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A CurtainUp Review
Titanic<
By Elyse Sommer
The one moment that will linger in my mind no matter what the fate of the new musical Titanic is the scene in Act 2 when the passengers refuse to accept the seriousness of the wake up call that has brought them to the grand salon in their pajamas. They ridicule the alarm with a song "Dressed In Your Pyjamas in the Grand Salon" when suddenly a serving cart goes rolling across the floor--propelled by the listing of the mortally wounded ship. That image epitomizes the drama of the luxury liner that was launched as a symbol of a technological age of possibility and which ended up instead as a symbol of technological hubris.
That little cart epitomizes all the little could've, would've and should'ves that contributed to the ship's sinking--and all the individual lives that were sent into a tailspin when that proud liner began to list. Sure everyone knows how things are going to end, but that little cart, grips your middle and gives you the sense of being in the maelstrom of a terrifying event. What's unanticipated is not the outcome--known to anyone who hasn't been hibernating like Rip Van Winkle--but the realization that you could at any moment be trapped in a melodrama of failed technology. The mystery is that you can speculate but not know how you would act in a comparable situation.
For those to whom this particular disaster story, whether as movie or musical, translates into super-lavish spectacle, Titanic also provides a fair share of memorable, grander moments. The first twenty minutes assembles the large cast into a fabulous tableau representative of the crew and the first, second and third class passengers (quite reminiscent of the grandeur of another musical scored by Maury Yeston, Grand Hotel). The intensely melodic introductory numbers create a fine operatic sense of the real event's 1522 survivors and victims. Victoria Clark as a millionaire-celebrity-struck second class passenger promises a nice touch of opera buffo with her show-stopping musical commentary about who's who among the first class SWELLS. The three Irish Kates (Jennifer Piech, Theresa McCarthy and Erin Hill) also strike a promising note for some entertaining and romantic bits of business. The big-is-better-spectacle lovers will also applaud the triple-screen scene at the end of Act 1 in which the three classes are seen simultaneously.
If you've noticed my use of the word moment, you won't be surprised when I say that Titanic is a musical that provides many momentary pleasures that almost make you forget its shortcomings. To further accentuate the positive--but with notes on the vinegar-y flavor of the production:
The opening's variety of melodies, give the musical its one big-reprise number "In Every Age." However, this is not a show for those who want to exit humming and tapping their feet. Its music is the kind that needs to be heard several times to impress itself into your musical conscience. I can attest to this, having heard the opening songs at a >sneak peek open rehearsal over a month ago and experiencing a pleasing familiarity when I heard it fully orchestrated, and actually finding myself humming ""In Every Age" for several days afterwards.
All things considered, Titanic is a hybrid between musical and opera, what's best described as a popera. Unlike other works which fall into this category, the emphasis here is on choral singing (fully orchestrated and very fine choral singing!), with a few standout arias. These include the love duet "Still" sung by Ida (Alma Cuervo) and Isidor Straus (Larry Keith as the founder of Macy's department store); Michael Cerveris' tortured solo, ""Mr. Andrews' Vision" (sung with the boat now at a major tilt and grand pianos not just a lone serving cart slithering across the floor of the grand salon); and the number in which the ship's designer (Michael Cerveris), owner (David Garrison) and captain (John Cunningham) confront each other about responsibility for what's happening ("The Blame"). These numbers are also the ones with the best lyrics.
Not being big on the pyrotechnics of the modern mega-musical, I didn't find the less than splendiferous 1st class dining room and the backdrops and a ship model particularly off-putting or disappointing. In fact, since it's impossible for even the best-financed live show to compete with the movie industry's ability to recreate a disaster like this, I think the money spent on tilting the ship (which is very well done) would have been better put into figuring out a way to have a couple of other dance numbers. "Doing the Latest Rag", while a much needed pick-up at a time when the show threatens to become a tad tedious, isn't going to make this anything but a strictly no-dance musical. It's well choreographed by Lynne Taylor-Corbett and if the show has to live with a single dance, it's certainly the historically correct one to use since1912 was the time when "Alexander's Ragtime Band" was at its height. Still, this quick rag doesn't come off as a smooth fit but instead serves to make you wish for a few other dances. The three Irish Kates, for example, seem to beg for some sort of a dance.
While Director Richard Jones has apparently cut enough scenes during the tryout period to keep the low-energy scenes to a minimum, there are still enough of them in the middle of both acts to make any comments about his direction a case of damning with faint praise. The costumes created under the auspices of Stewart Laing are authentic right to the big, ugly hats (designed to fit over the Irish Washerwoman and other Big Hair coiffures of the day). The attention given to beading and other fine details are unlikely to be visible to anyone not sitting in the first eight rows. The Beales' garish, look-alike pin-striped suits make an apt visual statement about their far-apart vision of life.
With so many musicals steaming into town within days of each other, (three others are still on my to-see-and-review list), I can't at this moment tell those of you looking for one big musical splurge to see this instead of Steel Pier, The Life or Candide. Will you be wasting your money to buy tickets? It depends upon your expectations. If you want a staged super-spectacle reproducing this fabulous ship's every luxurious detail and depicting its crash and sinking with a super bang, you'd better take out a video of the movie made of Walter Lord's A Day to Remember or wait for the $180million movie extravaganza now in the making. If you 're the kind of theater goer who's moved enough by the big little moments like that lone rolling cart, you may be willing to overlook the less-than-perfect stretches for the momentary rewards. The musical score is lovely. The scenery is an interesting mix of splendor and simplicity. The creators' intention to portray the ship as a symbol of an anything is possible future as well as technical humble pie eating, has been realized in many respects.
The show is flawed, but not as fatally flawed as the ill-fated ship that inspired it.
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TITANIC
Book by Peter Stone Music and Lyrics by Maury Yeston Starring Michael Ceveris, John Cunningham plus cast of 40 Choreographed by Lynne Taylor-Corbett Cast: Adam Alexi-Malle /Quartermaster Robert Hichens Crew of R.M.S. Titanic Bandsman Bricoux Crew of R.M.S. Titanic 3rd Class Passenger Becky Ann Baker /Charlotte Cardoza 1st Class Passenger aboard R.M.S. Titanic 3rd Class Passenger Matthew Bennett /3rd Officer Herbert J. Pitman Officer of R.M.S. Titanic The Major 1st Class Passenger aboard R.M.S. Titanic 3rd Class Passenger Judith Blazer /Caroline Neville 2nd Class Passenger John Bolton / 2nd Officer Charles Lightoller Officer of R.M.S. Titanic 2nd Class Passenger Bill Buell / Edgar Beane 2nd Class Passenger Michael Cerveris /Thomas Andrews 1st Class Passenger aboard R.M.S. Titanic Victoria Clark /Alice Beane 2nd Class Passenger Mindy Cooper /Edith Corse Evans 1st Class Passenger aboard R.M.S. Titanic 2nd Class Passenger 3rd Class Passenger Allan Corduner /Henry Etches 1st Class Steward, crew of R.M.S. Titanic David Costabile /1st Officer William Murdoch Officer of R.M.S. Titanic 2nd Class Passenger Alma Cuervo //Ida Straus 1st Class Passenger aboard R.M.S. Titanic 3rd Class Passenger John Cunningham /Capt. E. J. Smith Lisa Datz /Madeline Astor 1st Class Passenger aboard R.M.S. Titanic 3rd Class Passenger David Elder/ Frederick Fleet Lookout, crew of R.M.S. Titanic 1st Class Passenger 2nd Class Passenger David Garrison /J. Bruce Ismay 1st Class Passenger aboard R.M.S. Titanic Jody Gelb / Eleanor Widener 1st Class Passenger aboard R.M.S. Titanic 3rd Class Passenger Kimberly Hester /Mme. Aubert 1st Class Passenger aboard R.M.S. Titanic 3rd Class Passenger Erin Hill /1st Class Passenger Kate Mullins 3rd Class Passenger Robin Irwin / Marion Thayer 1st Class Passenger aboard R.M.S. Titanic 3rd Class Passenger Brian d'Arcy James /Frederick Barrett Stoker, crew of R.M.S. Titanic Larry Keith Isidor Straus 1st Class Passenger aboard R.M.S. Titanic 3rd Class Passenger Joseph Kolinski /Benjamin Guggenheim 1st Class Passenger aboard R.M.S. Titanic 3rd Class Passenger Charles McAteer /1st Class Passenger 3rd Class Passenger Theresa McCarthy/ 1st Class Passenger Kate Murphey 3rd Class Passenger Martin Moran /Harold Bride Radioman, crew of R.M.S. Titanic Michael Mulheren /John B. Thayer 1st Class Passenger aboard R.M.S. Titanic 3rd Class Passenger Stephanie Park /Stewardess Hutchinson Crew of R.M.S. Titanic Jennifer Piech /1st Class Passenger Kate McGowen 3rd Class Passenger Michele Ragusa /Stewardess Robinson Crew of R.M.S. Titanic Ted Sperling /Chief Engineer Joseph Bell Wallace Hartley Orchestra Leader 3rd Class Passenger Mara Stephens /Bellboy Crew of R.M.S. Titanic 3rd Class Passenger Don Stephenson /Charles Clarke 2nd Class Passenger Henry Stram /George Widener 1st Class Passenger aboard R.M.S. Titanic 3rd Class Passenger Frank Carlson On Shore Andy Taylor / 4th Officer Joseph Boxhall Officer of R.M.S. Titanic Bandsman Taylor Crew of R.M.S. Titanic J. H. Rogers 1st Class Passenger aboard R.M.S. Titanic 3rd Class Passenger Clarke Thorell /1st Class Passenger Jim Farrell 3rd Class Passenger William Youmans /J. J. Astor 1st Class Passenger aboard R.M.S. Titanic Scenic Design by Stewart Laing Costume Design by Stewart Laing Lighting Design by Paul Gallo Sound Design by Steve Canyon Kennedy Wig Design by Ray Marston Lunt Fontanne 205 W. 46 St. (212) 307-4100. F4om 3/29/97; opening 4/23/97; closing 3/21/99 after a totls of 804 perfomances |
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Musical Numbers
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Act One
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Act Two
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