Review: TITANIC THE MUSICAL at The Royal Theatre

If the RMS Titanic had the cast of TITANIC THE MUSICAL at the Royal Theatre, 111 S. Market St, in Benton, floating the vessel with their talent, it would have never sunk (spoilers). You have one more weekend Feb. 16-19, to catch this amazing ensemble before they sail away for good, and believe me....you DO NOT want to miss this powerful display of collective showmanship....get it? ShowmanSHIP. I'm serious, though.

The original TITANIC THE MUSICAL (story and book by Peter Stone and music and lyrics by Maury Yeston) came out the same year as the James Cameron movie but unfortunately were not linked, so there is no Jack and Rose in the musical. And though I am slightly downhearted by this fact, the Royal Theatre cast and crew (directed by Bob Bidewell) did not disappoint and delivered the essence of the people of the massive ship and its demise to the stage. Even though you go into the show knowing what the ending will be, the cast did a wonderful job evoking hope for a better tomorrow for their characters.

The show opens with a beautiful solo by Gregory Robinson, who plays the designer and builder Thomas Andrews, who is singing about the glory and massiveness of the Titanic.

The cast sashays across the stage in their period pieces and joins in on the excitement of getting to take a ride on the ship. When they whole cast sings together, the sheer emotion of it all is breathtaking, and though there were many memorable numbers, I wanted to spotlight some of the ones that really stood out.

Possibly my favorite song in the whole musical is The First Class Roster, sang by Mrs. Alice Beane (Shea Williamson) with assistance by Third Officer Pitman (Chase Albaugh). Whew....that lady nailed it! Her excitement to see first class was infectious and funny and wonderful!

I mean...who wouldn't want to mingle with the Guggenheims?! I also love The Lady's Maid Song, sung by the three Kates- Kate McGowan (Taylor Bumann), Kate Mullins (Michelle Drilling), and Kate Murphey (Angelica Ridgeway). There is so much hope in that song and in these ladies. The girls sang so expressively, you just want everything to work out for them. Also, The Blame, sang by J. Bruce Ismay (Greg Campbell), Andrews (Robinson), and Capt. E.J. Smith (Greg Blacklaw), is a tricky number that reminds me of Your Fault from INTO THE WOODS, which is another tricky small group song.

These performers are incredible. The ensemble work and couplings really bring the story of the passengers to life. It was fun watching Andrews, Ismay, and Blacklaw interact, be it congratulating each other, or sparring off at who's to blame.

My heart went to First Officer Murdoch (Adam Maisen) for taking the blame of the accident. It was sweet to see Frederick Barrett (Matthew Burns) convince Harold Bride (Mark Kennedy) into sending a proposal to his girlfriend back home. I fell in love witnessing the devotion between Isador (Perry Bland) and Ida Strauss (Kayren Baker)-may we all find someone we love so much that we choose to die with them.....but, hopefully, we don't have to make that decision. Another cute couple were The Beanes Alice (Williamson) and Edgar (Ben Barham). She fits right in his arms and looks up at him with pure joy, well, that is until he tries to reign in her social climbing. The big emotions came from the ship builder Andrews (Robinson). Titanic was his baby. He was so proud laying out the plans in the beginning, and he was frantic trying to fix the issue even when they were going down. That is where my heart really took a hit.

Choreographer Olivia Stephens had the task of moving this humongous cast around and make it flow easily. It was clever how they sectioned off the different sides of the stage for different levels of the boat. The construction of the upper deck of the ship was impressive. Credit for that goes to set designers Bob Bidewell, Matthew Burns, and Greg Blacklaw. I will say that this is the first show that I did not see the cast slide off into the imaginative water. Still, the ones that were holding onto the sides on the upper deck was sufficient in getting the point across.

The surprise of the show, however, happened right after the curtain call. Ben Barham (Mr. Beane) made a grand, daring gesture. He held up the audience, had his girlfriend Shea Williamson (Mrs. Beane) to come center stage, got down on his knee, and proposed marriage right there in front of EVERYONE! Good thing she said yes! Everyone cheered, tears were shed.....it was so romantic! Broadway World is thrilled to have witnessed this beautiful declaration of love!

Tickets are selling fast for this show. I urge you to get them online, because I'm pretty sure that there may not be any at the door. Visit their website at https://www.theroyaltheatre.org, for more information.

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