BWW Reviews: Circle Players & SCA's TITANIC THE MUSICAL

You have to hand it to Tim Larson: The man obviously knows no fear. As the director of Titanic, the Musical, he has assembled a cast of thousands, overcome a multitude of seemingly insurmountable obstacles and has persevered to deliver to the stage nothing short of a miracle: An altogether moving and totally involving production of the Maury Yeston-Peter Stone Tony Award-winning musical - replete with a sinking ship - amid the intimate confines of the Senior Center for the Arts' theatre in Donelson.

A revival of Circle Players' 2008 production, which was staged at the company's then-home at the Z. Alexander Looby Theatre, this "new and improved" mounting (a collaboration between Circle and SCA) is astounding in its sheer chutzpah. Who'd have ever thought a community theatre could take on such a daunting task and be so imminently successful in doing so? Frankly, it boggles the mind.

Larson, in tandem again with choreographer Kate Adams-Johnson, has beautifully staged the musical, capturing all the spirit and pathos of the actual Titanic story, while giving an artfully conceived mounting of the musical. With John Kennerly's expressive music direction and the expert interpretation of Yeston's score by his four-person band, it is a triumph any theatre company would be proud to claim. But that it comes from Middle Tennessee's oldest community theatre company only makes it more completely satisfying.

Designer Jim Manning - and Brad Kamer for his set design - should be applauded for figuring out how to construct a ship that sinks on the tiny stage at SCA. Clearly, this isn't Broadway and the budget is no where near the millions of dollars spent for the mainstem production of the musical, but if you are willing to suspend disbelief and to allow yourself to revel in the musical's richly told (and beautifully sung) story, you cannot help but be swept up in the emotions of the piece.

The production's design elements are made all the more impressive given the parameters in which the show must be mounted. Kamer and Manning obviously deserve all the acclaim they've justifiably received for the set, but special notice also must be given to Cat Eberwine for the herculean task of clothing that aforementioned cast of thousands (which, truth be told, is really a cast of dozens - the playbill lists well over 50 people in the cast). Not only is Eberwine responsible for the show's exquisitely crafted costumes (again, how did she do it on the budget she must've had?) but she also plays Alice Beane, a social-climbing Second Class passenger onboard the RMS Titanic, who has some of the evening's best musical moments.

Remarkably, given that this is a community theatre production (and often, with such productions, there is a certain unevenness among the various players onstage), this is one of the most consistently performed musicals we've seen. Across the board, Larson's cast performs both competently and confidently, bringing the various people on-board the doomed ship to life with verve and vitality. Perhaps most astoundingly, Larson has found a large group of men who can sing, dance and act with aplomb. Oftentimes, in community theatre particularly, men are hard to come by; I guarantee there are directors all over the country who would love to know how Larson is able to assemble such large and uniformly talented casts.

The production is filled with impressive musical performances and the rousing opening sequence puts the audience squarely in the action, providing the necessary sense of time and place to engage them totally in what is about to transpire. And anyone who says he or she is not moved by the show's finale - "In Every Age" and "Godspeed, Titanic" - just isn't being truthful.

Because of the ensemble nature of Yeston and Stone's musical, there are no clear-cut stars of the show, with the wealth spread among the gifted cast. However, there are some stand-out performances nonetheless, including Tim Bush, in the role of Captain E.J. Smith. Bush gives a totally convincing performance, looking for every inch of him like the man you'd want at the helm of your ship. David Arnold, as the ship's designer Thomas Andrews, gives a thoroughly charged dramatic performance that convinces you he is, indeed, that character. And Macon Kimbrough is all dastardly, snarling and annoying as the White Star Line's nefarious Bruce Ismay; you may hate the character, but you'll admire Kimbrough's performance.

Among the ship's crew, David Williams is particularly appealing as First Class major domo Henry Etches, crafting a fully-realized performance in very short order; Josh Waldrep is equally impressive as Frederick Barrett, the ship's stoker, and is given two of the program's most memorable musical numbers ("The Proposal" and "Barrett's Song"), which he clearly makes the most of; and Darin Richardson as Harold Bride, the ship's radioman, whose duet with Waldrep on "The Proposal" is both beautifully sung and staged. Also deserving recognition are Ben Gregory as Third Class passenger Jim Farrell, Earl Landree as Second Class passenger Edgar Beane, Trey Palmer as CharLes Clark and crew members Andrew Brooks, Timothy Finch and Josh Wagner.

Among the women on board - in addition to Eberwine - perhaps the evening's most delightful surprise comes from Mary Corby, as Ida Straus, whose voice is rapturously rich and clear in her second act performance. Barbara Arrowsmith is quite good as Charlotte Cardoza and Jennifer Klein makes the most of her role as Eleanor Widener. As Kate McGowan, the spirited Irish emigre longing to be a "lady's maid in America," Laura Higgins is superb, her characterization sharply on-target, while Laura Martin is lovely as Caroline Neville, the betrothed of Trey Palmer's CharLes Clark.

- Titanic, the Musical. Book by Peter Stone. Music and lyrics by Maury Yeston. Directed by Tim Larson. Choreographed by Kate Adams-Johnson. Music direction by John Kennerly. Presented by Circle Players and the Senior Center for the Arts, Donelson. At Fifty-Forward Donelson, 108 Donelson Pike, through May 2. For details, visit the Circle Players website at www.circleplayers.net or the SCA website at www.seniorcenterarts.org.

David Arnold, Tim Bush and Macon Kimbrough in Titanic the Musical - Hatcher & Fell Photography

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