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REVIEW: Titanic the Musical at the Everyman Theatre Cheltenham
Cheltenham
‘Titanic the Musical’ opened to great success at the Everyman Theatre on 13th June 2023.
This musical was coincidentally created and premiered in 1997, the same year as the beloved film ‘Titanic’ starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet, but has no connections to the movie at all, except sharing the same name and taking place on the legendary ship Titanic. Anyone hoping for a rousing rendition of “My Heart Will Go On” will be out of luck, but the musical does contain some incredible original songs of its own.
The story is based on the real 1912 Titanic sinking, featuring characters based on real people that were aboard the ship. Themes such as class structure, equality, rising above your station, and flawed ambition abound in this musical, portrayed very well by the talented cast and crew.
One by one the characters introduce themselves, and the third class passengers sing a song reminiscent of “America” from ‘West Side Story’ about their hopes and dreams once the Titanic safely transports them to their destination. Those dreams never come to fruition for most of the passengers, and it’s this sad impending doom that casts a shadow over the hopeful first act.
The second act ratchets up the pace as the ship starts to take on water and the passengers’ hopes start to sink. The owner, creator, and captain of the ship point fingers and assign blame for the sinking in a song reminiscent of “Your Fault” from ‘Into the Woods’, but in the end, regardless of who is responsible, the ship will still sink. There’s a very sweet song between Ida and Isidor Strauss, the old man and woman who appear in pretty much every adaptation of this story, and their eternal love for each other even as they face their deaths.
Some characters you’ll love, some not so much, but throughout each character is a desire and hope for the future. Everyone wants to be noticed and rise above their station, especially in the second act during the frantic scramble for the lifeboats. There’s a very cute song from a radiographer pining for connection in the first act, mirroring his frantic SOS signals in the second act, searching for connection in the vast ocean.
The staging was also excellent, with the boat tipping up and frantic scene changes to simulate the urgency of the crisis. Please be aware that actors smoke on stage, and there are extremely bright lights and loud sounds throughout the performance.
Overall, ‘Titanic the Musical’ was a roaring success with the audience. One audience member queued up for ice cream said “the harmonies literally brought a tear to my eye” and at the end several others were in tears, so be prepared for an emotional rollercoaster of a musical!
Review by Leah.
The Mystery Reviewer
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