MUST-SEA SHOW?
Brandy McDonnell reviews Lyric Theatre's production of the musical “Titanic”
Introduced Tuesday night by director Michael Baron as the “biggest show ever at Lyric Theatre,” the rarely produced Tony Award-winning musical “Titanic” is a not-to-bemissed spectacle.
The sheer sonic strength of the 41 actors, the 58-person chorus featuring Canterbury Voices and the 22-piece orchestra under the direction of Oklahoma City Philharmonic Maestro Alexander Mickelthwate converging on the triumphant anthem “Godspeed Titanic” sent a wave of goose bumps up my arms during the opening night performance.
Although it earned five 1997 Tony Awards — including best musical, best book of a musical and best score — the musical often has been overshadowed by James Cameron's Oscar-winning blockbuster film, which followed a fictionalized story. Featuring music and lyrics by Maury Yeston (“Nine”) and a book by Peter Stone (“1776”), the musical instead focuses on a cross-section of real-life Titanic crew members and passengers.
The splendid score carries the show on surges of emotion: The elation at the grand ship's launch, the rising tension leading up to the iceberg collision and the heartbreak as families are separated at the life boats.
Regina Grimaldi steals scene after scene as social-climbing secondclass passenger Alice Beane, who slyly sneaks in a dance as the first class is “Doing the Latest Rag.” The struggle for control among Titanic's proud designer Thomas Andrews (Ashton Byrum), stubborn owner J. Bruce Ismay (Patrick Borror) and stoic Capt. E.J. Smith (Jeffrey Ambrosini) erupts into the blazing vocal battle “The Blame.”
But Stephen Hilton and Barbara Fox DeMaio, playing first-class couple Isidor and Ida Straus, who opted to go down together, sank any attempt to escape the operatic second act tear-free with their poignant ballad “Still.”
Fittingly, it is the humanity — the haunting tragedy of the more than 1,500 souls lost on April 15, 1912, the eyepopping assemblage of 120 performers on the Civic Center stage and the scope of the talents involved to bringing the epic story to life — that makes the Lyric's “Titanic” sail on gloriously.
Performances continue through Sunday. For tickets and information, go to www.lyrictheatreokc.org.