The RMS Titanic’s doomed 1912 voyage did not make a strong argument for hugeness. Quite the contrary. Two hours and 40 minutes, with one intermission.
At New York City Center, 131 W. 55th Street, through June 23. But the sweeping concert revival of Maury Yeston’s musical “Titanic” at New York City Center sure does.
With a score as lush and transportive as this one, bigger is definitely better. Don’t get me wrong. About a decade ago, I saw a splendid, reduced version of the show at Chicago’s Theater Wit that unearthed the the humanity and focus in Peter Stone’s sprawling book that features some 40 distinct characters.
However, the massive, 30-person orchestra of the Encores! series, which presents old Broadway shows in their full auditory glory, is the real heart of the ocean. That forceful wall of sound created by music director Rob Berman and his terrific musicians, who are situated high up on a platform above the stage, justifies why the ill-fated passengers aboard the Titanic are crooning tunes at all. With music alone (Encores! ain’t known for sets), “Titanic” conjures the majesty of “the largest moving object in the world” as it hurdles dangerously toward New York, as well as the unspeakable tragedy of man’s folly leading to the deaths of 1,500 people.
Amusingly, Yeston’s Best Musical Tony Award winner debuted on Broadway a few months before James Cameron’s epic romance movie became a worldwide phenomenon, leading to decades of confusion. To.
