Titanic The Musical In Concert
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Date Reviewed: 04/11/2022
The sinking of the luxury, “unsinkable” passenger liner, The RMS Titanic, in the early hours of April 15, 1912, is a famous historical tragedy that captured the world’s attention and became the subject of numerous movies, documentaries, and musicals over the years. Titanic The Musical: In Concert celebrates the 110th anniversary of this event and it played today as the first of four shows at the Melbourne Town Hall.
This concert comprises an all-Australian ensemble cast who recollect this legendary event through deeply moving stories from the real people on board. Esteemed opera and musical theatre star, Anthony Warlow, leads the crew with his commanding voice as the deeply caring Captain Edward Smith. He is joined by two other leads, the designer of the liner, Thomas Andrews (Juan Jackson); and Bruce Ismay (Kane Alexander), the owner of the ship. Each has a mighty voice and stage presence. Juan gives a powerful rendition of “Mr Andrews’ Vision” as the ship sinks and Kane, who shows little care about anything but his reputation, mercilessly sings “The Blame”.
The ensemble includes passengers of all classes and the performance highlights that nature does not distinguish between social classes and that everyone sinks together, regardless of status. The ensemble includes second-class passengers, some who survive the titanic, such as Alice Beane (Johanna Allen), and others who do not, like Charles Clarke (Callum Warrender). There are also third-class citizens, people that boarded the ship in the hope of a better life, like the Irish immigrant, Kate McGowan (Madison Green) and Kate Murphey (Daisy Valerio). Other survivors include an American socialite, Marian Thayer (Marissa Economo), and Eleanore Widener (Amy Fortnum), and then other notable patrons, like the co-owner of Macy’s department store, Ida Straus (Natalie Gamsu), and Isidor Straus (Martin Croft), who do not survive. In this two-hour concert, we meet a range of different passengers such as British sailors and deck crew, including Hitchens (Martin Croft), Officers Joseph Boxhall (Martin Lane), and William McMaster (Samuel Ward). The performance is supported by a superb orchestra comprising numerous instruments including reeds, keyboards, horns, violins, trumpets, cello, and double bass.
The concert portrays the peculiarity of British calm and dignified manner that people faced their grim ending. This is portrayed by the band members, who play until the end, and the owners of Macy's who calmly drink champagne and, in a very British spirit, underplay their internal turmoil in the mounting terror as the tragedy unfolds. We hear stories of the heroes, like Frederick Barrett (Jonathan Hickey), the chief stoker on the ship, who keeps the furnaces going after the iceberg hit and oversees over 70 people escape the vessel in a lifeboat. Jonathan craftily transforms also to play Benjamin Guggenheim, another victim aboard. Many of the cast, skilfully transform into multiple roles, namely Martin Croft, Shannon Cheong, Jonathan Hickey, Martin Lane, James Macalpine, John O’Hara, Samuel Skuthorp, and Glaston Toft. The changes are extraordinary.
The concert has minimal props and set, so much is left to one’s imagination. The focus is on the performers, their voices, and their words. Unfortunately, the sound was at times muffled, and I was grateful that I read about the characters before the show. Titanic The Musical is a reminder of the tragedy, an event never to be forgotten.