Interview: Kyle Selig Is Ready to Jump on the High-Speed Train of Broadway’s Water for Elephants

“I’m calling from Times Square,” said Kyle Selig on a break from rehearsal for Broadway's Water for Elephants—the show he'll be leading beginning September 3. “I haven’t been here in a while.” In fact, he and his wife Erika Henningsen (the Cady Heron to his Aaron Samuels in Broadway’s Mean Girls) have been living that sunny Los Angeles life since the start of 2024. But New York City serendipitously called them both back at the same time.

While Henningsen prepares to start work on Tina Fey’s new Netflix show The Four Seasons, Selig will jump aboard the Benzini Brothers circus train at the Imperial Theatre, taking over the role of runaway veterinarian Jacob Jankowski after the show’s original star, Grant Gustin, takes his final bow on September 1. Selig has been away from the stage (with a few unconventional exceptions) since Mean Girls came to an abrupt, pandemic-induced end in 2020. But four years without the physical and mental demands of eight-show weeks has brought him back recharged and “confident about the fast-and-furious nature of dropping into this show.”

Even Times Square, in all its dreaded over-stimulation, has gotten some of its luster back: “It’s nice to remember what 11-year-old Kyle thought was so magical.”

Welcome back to Broadway! This is also a New York City homecoming for you, correct?

Yes! Erika and I moved to L.A. in January just to give it a try. We would fly in for the occasional audition, and this was one of those situations where you're like, “Oh, I think that went well.” Erika is about to start her new gig on Tina Fey's new Netflix show, which shoots here, so we were sort of moving back already anyway—and this is the cherry on top!

Your last Broadway show was Mean Girls, which came to an unceremonious end because of the pandemic. Did you ever get closure with that experience?

It was very unceremonious and disappointing. Nobody really knew what to do, and they had every intention of returning, and then it just sort of went away. I consider myself very lucky. There was another Covid situation, probably a year later, where I had to fly out to the tour because every boy on the Mean Girls national tour had Covid. So they flew me out and I did exactly one show of Mean Girls before the whole show shut down. It was kind of a gift and that goodbye that I didn't really get to have here in New York.

That’s a high-stress farewell.

A month later, I had to do the same thing in Book of Mormon. So the last time I was actually on Broadway was early 2023. I did two weeks at Book of Mormon after six years of not doing it. My pants still fit—that felt good.

So when did Water for Elephants first hit your radar?

My experience with the show goes way, way, way back. In fact, while we were doing Mean Girls and [PigPen] had written a couple songs for Water for Elephants, we went down to Florida and did a little preview of what they were working on. So I have actually sung these songs for people before! Fun fact: All the PigPen Theatre Company boys were seniors when I was a freshman at Carnegie Mellon.

What was their reputation around campus back then?

Everybody in my class wanted to be in the band. Everybody admired them. They were doing something nobody had really seen, and their music was stunning. I think I'll have a number of jealous classmates now that I get to be in the band.

Which of PigPen’s songs are you most excited to sing eight times a week?

It didn't exist when I sang it all those years ago, but “Silver Stars” is just one of the highlights of the show. It's what we've been waiting for between Jacob and Marlena. And it's interesting in terms of it being a love song because he's not saying, “I love this person and I'm going to tell her everything.” He's really saying, “I love this person and I'm going to keep this for myself.” Something I hadn't realized is how unique Jacob Jankowski is as a protagonist—especially in a musical. [He] spends the first 25 minutes not showing any of his cards. But he has such a soulful little soliloquy when we do get to hear from him, and the payoff is so great once you finally do realize what's happening with him.

How do you feel about picking up the Jacob torch from Grant Gustin, who’s put his stamp on this role?

It is Herculean what he's doing on the show, and he makes it look so easy in a way that's a little alarming to me. I'm like, “Is it easy?” And after one day I'm like, “Oh no, it's not easy. He's just great.” They posted my picture up backstage and he sent me a little message on Instagram. It was just so nice and so welcoming. I was like, “I'll be the one begging for advice.”

Do you have any interest in learning some circus tricks on the job?

I'm going to start with the blocking and the lines and songs, but then we'll see. I used to juggle. I don't know if that's still there, but I could find out.

It’s been over four years since you lived the eight-show-a-week Broadway lifestyle. How does it feel to be back at it after all this time?

There’s this phrase that's going around: “L.A. is great for your body, and New York is great for your mind.” I feel that so deeply. Last year, I celebrated my 10th anniversary of moving to New York City, and it just feels like home. This is the place that made me. It was nice to take a little break and feel good in my body for once. But I'm really excited to be back and have the opportunity to dive into some hard work.