Smooth sailing: Sweeping score, beautiful singing make Marriott’s ‘Titanic’ a must-see

“Titanic the Musical” — 3.5 stars

Referring to the beginning of “Titanic The Musical” as merely an “opening number” doesn’t do composer/lyricist Maury Yeston’s Tony Award-winning score justice.

Mainly because the expansive opening feels more like a musical suite. It begins with “In Every Age,” a reflective prologue describing attempts by mankind to “fabricate great works at once magnificent and impossible” and seguing into “The Launching.” Stretching more than 15 minutes, “The Launching” is a sweeping song cycle expressing crew and passengers’ fond farewells, their first impressions of the unsinkable ship and fervent hopes it will convey them safely to America.

It’s an exhilarating piece of music, as evidenced on opening night of Marriott Theatre’s magnificent, robustly sung revival when 21 singer/actors and conductor Brad Haak’s sextet nearly stopped the show.

That said, it’s unlikely you’ll leave the theater humming “Titanic’s” tunes. But Yeston’s score has an appealing, old-Broadway grandeur ideally showcased by Ian Weinberger’s lush arrangements.

Writer Peter Stone (who’s also credited with the story) incorporates several romances into the story, but his interest clearly extends beyond love. “Titanic” also examines ego and ambition (which prompted powerful men to make catastrophic decisions) and class (which prevented steerage passengers from accessing necessities, including lifeboats).

Director/choreographer Connor Gallagher makes an auspicious Marriott debut, delivering a compassionate, briskly paced revival animated by the soaring vocals, exceptional stagecraft and herculean efforts by crew members to affect quick costume changes.

Ably building tension in the final moments of the endlessly expositional first act, Gallagher sustains it throughout the second, which concludes with the wrenching “Mr. Andrews’ Vision.” The number finds Christopher Kale Jones’ ship designer Thomas Andrews narrating what occurred as the ship sank, mayhem Gallagher’s stylized choreography vividly portrays.

Collette Pollard’s set, with its riggings and suspended lifeboats, is one of the best in recent memory. Jesse Klug’s lighting — cool white, angry red, deep blue — is a perfect complement. Lastly, designer Michael Daly’s agonizing sound burst heralding the ship’s demise conveys the horror in a way that images cannot.

“Titanic The Musical” is truly an ensemble piece, with most cast members playing multiple roles (necessitating the quick changes referenced earlier) and also serving in the chorus.

Despite Stone’s thinly drawn characters, Gallagher’s actors turn in nicely detailed performances, which are complemented by exceptionally strong voices.

Among them is Kevin Webb. A veteran of Chicago’s storefront scene making his Marriott debut, Webb plays first-class steward Henry Etches with droll humor and unfailing decency. His final scene with first-class passengers Isidor and Ida Straus, (Mark David Kaplan and Heidi Kettenring), a long-married couple who remain onboard together, is a moving portrait of a principled man.

Lillian Castillo displays her comedic sense as second-class passenger Alice Beane, whose comfortably middle-class husband, Edgar (James Earl Jones II), indulges her celebrity obsessions and efforts to hobnob with the elites.

Darian Goulding, a terrific singer, plays Frederick Barrett, who shovels coal in the boiler room and questions the wisdom of the ship’s increased speed. Barrett’s duet with Matthew Hommel’s awkward telegraph operator Harold Bride on “The Proposal”/“The Night Was Alive” is a poignant testament to our need to connect.

Among the highlights is the aspirational “Lady’s Maid,” in which the three Irish immigrants played by Erica Stephan, Victoria Okafor and Laura Guly imagine their new, much-improved lives in America.

But perhaps the most revealing moment is “The Blame,” a superb trio with Jones’ ship designer Andrews; the ship’s owner J. Bruce Ismay, a polished villain played by Adam Pelty; and David Girolmo’s stoic Captain E.J. Smith. Condemning each other for the tragedy, they recognize their complicity: the folly that comes from attempting to “fabricate greats works, at once magnificent and impossible.”

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Location: Marriott Theatre, 10 Marriott Drive, Lincolnshire, (847) 634-0100, marriotttheatre.com/show/titanic-the-musical

Showtimes: 1 and 7 p.m. Wednesday; 7 p.m. Thursday; 7:30 p.m. Friday; 4 and 8 p.m. Saturday; and 1 and 5 p.m. Sunday through June 1. Also, 1 p.m. select Thursdays

Tickets: $68-$83; dinner/theater packages available

Running time: About 2 hours, 20 minutes, with intermission

Rating: For teens and older, might be too intense for young viewers