The cast of “Titanic” at Maine State Music Theatre in Brunswick. Photos by Jared Morneau Photography
Many folks are familiar with the saga of the Titanic’s ill-fated 1912 voyage from England toward the United States through the film starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet. But slightly ahead of the release of the film in 1997, a musical about the mega-ship plotted a different course, now playing out at Maine State Music Theatre in Brunswick.
“Titanic,” by Peter Sone and Maury Yeston, doesn’t focus on a single torrid romance aboard ship, though there are a few of those sketched out. The ship itself and its overall assemblage of diverse “souls” onboard are highlighted in this telling of what happened on that legendary voyage.
Maine State’s co-production with the Fulton Theatre of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, plays like a visually arresting history lesson set to some very good music. There are some sweet romantic elements and a few, just a few, laughs included to help humanize the two-hour-plus show.
Using drop-down texts to provide chronology, projected graphics to illustrate the ship’s design, and front-of-the-stage narrative interludes to tie it all together, the factual elements of the story are studiously recounted. Solo and ensemble musical numbers then add lyricism to the tale of the “floating city” which was meant to be a veritable “ship of dreams.”
The large cast of period costumed performers on the (at times, slightly crowded) sets, which take you from the bridge to the boiler room and around the ship on a turning stage, are first rate in song and dance numbers (“In Every Age,” “Doing the Latest Rag,” “We’ll Meet Tomorrow”) under the direction and choreography of Marc Robin. A string-focused, six-piece orchestra in the wings adds elegance to the sense of an epic story being told.
The cast of “Titanic” at Maine State Music Theatre in Brunswick.
Characters, divided into groups of those who planned and designed the Titanic, those who commanded and controlled the vessel, those who served the passengers, and those passengers themselves, add some poignant details to the storytelling. From wealthy businessmen and their spouses to poor, below-deck folk looking to find a “new world” in America, to those who straddle those two extremes, everyone gets a moment or two to shine through well-wrought musical expressions of hope, love and longing.
Michael Nigro, Kevin Earley, Carolyn Anne Miller, Stella Kim, Eli Weary, Matthew Hydzik, Blake Hammond and Charis Leos are but a few of the standout performers. Leos, a Maine State Music Theatre favorite over the years, adds welcome comic relief as an irrepressible social climber.
The tragic end makes the second act much darker than the first. But then “Titanic,” though engrossing in its own way, ultimately takes us on a very sad journey.
Steve Feeney is a freelance writer who lives in Portland.
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