Musical on Titanic carries students back

Richard Tedesco

It’s not easy to imagine oneself in a rowboat in the North Atlantic, watching the Titanic sink into the icy depths.

But that’s what many of the student cast in “Sail On,” Sewanhaka High School’s treatment of “Titanic: The Musical” must conjure in their imaginations to play that scene in the musical that recounts the events of that tragic night. But the musical also provides insight to the lives of those who survived and those who lost their lives.

The curtain goes up the student production in the auditorium of Sewanhaka High School on Friday, Apr. 1 at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday, at 7 p.m. Tickets are $5.

“I’m in third class, but I end up surviving anyway,” said Shana Brouder, who plays Kate McGowan, a 16-year-old Irish immigrant who actually did survive.

All the cast members were required to research their characters, who are all based on people who were on the Titanic’s fateful inaugural cross-Atlantic voyage in 1912. They then wrote profiles of the character they were portraying.

The actors said it gave them a greater insight to what these people were really like, and built an emotional bridge that carries into their performance. Everyone said that, without anticipating it, they were all near tears when they first played the scene when the Titanic goes under in costume.

“We all felt like we were going to start crying,” said Antonio Escuro, who plays Jim Farrell, whose character falls in love with Brouder’s character during the voyage, and also survives.

“When the ship sinks, it’s very emotional,” Brouder said.

“People started to cry in rehearsal,” said Ashley Pina, who plays Kate Mullins, who has a sister on the ship.

Escuro said the actors have a daunting role in conveying the story of their characters.

“We have to push ourselves to be very different people,” Escuro said. “And in the end, half of our dreams don’t make it.”

Brouder said she thinks “Sail On” is the best show Sewanhaka has put on in her time there, and said it’s also the most demanding.

“This show pushes you to the emotional limits,” she said.

Director Chakira Ilana Doherty said the students have been up to taking on the roles they’re playing from the start.

“The kids jumped into this with two feet. They all get together on weekends and have ‘Titanic’ parties, watching the movie together,” Doherty said.

She said there seems to a strong sense of camaraderie in rehearsals.

“They really like each other. They’re fab,” she said.

Chris Doherty, the Sewanhaka band director who conducts the student orchestra in the show, said the music puts both the performers and the audience in the cultural context of 1912.

“Some of it’s actual music of the period, so a lot of it’s authentic,” Doherty said, noting that a hymn in the score, “God Lift Me Up,” was actually sung together by people on the ship the day before the Titanic sank.

What isn’t historically authentic is intended to provide emotionally authenticity. The characters in the play sing about their hopes and dreams on the way to a new world. The story and book are by Peter Stone. The music and lyrics are by Maury Yeston.

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