Robert Tully Talks ‘Water for Elephants’ 

Costa Mesa, CA (News4usonline.com) – The musical Water for Elephants takes audiences on a ride to the circus. And a circus wouldn’t be a circus without a ringmaster directing traffic and keeping order. 

For Robert Tully, who plays the cerebral role of Mr. Jankowski in the touring version of Broadway’s Water for Elephants, this is a place where he belongs.  

“I think it’s the message of the show,” Tully said during a phone interview. 

Playing through Nov. 22 at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa, California, Water for Elephants features heartbreak, spectacle and finding purpose that the main character seeks. At the ripe age of 66, Tully isn’t looking for that purpose. He’s already thriving in it.

For more than four decades, Tully has thrown himself into live theatre and the world of entertainment. His resume includes serving as a ringmaster aboard a cruise ship. 

And above all else, he also called the shots as ringmaster for Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, often dubbed as The Greatest Show on Earth. 

“The best part of being on a cruise ship and in the circus are the people you meet,” Tully said. “The people that you meet you get life points.”

With his circus background it makes sense that Tully is part of the cast in Water for Elephants. He says that the audiences can be prepared to catch a two-fold production. 

“You get to see the circus on stage and you also get to see the circus behind the scenes,” Tully remarked. 

Tully analyzed the show as being “unique” in its stage presentation with its repertoire of puppetry and acrobatic performances to go along with its humanistic elements. The amazing part of the show is that everyone on the casting side had to learn do something that they were not comfortable with doing or had not done before. 

That meant testing the waters on just about everything, including doing puppetry work and getting to know basic acrobatics, he said. 

“It was a collaborative effort from the word go,” Tully quipped. 

As a longtime thespian, Tully, who has spent the bulk of his career performing and working in theatre and playhouses in Orange County, describes himself as a character actor, someone who can immerse himself into any role. 

“I’ve always been a character actor,” Tully said. “You get to inhabit these roles that are unusual.”

To play the part of Mr. Jankowski, Tully basically has taken on a role that he’s a flat-out natural at considering his background of working in the circus. As the show’s narrator, Tully is essentially at home doing what he’s used to doing and that’s commanding an audience.     

 At any circus, it is the ringmaster who controls and dictates the narrative. 

In Water for Elephants, Tully shows off the quick wit, sly humor and self-assuredness that ringmasters tend to bring to the table. With that being said, like any other character he has played, Tully had to see himself in this role.      

“You have to find a reason to love and to accept and like your character,” Tully said. 

For forty plus years, Tully has found reasons to like the many characters he has portrayed. That explains his longevity in acting. 

“The biggest joy I have is to have done this for 45 years,” Tully said. “I have had the blessing of not being blessed with natural talent.” 

The veteran actor goes on to explain that another reason why he has lasted as long as he has in the industry is his approach to the profession of acting. He’s not in it for the glory. His advice for anyone who wants to get into this field is to be all in for the right reason.

Act. Just do it,” said Tully. “I take this work seriously. That’s the joy of it. Just do the work. Don’t try to be a star. Don’t act for the money. Don’t act for the fame.”

Lead Photo: Helen Krushinski as Marlena, Photo by Matthew Murphy for MurphyMade