It seems that the most pressing issue with Titanic: The Musical is getting the damn boat to stay afloat. The show, originally scheduled by the Milwaukee Repertory Theater in 2020, had its initial launch delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Undaunted, the large, indefatigable cast and technical crew were able to finally launch the doomed ocean liner during the 2021-22 season. The show – the largest ever staged by the Milwaukee Rep – received some of the best reviews of the season.
Sadly, the musical had to be drydocked for the final three weeks of its run, as Covid-19 cases ran through the cast and technical crew. Of course, most of those canceled performances were completely sold out. That meant 10,000 ticket holders were not going to be able to see the most lauded show of the 2021-22 season.
So the Milwaukee Rep decided to scratch its scheduled musical offering for the current season to allow the Titanic to sail away once more in the 700-seat Quadracci Powerhouse. And this time, a 10-person swing cast was hired to defeat any Covid cases that may surface during its run.
Amazingly, most of the large cast was able to return to their roles from the previous year. Perhaps the cast’s abundance of local actors may have helped. Emma Rose Brooks returns as the feisty, headstrong Kate McGowan, a standout among the third-class passengers. As soon as Kate sets foot on the ship, she sets her cap for a tall, handsome Irish lad (Brian Krinsky). Please note: Neither of these actors resides in Wisconsin, although they would be a welcome addition if they care to relocate.
Among local actors in prominent roles, the most visible is Matt Daniels as the ever-vigilant first-class purser. Not far behind him is the show’s villain, Ismay (Andrew Varela). A sleazy representative of the cruise line, Ismay insists on increasing the ship’s speed in order to set a record. Against his better judgment, the captain (played by non-local actor David Hess) finally relents to Ismay’s demands.
Other Milwaukee-based notables include Carrie Hitchcock as Ida Strauss, wife of Macy’s co-founder Isidor Strauss (Joe Vincent). There’s also Kelley Faulkner as the would-be wife of a man “below her station” and Rana Roman doubling as both a first-class passenger as well as one traveling in steerage.
A couple of the major roles had to be recast due to scheduling conflicts. In the role of Barrett, one of the ship’s stokers, Jeffrey Kringer has a wonderful opportunity to showcase his strong, fine voice. And Alex Keiper now plays Alice, the second-class passenger married to a hardware store owner. Keiper earns laughs as she tries to mingle with the “upper crust,” cleverly outwitting the purser for a time until she is whisked away to the second-class deck. Another humorous character is Alice’s husband (played by returning Milwaukee actor Steve Watts). His deadpan humor is a brilliant foil for his wife’s ladder-climbing schemes.
This Titanic seems to have aged very well from the previous season. One hopes that those patient ticket holders will feel rewarded by a show that is both sweetly sentimental and sadly relevant to many of the forces that control the world today.
