Stage Review - Titanic (BCT)
Stage Review - Titanic
Presented By: Bremerton Community Theatre (BCT) - Bremerton, WA
Show Run: April 05 - May 05, 2024
Date Reviewed: Wednesday, April 03, 2024 (Final Preview)
Reviewed By: Greg Heilman
If there’s one story we all know the end to, it’s that of the Titanic. The indestructible, unsinkable headliner of the White Star Line was the talk of the world as it embarked on its maiden voyage in 1912 from Southampton (England) to New York. Of course, I’m not burying the lead when I mention that the unsinkable was, in fact, sinkable, and did go down in the cold waters off Atlantic Canada just a few days after its departure. Much has been made of this event, of course, and the fact that the story is the basis of the highest grossing film, James Cameron’s true-ish epic, in the history of cinema doesn’t hurt. Coincidentally, the same year that Cameron’s film was released, a musical version of the story hit Broadway, winning multiple Tony Awards, including Best Musical. The two are unrelated, which is clear within the first few minutes of the musical, and what Maury Yeston (music and lyrics) and Peter Stone (book) focus on is quite different, as is the overall tone, from what was released on the silver screen. The musical version focuses on class distinctions of turn of the century England, contrasting them to those of the Gilded Age in America, where dreamers could, in theory, find any number of new opportunities awaiting them in the new world. There are parts of the musical that focus on the construction of the ship, and about the warnings of ice that were never heeded, but it’s bent is on presenting the human side, the search for hope in a new world, the dream of a lower class passenger being able to mingle with the elite, the worker in the bowels of the ship shoveling coal while he yearns for his love back home. All of these stories combine in the musical, accompanied by a sweeping score that feels like the waving of the ocean itself into a combined study of humanity and a story of love, loss, and hope.
Bremerton Community Theatre (BCT) has chosen Titanic as the latest in its 2023-24 season in a production directed by Rana Tan and with choreography by Stephanie Clarke that opens on April 5 and runs on stage in Bremerton through May 5. Rana has assembled a cast of 27, many BCT veterans, to tell this tale, and it’s a group that does very well by it. Rana is also the set designer, among her many other hats which include vocal director as well, and while most of her previous sets are characterized by the amount of intricacy and detail in their design, her Titanic set is striking for the opposite reason. The set resembles a set of white scaffolding almost, platforms and stairs, used to represent the entirety of the ship, the first class dining area, second class deck, radio room, and so on. Rather than apply the detail the bones of the set, Rana has elected to provide the detail through flies that drop from the ceiling (backdrops, lighting fixtures), or pieces rolled in from the wings (tables/chairs, pieces from the bridge of the ship). Titanic is a challenge for a designer in that the cast is so large, and because it’s generally a slow mover to begin with, using larger set pieces that change with each scene is just not feasible for pace and to be able to support the ensemble musical numbers at the same time. Most of this works here, though the cloth set dressing after the “incident” doesn’t seem to work as well for me as some of the other pieces, like the crow’s nest from which Frederick Fleet has his Paul Revere moment, though he’s of course not referring to the British in his, or the first class salon, or the bar cart that just can’t seem to stay in one place.
I mentioned that Titanic is a “slow mover”, and it is. The score is sweeping, and there’s not a lot that supremely energetic about it, but telling a human story of love, hope, and tragedy on a sinking ship is not something that one would readily associate with toe tapping music, and most of it is on the slower side, especially once you get past the opening number which, like all of the ensemble pieces here is excellently delivered from a group that produces a full and strong sound. This initial piece called “The Launching” is really made up of seven individual numbers strung together, it provides the setting for the entire story, and it introduces the audience to all of the principal characters, their individual backstories, and the actors who portray them. We meet Thomas Andrews (Eric Spencer), the designer of the ill-fated ship, Frederick Barrett (Erik Lawrence), a stoker longing for his love back home in England, Kate McGowan (Harley Lampkin), an Irish woman looking for a new start in America, Alice Beane (Kelli McAuley), a second class passenger on board with her husband Edgar (Kirk Ballard) who longs to rub elbows with the elite, J. Bruce Ismay (Wallace Ross), chairman of the White Star Line banking on the success of this maiden voyage, and the ship’s crew, Captain E.J. Smith (Dan Engelhard), 1st Officer William Murdoch (Terry McAuley), and 2nd Officer Charles Lightoller (Adrian deGroot), as well as the aforementioned Frederick Fleet (Skye Campbell), 3rd Officer Pitman (Daniel Smith) and Senior Steward Henry Etches (Drake Austin).
The creatives on this project have done an nice job with creating this tragic environment. Andrew Guy-Billups is responsible for lighting that aligns smartly with the emotional mood of the show that goes from hopeful to devastating slowly and deliberately as the event and the show progresses. Kevin Matthew’s sound provides a constant underscore that makes the Bremerton theatre feel like is ebbing and flowing with with ocean before he shatters the calm with the dissonant scraping of the ship against its nemesis. Stephanie Clarke’s choreography is more sweeping than precise, a good compliment to the music, and the work Kristi Ann Jacobson has done costuming a cast this large with a wardrobe that works is top notch. All of these creatives have come together to support the storytelling and a cast that presents this story very well.
Musically, the highlights for me are the ensemble pieces. Under Rana’s direction, this group displays an outstanding collaborative single voice. This isn’t to say that there aren’t individual highlights as well, there are a number of them. Kelli McAuley is excellent as the star struck Alice Beane, and the vocal talent she shows, especially in “The Launching” where she’s required to sing-speak pretty much the entire roster of travelers and her opinion of them. It’s great work, and she makes it seen effortless. And on the topic of voices that stand out in this production, Harley Lampkin’s Kate McGowan and Erik Lawrence are both very good with their precision and projection, and that’s in addition to Harley’s ability to manage an Irish accent while both speaking and singing. Add that to the quality of her portrayal of the “lead Kate”, and it’s a well rounded performance. Wallace Ross as the overly-enthusiastic Ismay, Eric Spencer’s engineer Andrews, and Dan Engelhard’s soon to be retired captain come together nicely in “The Blame”, while Terry McAuley’s Murdoch is convincing in “To Be a Captain”. Terry’s command of the stage makes it clear that his character is more than qualified to manage the ship. Another portrayal that stands out is that of Scott Ventrice’s Isidor Straus. Scott’s character is the co-founder of Macy’s Department Store, he’s got a good heart and a good deal of love for his wife Ida, played here by Leslie Engelhard. Their song together “Still” is perhaps the most poignant and loving moments of the entire show and very well performed by this pair.
There are a lot of versions of the Titanic story, each one seeming to focus on one or more aspects of its ill-fated maiden voyage, but few try to tackle as much as Titanic the Musical does, from the flaws in the ship’s construction, to the importance of the Marconi radio, all while exploring the human side of class disparity and the hope of a fresh start that the new world in America looks to provide. There is a lot of heart and emotion to this show, and under the direction of Rana Tan, the cast of Titanic at Bremerton Community Theatre presents that in a way that captures the true essence of this tragic tale. Highlighted by an ensemble that is full of talented individuals, but who all come together in a harmonious chorus with a full and strong single voice, this production of Titanic is a solid telling of a tragically familiar tale.
Titanic opens on Friday, April 5 and runs on stage at Bremerton Community Theatre through May 5. For more information, including ticket availability and purchase, visit https://www.bctshows.com/.
Photo credit: Kathy Berg
