Director's Notes...
I was fortunate to see the original Titanic the Musical on Broadway with my children. The movie had just opened and my then 13-year-old son was LIVID that we were going to see a musical version. He was convinced that it would be even dumber than the movie and that he wanted me to know that he was going to the theatre against his will. Needless to say, he loved it - so much so that he used two of the songs from Titanic for his college auditions. I thought the show was wonderful and I especially loved Maury Yeston's score. As a high school theatre director, you always dream of staging your favorite shows, but I was realistic about Titanic - it had a huge cast and the vocal demands of the show, as well as the incredible technical demands, were beyond the reach of most high schools.
A year ago I got an email stating that a new, ensemble version of Titanic was available, written for only 20 actors. Knowing that we have students who were up to the task, I considered it for our immersive project musical. I wasn't quite sure if Titanic fit the bill for AP American Studies, fearing that it was too British, but I ran it past our AP American Studies history teacher, John Witt, and he was immediately on board. We began to brainstorm all the different historical angles that we use to approach the material. The arrival of the Titanic Artifact Exhibit at COSI last spring seemed prophetic and gave us a firsthand look into the disaster and how we might stage it in simpler ways than the original Broadway show had.
I have to admit that I have always had a fascination with the Titanic and I think I have watched every special ever made about it and read numerous articles and books. All of it begs the question: What is it about the sinking of the Titanic that still captures our thoughts, feelings, hearts, and imaginations over 100 years after the event occurred? Why this ship? Maybe it was the hubris with which men approached the maiden voyage of the ship; maybe it was the loss of so many innocent lives; maybe it was the famous folks who were on board her. Or maybe it was a little bit of all of those things.
I am so proud of our Theatre III students. They have worked so hard on Titanic and have embraced the story and the individuals who so faithfully sailed on this "practically unsinkable" ship... a ship of dreams. We are especially excited to be performing at the Ohio Thespian State Conference!
- Pat Santanello
