Titanic at City Centers — Page 5

I saw it last weekend. I was very curious to see how the original design worked and after some searching I found a full very grainy video and clicked thru it. I wonder if something this production lacked was perhaps the main character-the ship itself. Obviously in a concert or in any production without a broadway budget it is impossible to do what the original broadway production did but wow they did so much, so theatrically. It really feels like another character in the show and perhaps the important thru line that a concert production loses with its ensemble cast and minimal staging. As I said previously I thought the score was glorious at City Center but gosh I want to see a big budget production now--and not one just done with staircases as it seems most recent productions have done.

Count me among those who found this a glorious presentation - I loved it last Friday, and was fortunate to be able to return last night.

Among the others previously mentioned, I want to call out Eddie Cooper, whose performance as the kind and devoted steward, Henry Etches, was flawless and played with a dignity that broke my heart.

i would love a recording of this production: glorious orchestrations performed beautifully.

I was there this afternoon. Rapturous. I must second Nyadgal's take on Eddie Cooper's Etches: for me, a standout in a company that had no weaknesses. These vocals - separately and together - are so elegantly handled, they raised the bar. But Cooper's work, played differently from the sublime Allan Corduner, turned Etches into a front and center major player, which changed the dynamic in every scene he was in: Cooper brings an unexpected agency - as if the show found a new prism through which to view the others. And his singing is just magnificent, with pristine diction and clarity.

I scored row L in the orchestra - $195 seats - for $49 on TDF only 4 days ago. My TDF karma continuing. But it scares me that I might've missed this. Two shows remain tomorrow. And I checked: seats are decidedly available. You'll never see the likes of this again.

r

A show I can’t stop thinking about. . .

Updated On: 6/22/24 at 10:57 PM

Just got back from the matinee. Beautiful show, beautiful score, beautiful cast. Can someone tell me what was happening upstage right at the end? I was all the way in the balcony, like always, so I couldn’t see what was going on. I saw glimmery lights coming through. I was happy to see Emilie on stage again, even in a small role. She was one of the best Christines there ever was.

Miss10036 said: "All this week, I kept getting ads for this on YouTube. It was always the same one, featuringrehearsal footage of the "Godspeed Titanic" number. Each time I thought, I shouldskip this adto avoid score spoilerssince I wanted to go in cold this weekend as a newbieto the show, but I never could click past that snippetbecause it just sounded too sublimeto ignore... Wow, finally hearing the fullscore live blew me away. I found myself getting misty-eyed a few times this afternoonat the sheer power ofthe full group numbers andthose orchestrations. It's hard to single out anyonein a uniformly strong cast, but I'd shout outEddie Cooper, Jose Llana, Alex Joseph Grayson, and Chip and Judy of course.

I'm glad I first encountered this as a concert-style production with the music front and center. If this were a full production I'd be quibbling with the book, but as a concert experience? Hard to beat. I can tell this music will haunt me for a long time."



right?? The wall of sound during the launching that hits you in that chorus is just so stunning I was getting misty eyed as well and don’t even know why. It’s just a gorgeous music moment

A couple observations based on yesterday's matinee:

It's nice to see Encores return to something that approximates their original model of production. Just like in the old days, the actors carried their scripts except in the production numbers, although they were used more as props than reference points. Anne Kaufmann did a fine job creating evocative moments with minimal scenery. The finale was especially moving, as was the rising tension in "No Moon." I'd love to see Encores revert back to this style rather than treating everything as a backdoor Broadway tryout.

The material might not be for the ages, and the score feels very much of its moment (everything sounds so anthemic), but it's quite effective and well handled here. Some of Rob Berman's tempos were aggressively fast for my taste, but the Encores orchestra played consistently well.

Lots of wonderful performances, especially Chip Zien and Judy Kuhn, the latter sounding remarkably undiminished by time. (Any singer should hope to sound so fresh at 66!) Vocally, the other standouts for me were Emilie Kouatchou, Alex Grayson, and AJ Shively. I appreciated the quiet dignity that Chuck Cooper brought to Captain Smith, and Jose Llana was haunting as Mr. Andrews.

Others will surely disagree, but I wasn't taken with Bonnie Milligan. Her take on the character was far too crude in terms of pushing the comedy. I think hers is a basically good voice, although a touch geschrei at times. In the same vein, I thought Ramin Karimloo brought a bit too much of his Phantom-and-Valjean mannerisms to Barrett.

No special guest at yesterday's matinee for the person who misses the boat, but I've heard it was David Hyde Pierce at the final evening performance.

I so hope we get a recording out of this production. The voices in this production are worth preserving.

New York City Center Encores! 2024 Review: Titanic - OperaWire OperaWire



https://operawire.com/new-york-city-center-encores-2024-review-titanic/