We Speak Arts

Rashid Johnson Fills the Guggenheim Rotunda With a Poem for Deep Thinkers

Published

3 days ago

November 12, 2026

Artist Rashid Johnson standing before his work. Photo by Art Goer, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0).

Some exhibitions hang on walls. Rashid Johnson’s takes over the whole building. A Poem for Deep Thinkers, on view at the Guggenheim in New York from April 18, 2025 through January 18, 2026, spreads more than ninety artworks through the entirety of the museum’s famous rotunda, making it Johnson’s first solo presentation at the Guggenheim, the largest exhibition of his career, and his first expansive museum survey in over a decade.

The title borrows from poet and activist Amiri Baraka, and the show, cocurated by Naomi Beckwith and Andrea Karnes, follows a loose chronology of the Chicago-born artist’s three decades of work. Visitors are greeted outside by Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos, his 2008 steel sculpture, before encountering early photographs such as Self-Portrait Laying on Jack Johnson’s Grave from 2006, a nod to the first Black heavyweight boxing champion and to the artist’s own name and roots.

From there the ramps climb through the series that built his language. The New Negro Escapist Social and Athletic Club photographs give way to the Cosmic Slop paintings made from black soap and wax, materials Johnson uses as cultural signifiers, and to his black-soap shelf paintings stacked with books, records and shea butter. Higher up come the spray-painted text works, the Untitled Bust sculptures in glazed stoneware, and the raw grids of the Anxious Men and Broken Men series.

At the top of the rotunda sits Sanguine, a monumental gridded steel installation filled with plants, books and a piano, activated through ongoing performances, one of two new works brought to life by performers throughout the run. A never-before-seen 2025 painting closes the exhibition in a quiet space set aside for reflection.

It is a fitting scale for an artist who has spent thirty years turning everyday materials into meditations on Black identity, history and belonging, and the Guggenheim’s spiral has rarely felt so completely claimed by a single imagination.

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