FOR ELEPHANTS: Original Broadway Cast Recording, which preserves the show’s soaring score by the acclaimed PigPen Theatre Co., which is available on CD and all streaming and digital formats. The CD’s full-color booklet features production photography, complete lyrics, synopsis, and liner notes by book writer Rick Elice. The album is produced by Mary-Mitchell Campbell and Ian Kagey.

Broadway Licensing Global has secured worldwide licensing right to the critically acclaimed Broadway musical WATER FOR ELEPHANTS. The flagship musical publisher for the world’s fastest growing theatrical licensing company, Broadway Licensing Global, includes Dramatists Play Service and Playscripts.

WATER FOR ELEPHANTS had its world premiere in Atlanta on The Coca-Cola Stage at Alliance Theatre, running from June 7, 2023, through July 9, 2023. The critically acclaimed production had The Atlanta Journal-Constitution raving, “WATER FOR ELEPHANTS is a triumph! Truly dazzles.” WATER FOR ELEPHANTS premiered on Broadway at the Imperial Theatre, running from March 20, 2024, through December 8, 2024. The production was a New York Times Critic’s Pick, with chief NYT theater critic Jesse Green describing the show as “Huge”, “Heart-filling”, and “Emotionally vivid.”

PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE

WATER FOR ELEPHANTS will play a limited one-week engagement at the Fox Theatre as part of the Regions Bank Broadway in Atlanta 45th anniversary season from Feb. 2 –7.

Tuesday – Friday 7:30 p.m.
Saturday 2 p.m., 7:30 p.m.
Sunday 1 p.m., 6:30 p.m.

TICKET INFORMATION

Individual tickets for Water for Elephants will go on sale Friday, Nov. 13 and prices start at $49 with a select number of premium tickets available. Tickets are available at the Fox Theatre box office at 660 Peachtree Street NE, by visiting foxtheatre.org/water or by calling 855-285-8499. Group orders of 10 or more may be placed by contacting sales@foxtheatre.org.

For more information please visit: www.waterforelephantsthemusical.com