Review Roundup: Chamber Sized TITANIC Opens in Toronto

On Sunday afternoon, the previously Broadway-bound chamber sized production of TITANIC opened in Toronto. The production is currently scheduled at The Princess of Wales Theatre through June 21st, 2015. BroadwayWorld has a recap of all the reviews below, updating live as they come in.

Alan Henry of BroadwayWorld: "The true star of this production is Maury Yeston's score which is thrilling, tragic, beautiful, and brilliant. His melodies are simple enough to recall and hum as you exit the auditorium, but features impressive harmonies and complex segments reminiscent of Sondheim. The production is worth seeing to experience the music unabridged and uninterrupted alone. It's intriguing considering that it took a minimalist and story telling based approach of staging to bring back one of Broadway's grandest spectacles in a production in which everything perfectly fits. With a little trimming, this production could easily sail away back to Broadway - which was originally Titanic's next scheduled destination, before those plans were scrapped."

Martin Morrow of The Globe and Mail: "There are times during the long first act when Stone and Yeston's docudrama threatens to be undone by its own grand ambitions. With its mania for detail and scope, it can start to feel like a Wikipedia article with music. But it takes on emotional power in the second half. By the end this well-built Titanic has successfully steered a middle course, pleasing both history buffs and musical lovers alike."

Richard Ouzounian of The Toronto Star: "Perhaps the loveliest turn comes from Ben Heppner, in his musical comedy debut as Isidor Straus, with the radiant Judith Street as his wife, Ida. Together, they make magic out of their final duet, "Still", which proves Heppner can still score a bull's eye with his singing. If there's a minor fault to the show, it's that Southerland has played up the melodrama of Peter Stone's book a bit much, especially regarding the White Star Line executive, J. Bruce Ismay (played with an excess of moustache-twirling gusto by Simon Green) and his race for speed that led to the ship's demise, but apart from that, nothing can be faulted."

Wayne Leung of Mooney on Theatre: "While the original Broadway version of the show was a high-budget, big production mega-musical, the current Toronto production is a great deal more modest. The show currently on stage at the Princess of Wales Theatre comes from a recent revival in London directed by Thom Southerland and features a smaller cast and a "unit set" which serves as several different settings with only minor changes between scenes. The production relies on musical staging and choreography rather than physical sets and effects. While I thought this choice mostly worked well, at times the production does feel a little pared-down; the moment where the ship sinks is achieved by a simple stage effect that feels a little anticlimactic."

Glenn Sumi of Now Magazine: "The doubling and tripling of roles - doubtless to keep costs down - feels obvious at times, and the staging often is cramped and claustrophobic. And then there's the lack of ethnic variety in both the cast and story. In the origi­nal musical there are snatches of other languages heard from the third-class deck, and the poignant duet for the elderly Jewish businessman Isidor Straus (Ben Heppner, way under­utilized) and his wife, Ida (Judith Street), is often finished with the ritual stepping on a glass. Keeping these touches wouldn't have added much to the running time but would have made this show, which is about so much more than a sinking ship, feel more relevant."

TITANIC is part of the Mirvish 2014-15 Subscription Season, playing through June 21, 2015 at Toronto's Princess of Wales Theatre. In this new reimagining of the musical, director Thom Southerland uses an ensemble cast, meaning that everyone in the cast plays two or three or more roles in the telling of the story.

The haunting tragedy of the great ship is transformed by composer and lyricist Maury Yeston (Nine, Grand Hotel) and book writer Peter Stone (musicals Woman of the Year and 1776; film Charade) into a riveting musical in which the hopes and dreams of rich and poor, heroes and cowards, lovers and foes are woven together in a celebration of the human spirit.

In the final hour of April 14, 1912 the RMS Titanic, on her maiden voyage from Southampton to New York, collided with an iceberg and "the unsinkable ship" slowly sank. It was one of the most tragic disasters of the 20th Century. Based on actual characters aboard the greatest ship in the world, this stunning musical focuses on their hopes and aspirations. Unaware of the fate that awaits them, the Third Class immigrants dream of a better life in America, the newly-enfranchised Second Class dream of achieving the lifestyles of the rich and famous, and the millionaires of the First Class dream of their gilded world lasting forever.

The original Broadway production won five Tony® awards, including Best Musical, Best Score and Best Book. Now, British director Thom Southerland's acclaimed reimagining will come direct from London for its North American premiere at the Princess of Wales Theatre.

Visit Mirvish.com for more info.

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