DIAMOND HEAD THEATRE The story of "Titanic" takes to the stage. Clockwise from front, Cori Vas is charismatic as stoker Frederick Barrett. Jimi V. Wheeler plays a sailor and Frederick Fleet, the lookout who spotted the iceberg. Ryan J. Lympus plays Harold Bride, the radio man who gave Capt. Smith iceberg warnings.

Fate’s refrain

A classic calamity makes a
great stage musical

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By John Berger
jberger@starbulletin.com

No maritime disaster of the 20th Century resonates more in contemporary pop culture than the sinking of the R.M.S. Titanic. Four times as many died in icy waters when the German passenger liner Wilhelm Gustloff was lost in 1945, but it is the passengers and the crew of the Titanic that has been memorialized in books, movies and TV specials, and a 1997 Tony Award-winning Broadway musical. Diamond Head Theatre's current production of the latter, "Titanic," is a perfect requiem for the ship and excellent musical theater.

Director/choreographer Jennifer Waldman deploys the best ensemble cast of the 2001-02 theater season through an elaborate adaptation of the original Broadway hit. The cast performs flawlessly. Not a minute is wasted. The human dimension of the tragedy is captured without forcing our involvement or stooping to saccharine treatment.

The dance number, "Doing the Latest Rag," is as much about character development as about dance. Waldman does a superb job elsewhere in choreographing the movements of the cast to suggest the excitement of embarking on the maiden voyage, the strict social stratification of passengers, and the sense of panic that enveloped the hundreds left on board the sinking ship when the last lifeboat pulled away.

Almost every ensemble member has at least one memorable moment, and although the story itself is the "star" of the show, there are several standout performances.

Scott Moura (J. Bruce Ismay), Douglas S. Scheer (Thomas Andrews) and Bryan Bender (Capt. E.J. Smith) shoulder playwright Peter Stone's philosophical subplot. Ismay, owner of the White Star line, wanted a new record for crossing the Atlantic that would put him one up on rival companies. Andrews designed the "unsinkable" ship to Ismay's specifications, with watertight bulkheads only to "C" deck so that the first-class passengers could have larger staterooms, and only 20 lifeboats so said passengers would have more deck space.

'TITANIC' Where: Diamond Head Theatre When: 8 p.m. Thursdays to Saturdays and 4 p.m. Sundays through June 9 Tickets: $10 to $40 Call: 733-0277

Capt. Smith, who postponed retirement to command the maiden voyage, gradually acceded to Ismay's demands for more speed, taking a shorter northern route despite reports of an iceberg -- or was it two? -- in the vessel's path. Do we blame Ismay for gambling with an "unsinkable" ship? Blame Andrews for building the ship to Ismay's requirements? (The Titanic actually had more lifeboats than laws of the time required.) Do we blame Smith for yielding his authority to his employer?

Moura, Scheer and Bender hash it out in "The Blame," one of the most powerful numbers in Act II. Scheer returns for a stellar farewell solo, "Mr. Andrews' Vision," that recapitulates the theme.

Cori Vas (Frederick Barrett), Ryan J. Lympus (Harold Bride) and Darren Server (Henry Etches) contribute strong performances as key crew members. Barrett, a stoker, was planning to get married when the Titanic returned to England; Vas plays him as a charismatic and romantic figure. Vas' showcase numbers, "Barrett's Song" and "The Proposal," are two of the best in the show. Lympus joins Vas in the latter and proves worthy of his own big number, "The Night Was Alive," as well. (Bride was the radio man who gave Capt. Smith the ice warnings and remained at his station until the ship's final minutes.)

Server eclipses his performance in MVT's 2002 production of "Song of Singapore" with his portrayal of Etches, the first-class steward who epitomized the elite of the English servant class. He breaks out a bottle of premium vintage champagne as a final courtesy and then tells two of the doomed passengers that it has been an honor to serve them over the years.

Three pairs of performers stand out as passengers. Howard Bishop and Lina Jeong Doo portray wealthy Isidor and Ida Straus. Bishop and Doo share "Still," the closest thing to a stand-alone song in Maury Yeston's score, and make it the finale in an excellent performance. Andy Montague and Mary Chesnut Hicks balance poignancy and comedy as second-class passengers Edgar and Alice Beane. Alice's ambition is to hobnob with the rich and famous, and her comic presence during "Doing the Latest Rag," makes the dancing more than a delay in the story.

Elitei Tatafu Jr. and Renee Angelique Garcia pair off nicely as Jim Farrell and Kate McGowen, Irish immigrants traveling to America as third-class passengers, who were assigned to Titanic by lottery. You'll be hoping Farrell makes it into a lifeboat.

Notable in smaller character roles are Josh Harris (1st Officer Murdock), Zhan Hunt (Kate Murphey), Daren Kimura (Wallace Hartley) Kala'i Stern (Quartermaster Hitchens), Jimi V. Wheeler (Frederick Fleet), Jenn Harris (Mrs. Thayer), and Kanoa Goo as The Bellboy.

Melina Lillios (musical director) and Kurt Yamasaki (sound design) do their best in making "Titanic" as close to perfect as can be. Patrick M. Kelly's set "sank" with just a bit of hesitation on opening night. Otherwise, the only noticeable flaw in the show, and it's a small one, is the comically fake mustaches worn by several men. It doesn't take that long to grow a mustache!

Accuracy fanatics will note a bit of tampering with a character or two, but the story's impact remains intact. DHT's "Titanic" is a fabulous accomplishment.

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