'Water for Elephants' will be adapted into a musical

An elephant that knows Polish is headed for the Broadway stage: the circus romance of Water for Elephants is getting the musical treatment. Producers announced on Monday that they’ve acquired the rights to Sara Gruen’s 2006 novel to develop it into a stage musical with Broadway goals.

Gruen’s book charts the love story between a young man caring for the animals at the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth and one of the show’s stars.

“I am beyond thrilled to be involved in a creative process that is entirely new to me, especially with such wonderfully talented people at the helm to reimagine my work for the stage,” Gruen said in a statement. “When I wrote the book, I hoped people would think about the way we treat those who are dependent on us—animals, the elderly, the debilitated, as well as the power of love in all its forms, and it’s going to be amazing to see this message delivered in such an exciting medium.”

The novel was turned into a 2011 film starring Reese Witherspoon and Robert Pattinson.