Titanic sails at the Winspear

Over its six years on the Capital Region theatre scene, Two One-Way Tickets to Broadway Productions has developed a knack for taking old ideas and giving them a fresh face.

This semi-professional troupe founded in 2006 by Nicole English and Martin Galba are essentially cutting edge risk-takers, and it’s paid off with a rich repertoire and expanding audience.

As the 100th anniversary of one of the greatest maritime disasters of the 20th century approaches on April 12, the young company opens Titanic tonight for a two-day run at the Winspear Centre.

Taking advantage of the Winspear’s extraordinary acoustics, this Titanic is performed as a costumed concert version with all hands on deck: 45 actors including special guest Anna Beaumont, Edmonton Metropolitan’s 100 plus voices and a 40-piece live orchestra.

“When everyone is together, it’s a wall of sound. It almost takes you aback,” says St. Albert freelance writer Lucy Haines, who sings in the chorus.

Two other performers with St. Albert roots are Josh Languedoc in the role of Jay Yates, a card shark out to fleece the first-class passengers, and Cole Chapelsky as the posh first-class passenger John Thayer, vice-president of the Pennsylvania Railroad.

For Haines, the 32 songs in Peter Stone and Maury Yetson’s Tony Award-winning score was the lure she needed to get involved.

“The music is so poignant. It’s so sad, so tragic. But it’s still a beautiful score. To me knowing that the characters were real, live people on the Titanic adds another level.”

Languedoc goes one step further.

“The music is gorgeous. It really speaks to you and captures what people went through on their journey and during the sinking.”

The score definitely powers this concert. But it’s the diverse characters floating on the ‘unsinkable ship’ unaware of the upcoming disaster that draw upon our empathy.

There’s second-class passenger Alice Beane (Anna Beaumont), a comical social climber determined to ingratiate herself with first-class passengers. A brash and pregnant Kate McGowan (Nicole English) from third class pushes to find a husband before the ship docks. And Frederick Barrett (Martin Galba), a stoker in the bowels of the ship wants to get back to Ellen, a woman he longs to propose to.

And then there’s the elderly Isidor and Ida Strauss, a loving couple. “They’re very sweet. It gives you a warm feeling to watch them,” says Haines.

Although this production is a concert version with no set or major characters, the costumed cast will do more than stand in a row for the show’s duration. Director Barbara Mah has blocked a small playing space for characters to speak dialogue and there’s a fair bit of choreography in the energetic tunes such as Doing the Last Rag.

As Chapelsky puts it, “We want the music to shine and do the storytelling.”