Review: TITANIC The Musical ⭐️⭐️⭐️ SLIGHTLY UNDERWHELMING YET WORTHY at Kunstlinie Almere

Sunday 21st of November 2021, Kunstlinie Almere. The Dutch premiere of Titanic the musical, produced by De Graaf & Cornelissen. Directed by Paul van Ewijk, in a translation of Daniël Cohen.

Let's go aboard the unsinkable ship, and take a journey on the most famous ship ever, the Titanic. Opening scene. The cast present themselves per class. First class, second class and lastly third. The cast looks amazing, costumes, hair and make up are on point. The journey commences.

We see a huge cast of 25, a wooden staircase and hear dramatic music. So far so good.

But there we notice the first struggle: having a cast of 25, it's hard to empathize with each character, resulting in empathizing with none. Kate McGowan (a feisty Linda Verstraten) would have deserved more of a back story, or a in-depth current love story. The falling in love with Jim Farrell (Alexander Boone) happened very suddenly, in a blink of an eye.

Captain Edward J. Smith (a strong portrayal by Richard Spijkers) and William Murdoch (Mark Roy Luykx) are both outstanding in their vocal performances. The latter is a perfect Mr. Murdoch, elegant and modest, with subtle acting choices.

René van Kooten plays Thomas Andrews, the ship designer who built and designed the Titanic. Steady as ever, I would have loved to see more of his story. The scene where the blame is being put on him by J. Bruce Ismay (Marijn Brouwers) is as interesting as it is fleeting. He beautifully plays the struggle though. Mr. Ismay as a character is very one-dimensional, headstrong and ego-centric as he is, Brouwers makes him the one you love to hate.

The silent act, as the elderly couple who come to terms with their imminent death, is absolutely gorgeous and heartbreaking. Bravo, Mariska van Kolck and Han Oldigs as Ida and Isodor Straus.

Dennis Willekens is most endearing as the 'dutiful until the very end ' Henry Etches.

The duet of Harold Bride, the radio operator on board (David van den Tempel) and Frederick Barrett, who works at the ovens(Brecht van Arnhem), is gorgeous. "The Proposal/ The Night was Alive" a beacon of hope and joy, a bridge between now and the foreseeable future.

The music is grand and romantic, with lyrical melodies and the proper amount of grandeur. The live orchestra, and thank heavens for that, helps to set the tone.

The decor however, is a huge and sober wooden staircase, with smart and multiple gimmicks, designed by Eric van der Palen. Understandably you would want to make this production your own and try something new. In this case however, you're asking too much of your audience. Missing the actual elements of the ship, the splendor, the glamour. The distinctions between first class and third class. The massiveness of the Titanic. It only worked well as the bridge of the ship, overlooking the ocean. Regardless, it would have hugely benefitting the show if we were swept of our feet by the supposed grandeur as well.

Titanic the musical has all the elements of being epic, but fails to do so by doing both too much and too little at once. Too much characters, too little in-depth stories. By wanting to show all the diverse characters, you don't know any of them enough to really care. With the underwhelming decor, the emotional journey from experiencing utter luxury to bitter despair has fallen flat. Especially these differences would have helped the audience to relate. The music and strong vocals of the cast make it worth the visit.

*Special attention for the following*
The sincerest congratulations to producer extraordinaire Hans Cornelissen, who was surprised by the greatest honor a Dutch citizen can receive. A 'lintje', a honorary ribbon by the Dutch King, right after the premiere. As of now he is "Ridder in de Orde van Oranje Nassau", for his lifelong contributions to the performing arts. Presented by the deputy major of Amsterdam, Hans was not only awarded with this great honor, the audience gave him the standing ovation which he deserves.

For more info: https://www.degraafencornelissen.nl

Photo credits: Roy Beusker

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