North Shore Music Theatre's 'Titanic: The Musical': A Stirring Tribute

Remember the Titanic.

All aboard North Shore Music Theatre’s performance of Titanic: The Musical. The story recounts the tragedy of the Titanic when it struck an iceberg in April 1912. Carrying thousands of passengers, this fateful night submerges in confrontations, panic, and loss.

I’ve been a massive Titanic fanatic since I was a kid, collecting books, watching countless films, and studying every fact about the ship. North Shore Music Theatre’s Titanic: The Musical is a stirring tribute. This emotional and powerful musical honors the lives of its ambitious passengers and Titanic’s enduring legacy.

A talented cast with marvelous vocals brought the stories of passengers to life onstage. Since the start of my Titanic journey, the stories of the passengers have always fascinated me the most. There’s not just one story from this night. Through these portrayals, the character’s interactions form poignant narratives of their experiences onboard the ship.

No part is ever small in the theater, especially in a show like Titanic. Several actors had a majority of roles, playing historical figures like Captain E.J. Smith (Tom Galantich), J. Bruce Ismay (Bronson Norris Murphy), and wireless operator, Harold Bride (Mark Mitrano).

The musical follows several stories from passengers accommodated in first, second, and third class. Kevin B. McGlynn and Mary Callahan were excellent as Isador and Ida Straus, a notable couple who refused to part in the sinking. I felt tears during their song, ‘Still.’

Alice Beane (Carlyn Connolly) was funny as an exuberant second-class passenger obsessed with investigating facts about the first class, pestering her husband, Edgar (Kevin Patrick Martin). He did have the funniest response to his wife’s demands.

As for the third-class passengers (or steerage), they weren’t so fortunate in the fateful night, but their dreams and ambitions never stopped. ‘Lady’s Maid’ sung by Kate McGowen (Leslie Jackson) and other steerage passengers was a poignant anthem.

Orchestrated by Milton Granger, the musical’s score is rich and operatic. ‘Godspeed Titanic’ is a lovely number sung twice throughout the show, both with different tones. From dance-hopping numbers like ‘Doing the Latest Rag’ to Act II’s heartwrenching ode, ‘We’ll Meet Tomorrow,’ plunges into a completely different tonal shift.

The technical team has the most important job. They assembled fantastic set pieces, stunning costumes, and compelling lighting designs to match the period and oceanic journey.

An array of lifeboats are aligned around the stage to enhance the history with slide projections of artifacts, timelines, and locations from the night of the sinking. Not only the passengers but also the significant objects recovered from the wreck hold historical value.

The most impressive element in Kevin P. Hill’s direction is the emotional depth of the tragedy, especially in the second act. The one sequence that moved me involved passengers boarding lifeboats and being separated from loved ones. Another message I realized is that you must live each day to the fullest because we don’t know what tomorrow has in store.

The tragedy of the Titanic has impacted several generations. Titanic still lies at the bottom of the ocean floor as a mark in history that no ship is unsinkable. I have listened to countless stories from patrons who talked about their intrigue in the story and visiting Titanic museums. Without accounts from the survivors, we wouldn’t have Titanic stories.

Titanic: The Musical is a deeply moving production you must see on the NSMT stage. When attending this emotionally-resonating musical take a moment to commemorate all the lives lost, and honor the officers and engineers who worked until the very end. Well done to the NSMT’s Titanic: The Musical.