Monday, January 11, 1999
Voices from the Deep
THEATER: After a successful run on Broadway,
a musical version of ‘Titanic’ hits the Ahmanson
By Terry Tang
Daily Bruin Contributor
Long before James Cameron dove into narrating his over-budget,
three-hour epic, the infamous demise of the "Unsinkable" ignited
the interest of veteran composer Maury Yeston and scriptwriter
Peter Stone. Because of their collaboration, Titanic became a ship
with Broadway dreams.
Now, more than a year after embarking on the Great White Way,
"Titanic" sails on to its first national tour and will anchor at
the Ahmanson Theatre through Feb. 28. Similar to its cinematic
counterpart, the musical found a vast audience despite gossip of
production problems and mixed reactions from Broadway critics.
"I’ve been told by people who were close to the movie that they
were very encouraged by our success," Yeston says. "Before the
movie opened, there were terrible rumors about their delays and
having trouble. When we sort of pulled it off and became this huge
sell-out, hit Broadway show, I think it gave a lot of the people
involved in the movie great encouragement."
In contrast to the grand scale of Hollywood studios, the stage
will not have to support a gigantic model of the original ocean
liner. Instead, theater-goers must envision their own ship through
the music and the characters.
"We try to harpoon the imagination of the audience to sort of
take the journey with us. And that’s what’s thrilling about a live
theater," Yeston says. "It lifts the imagination of the audience.
And they imagine a Titanic of the mind far greater than anything
they could ever see."
The idea to transform the tragedy into a musical drama first
entered Yeston’s mind when the actual wreckage of the ship was
unearthed in 1985. When the lyricist discovered that Stone, a close
friend, also had a similar notion, the two men collaborated on a
plot that would incorporate an emotional portrayal of real-life
passengers from first to third class.
Although some skeptics initially snickered at the image of
actors doing a song and dance to the rhythm of the Titanic’s
tanking, Yeston remained adamant that audiences would flock to such
a show. The lesson of the ship’s vulnerability especially hit home
for the musician when, three months after the ocean liner’s
wreckage was found, the space shuttle Challenger exploded.
"There’s the same story all over again – this unbelievable faith
in the infallibility of technology and ironically, a terrible
tragedy. How could we have done it again? It was so similar –
innocent passengers onboard, the fact that it was just a small
detail. I began to realize that the story of the Titanic is really
a cautionary detail for the 20th century," Yeston says. "I also
realize that these days, audiences really have a preference for
bittersweet tales like ‘Miss Saigon,’ held against the Vietnam War
or ‘Les Mis’ or even ‘West Side Story.’"
In order to breathe life into the show, Yeston read every
available text he could get his hands on, including letters,
personal accounts and investigative inquiries from England and the
U.S. Senate. As a result, the musical allows for more visibility of
significant figures like Colonel John Jacob Astor and the ship’s
captain.
For Brian d’Arcy James, who plays stoker Frederick Barrett,
learning about the real-life Barrett from factual resources gave
the actor more inspiration.
"It’s kind of a blessing and a curse to be playing a historical
character because you have the luxury of finding documentation of
what that person was really like," James says.
In the real world, however, many of the ship’s passengers were
lower-class citizens with dreams for a better, richer life. In
order to capture the appropriate styles of music, Yeston looked to
the optimism and hope that the immigrants carried with them on to
the awesome ship.
"I realized the kinds of people who would actually think that
they could create a ship that would defy the power of God and
nature and would never sink would have to be the British Empire,
late 19th century. So, I drew on the great symphonic influences of
the English symphonists, and Gilbert and Sullivan to a certain
extent, to portray this puffed-up, prideful point-of-view," Yeston
says. "At the same time, 1912 was the height of the ragtime era.
So, I reasoned that I should be writing a ragtime and these people
should be dancing to it when they’re having the time of their lives
on the second day out."
In spite of the wave of Titanic-mania that took moviegoers by
storm last year, staging of the ship’s dramatic perish does not
appear to bore theatergoers in New York.
"If people were all truly cynical and said, ‘Well, I know how it
turns out,’ then we wouldn’t have an audience," James says. "But
the fact is, people are magnetically and instinctively drawn to a
good story. And this one’s mythical. It’s one of those myths, but
married to the fact that it’s something that happened in the not so
distant past is kind of wild."
The production also received help from one loyal fan in the form
of Rosie O’Donnell, who is notorious for showcasing Broadway talent
on her daytime talk show.
"One time I came out and this woman and her daughter came out
from Baltimore. And she said ‘Well, Rosie told us to come. So, here
we are,’" James says.
"Rosie’s just nuts for the show. She can sing the whole score,"
Yestons says. "That’s just the kind of enthusiasm you can’t
buy."
THEATER: "Titanic" runs through Feb. 28 at the Ahmanson Theatre.
Admission is $30 to $75. For more information, call (213)
628-2772.Joan Marcus
The Broadway production of "Titanic" opened at the Ahmanson
Theatre on Jan. 10.
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