A Titanic pull on our emotions
Powerful story of doomed ship that was huge hit in London comes to T.O. with special passenger — opera star Ben Heppner
LONDON— It was a bright spring morning, but suddenly there was a chill in the air.
The hall of St. Agnes Church in Kennington was serving as the rehearsal space for the production of
Titanic the Musical that Mirvish Productions has brought to the Princess of Wales Theatre through June 21.
Director Thom Southerland was running the cast through the opening of Act II, which features the moment just after midnight on April 15, 1912, when Thomas Andrews, the designer and builder of the “unsinkable” luxury liner, has to tell J. Bruce Ismay, its strong-willed owner, that his ship is doomed.
“Titanic is sinking,” Andrews says plainly, shortly after the vessel collides with an iceberg and breaches six of its supposedly watertight compartments.
“Nonsense! God himself couldn’t sink this ship,” counters Ismay. “I assure you he can,” replies Andrews. That’s the moment when goose bumps creep up your spine and the never-ending power of this story once again makes itself clear.
A few moments later, when opera superstar Ben Heppner (who is making his musical theatre debut as millionaire Isidor Straus) forces his way through a line of strangers to ask, “Are we in any danger?” tears fill your eyes.
The tale of RMS Titanic remains that potent.
A floating palace that was intended to be the pinnacle of luxury and the epitome of safety started its voyage from Southampton on April 10, 1912 with 2,224 passengers and crew.
At 11:40 p.m. on April 14, while racing at above-normal speed (to set travel records demanded by Ismay) it collided with an iceberg in the frigid North Atlantic waters. By 2:20 a.m. the next day it had sunk. Only 710 people were rescued, leaving more than 1,500 fatalities.
Over the years, this tragic story has captured the imagination of numerous writers and filmmakers, but composer Maury Yeston felt there was a grand musical in the event. It opened on Broadway in April 1997, a full seven months before James Cameron’s record-breaking cinematic version of the event.
But though the musical won five Tony Awards and ran for several years, its giant cast and huge physical production kept it from being revived too often, although in Toronto a small-budget, highly imaginative production in 2006 by the Civic Light Opera Company showed that the material could survive without frills.
It was a random event, however, that led to this new revival, which conquered London in 2013 and is poised to do the same in North America.
On New Year’s Day, 2001, a young director and musical theatre fan named Thom Southerland attended the last performance of 42nd Street at what was then called the Ford Theatre, which was about to close.
“They had a giant box of souvenir programs in a box and the man said, ‘You can have the lot for $10,’ ” recalls Southerland. “I found one for Titanic. I saw pictures of this glorious extravagant show and I instantly rushed across to Virgin Records, which was still there, and listened to the recording.
“What I heard was so different from what I had seen and I wanted to reconcile the two. Time, place, emotion, everything was there in that music. No spectacle was needed.”
It took Southerland many years to reach the position of power needed to see his dreams come true, but years of working at the Southwark Playhouse, (where his economysized productions of shows such as Parade, Mack and Mabel and Victor/ Victoria) made him the hot young director to watch, put him in the catbird seat.
He got the rights to a version of the show that “included all of its power and drama and the stories of 57 people” but did it with a cast and an orchestra a mere fraction of the orig- inal’s size.
The critics raved, David Mirvish saw it and loved it. The rest is history.
Southerland feels that people respond so strongly to the work because “the hopes and dreams and aspirations of every single person who stepped aboard that ship are on display, while we watch what humanity does on that fateful night when they’re faced with certain death.
“The show begins with such optimism and hope. That’s why the ending is so tragic.”
Mirvish is a canny showman, however, and he knows that even a solid property needs a box office boost, so he came up with the inspired idea of asking Heppner to make his musical debut in the small but important role of Straus, not long after the singer had announced his retirement from the operatic stage.
“I like to say I had mixed emotions about leaving the opera world: joy and happiness,” quips Heppner.
“I didn’t like the constant travelling or the gigantic roles that all seemed like Mount Everest after a while. And I don’t have to be in front of the public, that’s not one of the things that drives me. It’s the music. I love making a connection with music and sharing it with people.”
Heppner has had to learn some new disciplines.
“Everybody warms up together. I wasn’t used to that. And they sing full out almost all the time. They also like to take one section of the show and worry it until it’s right. But I’m getting used to all of that.”
He also had to cope with speaking dialogue. He initially delivered one line as “Give it to me, straight man,” until he noticed it was drawing snickers. “Maybe I ought to move the comma,” he observed dryly, before delivering the line correctly as “Give it to me straight, man.”
Steven Henrikson, a friend of Heppner’s from the classical world who had a long run in The Phantom of the Opera, alerted Heppner to the “joys” of the eight performance a week schedule, unknown in the opera world. “He said to me, ‘Ben, you don’t know what you’re in for,’ but I guess I’ll find out.”
The official media opening of Titanic: The Musical takes place on Sunday. And Southerland believes the story will continue to exert its power over audiences.
“It hits us so strongly because it’s an event that no one thought would ever happen.” Titanic the Musical will run at the Princess of Wales Theatre, 300 King St. W. through June 21. For tickets, go to mirvish.com or phone 416-872-1212.