Real characters distinguish ‘ Titanic’ musical from film
On April 14, 1912, more than 1,500 people died in the frigid water of the North Atlantic when the RMS Titanic sank.
Inspired by the tragedy, composer-lyricist Maury Yeston and author Peter Stone conceived “Titanic,” which won five Tony awards in 1997, including best musical, book and score.
SRO Theatre Company’s production will preview Thursday and open Friday at the Columbus Performing Arts Center.
“What sets this musical apart is its ensemble nature. There isn’t a lead character,” director Kristofer Green said.
“No character is more important than another. ‘Titanic’ respects and honors the lives of everyone who was on the ship.”
Partly because of familiarity with the Oscar-winning 1997 film “Titanic,” some theater-goers tend to confuse the film with the musical.
“We get this a lot because the movie was so popular,” Green said.
“I always tell people that the film was a romanticized tale with fictionalized characters — Jack and Rose weren’t real — but the musical tells the story of history. It’s about the real-life people who were on the ship.”
The ship had three classes of passengers.
“Each class is represented by their own characters, stories and struggles,” Green said.
“Juxtaposed with the first class of millionaires and the entitled, the third class is mostly immigrants, poor but happy to be on the ship even though they’re sleeping amongst rats.”
Representing third-class passengers are the characters Kate McGowan (Kristen Basore), Kate Murphey (Kara Hancock) and Kate Mullins $25, or $22 for students and senior citizens; $20 preview
(Grace Rinehart).
“All three are Irish, board the boat together as strangers going to America to start a better life, and become good friends,” Green said.
In researching her role, Basore checked her character’s name and others against the ship’s actual roster.
“I found out that these were real characters who were on the ship,” Basore said.
“Kate McGowan, a young girl leaving Ireland, wants a better life. She’s heard that America is the world of dreams. She has an undying faith that where she is headed is better than what she’s experienced before.”
Basore considers her role more serious than any other she’s played.
“You feel more of a responsibility to make sure to do your homework because this was a real person,” she said.
“You want to convey a seriousness because everyone knows that not everyone will have a happy ending. … I think Titanic will always be the worst shipwreck remembered because it was the ship of dreams.”
Jesse Daniel Trieger plays Frederick Barrett, a stoker.
“He’s hardworking but somewhat lighthearted. Barrett makes jokes about how they get orders from above, but they’re the ones who really know how the ship works,” Trieger said.
“For Barrett, being a stoker is a dream of a new, better career. Working-class men went down into the pits to mine the coal, and the only way to get out of the pit is to shovel the coal on the ship. … Like everybody else, he’s hopeful, having heard the legend of this new ship as the new standard of travel and modern technology.”
Barrett was working in boiler room six when the ship struck an iceberg.
“He was right there when all the water was coming in,” Trieger said.
Trieger’s biggest number is his solo “Barrett’s Song.”
“It sets a tone for the whole show,” he said.
“The audience already knows what will happen, but the musical hints at an underlying awareness of fate. Barrett, the voice of reason on board, sings that they’re telling him to push the speed, and it’s not his call, but these ships are fragile.”
The musical resonates, Trieger said, because the sinking of the Titanic was a defining moment in history.
“To see something sink that people called unsinkable is eye-opening,” he said.
“It makes you think about the uncertainties and imperfections, even amid technological advancement, in supposedly perfect things.”