The challenge to staging a production of “Titanic: The Musical” isn’t in retelling the familiar story but in captivating the audience in the grandeur and horror of it all without seeming trite.
A tour decades ago opted for multiple scenery changes to transport audiences among the three classes aboard the massive ocean liner and used a model cracking in two center stage to interpret its sinking. The entire magnitude of the tragedy was dead in the water.
Not so with the powerful production on stage now at Theatre by the Sea. In the hands of producing artistic director Kevin Hill, this “Titanic” delivers an emotional wallop from the ensemble opening number.
With one basic backdrop featuring two levels of the ship – bisected at times by a dark screen that casts sections into shadows or in dim red light (to indicate the boiler room) – and the addition of long tables and other furniture to designate the grand salon or Marconi radio room, Hill ensures the story is the audience’s focus.
That, of course, is where the drama, dreams and heartache lie. The musical overlays tales of a restrictive class structure – third-class passengers viewing America as a place where, “You can rise above your class,” a second-class that prickles with envy at being so close to the wealth of the first-class passengers, while the ultra-wealthy enjoy the largesse of the experience.
Wranglings between the ship’s architect, owner, and captain are also peppered across scenes. Capt. Smith hopes his last voyage before retirement will be smooth while owner Bruce Ismay wants to make headlines by making the crossing faster than ever before. Thomas Andrews, the architect, frets that his design can’t withstand the higher speed, and that there are not enough lifeboats if needed.
All that – plus an inexplicable yet collective willingness to ignore radio warnings from other ships of icebergs – portends disaster. The dramatic scene in which an iceberg is spotted from the crow’s nest and crew and passengers react to the news become ethereal in Hill’s hands. The first act closes with an air of romance amid the drama as dancers in the ballroom slow their movement and the lights slowly dim.
The second act of the two and a half-hour show opens in fog as women and children load into lifeboats and Andrews frantically redraws his designs to sidestep the ship’s fate on paper if nothing else. Although the ship is the same, this musical is not related to the James Cameron film about Jack and Rose, instead telling other passenger stories.
This cast is large but standout talent and an impressive chemistry infuse the show with a warm, genuine spirit. Memorable performances from Brenton Cosier – ship engineer Frederick Barrett, whose vibrant vocals shine on “The Screws are Turning” — and Evan Bertram as relatable second-class passenger Caroline Neville, with a melodic voice on “I Give You My Hand” buoy the production. And the audience loves to hate Ismay, played to smarmy perfection by Nathan Haltiwanger.
Theatre by the Sea’s “Titanic – The Musical” gives up a slice of history in an impressive, epic manner that will resonate with audiences long after then disembark. It is on stage through Aug. 15. For tickets, go to theatrebythesea.com.