Titanic - The Musical: Milwaukee Rep Theater
On April 15, 1912, RMS Titanic sunk after striking an iceberg during her voyage to New York City. The collision caused the hull plates to buckle, damaging six of the sixteen compartments designed to survive flooding if four compartments were breached. Of the estimated 2,224 passengers and crew aboard, more than 1,500 died, making it the deadliest peacetime sinking of a superliner. Titanic, a singing-and-dancing rendition of the century's most famous maritime disaster, is a musical with music and lyrics by Maury Yeston and a book by Peter Stone, was brilliantly performed at The Rep.
In 1997, Filmmaker James Cameron brought this real-life historical event to the world through the narration of Rose DeWitt, an upper-class socialite, bonded to marry a man she didn't love, and Jack Dawson, a third-class dreamer from Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin. The Musical, however, doesn't have the Jack character portrayed by Leonardo DiCaprio nor Rose, played by Kate Winslet. Instead, it focuses more on the crew, passengers, and the crucial decisions made by Captain Edward Smith, avoiding warnings of an iceberg ahead. However, when the ship's owner, Bruce Ismay, forces Captain Edward to shorten the trip for publicity purposes —it forces Smith to increase the speed of the Titanic — which ultimately causes its demise.
Directed by Mark Clements, Milwaukee Rep Theater, Titanic, The Musical runs two hours and 25 minutes. The thirty-eight-member cast performing close to thirty musical songs was outstanding. And although the intense dramatic emotion of life being lost and the suspense from Cameron's film production isn't visible in the musical, the highlights were the solid acting, outstanding broadway-like singing, and the exceptional orchestration by Joshua Clayton.
The musical itself doesn't sink; however, the biggest flaw is the disappointing staging of this production. The Quadracci Powerhouse has an immense stage, allowing for breathtaking scenic construction. Quadracci's magnificence platform could have wowed the audience by building the largest-than-life model of the Titanic or an illuminated iceberg; unfortunately, it missed by only providing a miniature model of the ship on stage. As a result, we get deck doors and port holes projected against the wall instead of tantalizing awe. Another missed awe-struck moment was the steel adjustment work platform used on the captain's bridge. These low-grade, cut-rate stage settings dramatically diminished the visual effect, which could have significantly drawn the audience more into this beautifully performed musical.
The Rep did provide detailed facts about how the luxury ship was constructed. As well as the voyage lost and saved passengers in the theater lobby. Hopefully, as the production continues, they utilize this enormous stage to draw the audience into the excellent performance. Overall, Titanic, the Musical merits a trip to Milwaukee Rep Theater.
Let's Play Theatrical Review Recommends Titanic The Musical at Milwaukee Rep Theater in Quadracci Powerhouse.
Rep Theater
TITANIC The Musical
Story & Book by Peter Stone
Directed by Mark Clements
September 20 - October 23, 2022
