The epic folly of the Titanic — which sank on April 15, 1912 — still has the ability to incite wonder, awe and terror. A cautionary tale of how quickly promise and splendor can capsize into panic and death, the Titanic is afforded almost biblical status in our culture.
So naturally the 100th anniversary of the disaster that claimed 1,514 lives has opened a floodgate of material old and new: TV specials, the release in 3D of James Cameron’s Oscar-winning film and an impressive stage treatment by an ambitious little Atlanta theater that's starting to make waves.
That would be Fabrefaction Theatre, which moved into its handsomely renovated West Side space two years ago and is closing its adult season with the 1997 Broadway spectacle by Maury Yeston (music and lyrics) and Peter Stone (book). To be sure, the show that won five Tony Awards and launched two national tours is far from perfect: It lists on the weight of a cluttered cast and song list, and a storyline that is well-known to the public.
And yet I found myself swept up in director/choreographer Jeff McKerley’s Fabrefaction production, which solves most of the problems of mounting a large-scale work on a limited budget and builds genuine suspense from an age-old story with a foregone conclusion. Yes, it’s a little distracting to watch soloists trying to remain focused while being pushed around on a giant staircase, and Cecil B. DeMille would probably have trouble keeping up with the procession of Astors, Guggenheims, second-class social climbers and Irish immigrants who inhabit the various strata of this sea-going upstairs-downstairs tale. (Fabrefaction's cast numbers 46.)
But in this clash of captains and titans, there’s a story worth repeating. Love and tenderness, joy and sorrow, courage and cowardice: These essential traits of the human condition have little to do with status.
Captain Smith (the excellent Robert S. Wayne) and First Officer William Murdock (Daniel Burns) are the pawns of shortsighted ship builder Thomas Andrews (Trey Getz) and mercenary cruise-line executive Bruce Ismay (David Cater), who insists on gunning the engines of the "largest moving object" in the world.
And then there are the little people, all wonderfully portrayed here: Alice Bean (the delightful Paige Mattox) brings great comic relief as she goes down the list of first-class passengers, then tries to insinuate herself into their ballroom dances. Frederick Barrett (Dylan Hauck) worries about overexerting the newly minted ship and dreams of his girl back home. Lookout man Frederick Fleet (Chris Lewis) foresees the danger of icebergs, but he can't stop fate. Telegrapher Harold Bride (Daniel Collier) struggles to keep up with the demands of romance and, later, catastrophe. Irish rose Kate McGowen (Christina Hoff) desperately needs a husband, and happily finds a candidate in fellow passenger Jim Farrell (Bryan Lewis).
The show features a number of children, some wobbly English and Irish accents, a minimal set by designer and technical director Jeff Martin. But when the ship is going down and people are fighting for their lives, “Titanic: The Musical” is powerfully affecting theater. Holding this monumental musical together is no small feat. But as the music plays on, Fabrefaction's epic production glides for the most part gracefully into the night.
Theater review
“Titanic: The Musical”
Grade: B
8 p.m. Thursdays-Saturdays. 3 p.m. Sundays. Also: 2 p.m. April 28. Through April 29. $18-$27. Fabrefaction Theatre, 999 Brady Ave., Atlanta. 404-876-9468; fabrefaction.org
Bottom line: Small theater delivers "Titanic" to remember.
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