It’s an hour after the New York City earthquake, but Grant Gustin remains unphased.
The tremor was a familiar feeling for the actor, who’s been based in Los Angeles for the past decade. He decamped to New York with his family this spring for his highly anticipated Broadway debut as the lead of the new musical “Water for Elephants,” based on a popular romance novel by Sara Gruen.
Although his background is rooted in musical theater, Gustin has spent much of the past decade captivating audiences on screen. After launching his acting career with a national tour of “West Side Story,” Gustin was cast as a recurring character on “Glee,” which took him to L.A. “The plan was always to get back on stage,” he says. “But then ‘The Flash’ happened.” Gustin starred in the titular superhero role of the CW series for almost a decade, up until its series finale last year.
“I knew when it ended, ideally my first job would be on stage again,” he says. “My dream had always been to originate something, but I figured it was gonna be tough,” he adds, noting the typical winding path at show takes to Broadway — a workshop, which is often followed by a production Off-Broadway or in another city.
“This came at the perfect time where I really wanted to get on stage. We were in the middle of the SAG strike, and this role opened up, and they were already going to Broadway,” Gustin says. “I mean, when I flew to New York for my callback, the marquee was already up for ‘Water for Elephants.’ So they were set and ready to go.”
With rehearsals and opening night behind him, Gustin is settling into a familiar daily rhythm, anchored by meditation and family routine. A few minutes before the earthquake, Gustin had just finished the book he was reading and was ready to dive into the next one. “I think I’m going to read this next,” he says, holding up a copy of “Hamnet.” The rest of his day ahead: pick his daughter up from school, have dinner and then head over to the Imperial Theatre.
Gustin stars in the production as a young veterinarian student who hops aboard a passing train after a personal tragedy and inadvertently joins the circus, forging a complicated friendship with the ringleader’s wife. Surrounded by circus performers onstage, Gustin was glad to leave the acrobatics to the professionals, although he does get a trapeze moment toward the end of the show.
Gustin credits director Jessica Stone, who was an actress before transitioning to directing, for cultivating an environment that emphasized the collective over individual performance.
“Going in, I was very focused on doing a good job and what I had in mind for the character and worrying about, am I going to be a good enough singer? Are they going to think I’m capable of doing this?” he says. “It was really easy to shed the ego as the rehearsal process was starting because it’s so collaborative, and this show absolutely requires everybody to hold the person next to you up — figuratively and literally. It’s a dangerous show and it’s not easy, and every person in the company is doing something integral.”
He’s instead focused on keeping his attention in the moment, and staying connected with the other people onstage with him.
“If we stay present and focused on trying to achieve what Jess has set out for us to achieve, it’s all going to fall into place,” he says. “I think with live theater especially, that’s really important — but with all forms of storytelling it’s important to not get too caught up on what you’re doing and to focus more on the person in front of you,” he adds. “And then the story will just kind of take care of itself.”
Focusing on staying present is also helping him navigate the pre-Tonys awards push. The show is among the 18 Broadway productions that will have opened this spring ahead of the April 25 eligibility cutoff.
“It’s right smack in the middle of award season, and obviously none of that’s lost on any of us,” Gustin says. “We’re all aware that that’s happening. Like any human that does any form of art, of course you want success and the accolades, and for people to love what you’re doing and to reap the rewards of that,” he adds. But it’s also so out of your control. It’s like, if I focus on it too much, it’s just going to be too stressful and it’s going to get in the way of what I’m trying to do.”
“This was a lifelong dream and goal of mine to get to do this, and I’m doing it now,” he continues. “So I think when it’s all said and done, when my run is over, I’m going to be most proud of the process if I’m proud of the work I did and if I can lay my head on my pillow every night knowing I put everything into the show that I could.”
