Washington Terrace-1997 was a big year for Titanic. Not related to each other, the hit movie was released as well as the much lesser-known Broadway Musical, with music by Maury Yeston and book and story by Peter Stone. While it is not as well known to the general public, it did gain a lot of praise from critics and attendees, and won several awards including the Tony for best musical. On my very first trip to the great white way, I got to witness this show and see the beautiful spectacle. I was thrilled to learn that local theatre Terrace Plaza Playhouse in Washington Terrace was doing something new for them and hold a concert edition of this show, directed by Nick and Jamie Balaich. One of the most exciting things about this endeavor is the live orchestra. Music director J. Balaich and orchestra director Ariane Bredthauer have added so much to the production by providing live musicians to the performance. Yeston’s music holds such elegant and haunting melodies and seeing the musicians on stage bring the orchestrations together was magnificent. With seven listed musicians, the pianist-conductor, a bass, violin, viola, cello, and two percussionists, one would not have expected such a rich sound, but it echoes something I have been saying in my reviews for at least ten years. Here in Utah we have a rich amount of talent, and showcasing the musicians among us is something to be celebrated. The musicians on stage at this proud community theatre was a triumph. I know that School of Rock is in their upcoming season, which will feature young live musicians. I hope this becomes something we see in the future once and awhile at Terrace. I realize it is an undertaking that cannot always happen at a community level, but the way this elevated the production in a way that a canned soundtrack would not cannot be understated.
If a theatre-goer has not attended a staged concert of a show, they should be prepared for something different. The cast sits in seats on the stage, is dressed in concert black, and performs their songs as one would expect in a choir. Having attended many of these, I was ready and excited. What I did not expect, and was thrilled to discover, is the more theatrical elements that the Balaich’s had added into the production with their team to make this far more of a night of theatre than a concert. Performing the ensemble edition of the show, meaning many of the players take on more than one role, about twenty cast members are responsible for telling an epic story and conveying the epic vocals of one of the largest scale shows I have ever witnessed. Thanks to the music direction of J. Balaich, the full vocals of the ensemble were rich from the beginning intro to the ship “How Did They Build Titanic” to the truly haunting finale to act one. The act one finale is where the technical elements came into play, with the lighting design by Danielle Loveland takes center stage, adding such a sense of mystery and intensity. One might feel like they were on a boat moving in darkness and uncertainty.
I was also quite thrilled with the lobby, designed by J. Balaich, Laurie Rollins, and JuLee Freeman, which felt like walking into a Titanic museum. Included were posters and stories of the real-life characters featured in the show, artifacts from the time period, articles from the event, and an iceberg and lookout station for taking pictures. As for the show, many of the scenes included choreography by Alia Balaich, fully blocked scenes, and a level of depth that I certainly did not expect for a concert performance. All of the players could be singled out for praise, however, for the sake of brevity, I will name a few that stood out to me with the note that there was not a weak link in the cast. Ben Teeples taking on the roll of Fleet among other bit parts had a golden voice and strong mannerisms, and I was most impressed by his strong performance right before the end of act one as he truly understood the grave danger the ship was in. The acting skill that was evident as his face became more uncertain and then fearful was strong and skilled.
Hallie VanPatten, playing Bride, a role normally played by a man, was excellent for many reasons. Both Van Patten and Laura Crossett, playing Murdoch, show what I see as fantastic casting choices in a situation common in Utah where more female presenting players than male audition, so if the best person for the role is not the traditional gender, and they can play the role well, let them do it. VanPatten was utterly charming as Bride, and added a spark that I felt was new and refreshing. From the time I had first seen a production of Titanic I was drawn to the role of Barrett, and was pleased to see Aaron Michael Ross handle these complicated vocals well.
Truly, this is an ensemble show. There is no one star that rises to the top, and there is no element that stands out more than another. It is not taken on often because it is not an easy feat to accomplish. Also, we all know the end before we walk in. Therefore it is surprising to say that the vast majority of the audience appeared to be moved to tears as the ensemble moved into their final places for the last number of the show. It echoed exactly how I felt seeing the production for the first time in 1997. The moving music and well written show under such capable hands of the team at Terrace show that whether you are at a stage on Broadway spending millions of dollars or a community theatre who has been using small funds for a little over 30 years to give people a place to create art, if you have a strong vision, you can create strong art. For the first show of 2025, this was a beautiful beginning.
Titanic the Musical Concert Edition plays at Beverly’s Terrace Plaza Playhouse (99 East 4700 S Washington Terrace, Utah 84405) Fridays, Saturdays, and Mondays at 7:30pm through February 8th. Tickets are $18-25. For more information see https://www.terraceplazaplayhouse.com/
