'Titanic' sets sail at Tivoli - April 11-12

Thursday, April 10, 2014

photo Actors in "Titanic, the Musical," at the Tivoli this weekend.

IF YOU GO¦ What: "Titanic: The Musical."¦ When: 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 11; 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 12.¦ Where: Tivoli Theatre, 709 Broad St.¦ Admission: $20 and $28.50.¦ Phone: 423-642-8497.¦ Website: www.ChattanoogaOnStage.com.

Closed Door Entertainment will launch "Titanic: The Musical" on the 102nd anniversary of the date the doomed ship set sail on its maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City.

The North Georgia theater company will present its latest production in three performances Friday and Saturday, April 11-12, at Chattanooga's Tivoli Theatre.

The Titanic left shore on April 11, 1912, and four days later struck an iceberg in the frigid waters of the North Atlantic. More than 1,500 people perished.

Producers say the show is not a version of James Cameron's 1997 blockbuster movie. The musical actually premiered first, opening on Broadway earlier the same year and winning five Tony Awards, including Best Musical.

Like any epic tragedy, "Titanic" plays out on a grand scale. On the company's Facebook page, producers cite the show's "magnificent scenic design," "soaring, almost symphonic music" and "plaintive, haunting, gut-wrenching songs."

Such factors only enhance the story's epic content.

"It is no more about a ship than September 11th was about skyscrapers; it is about people who endured unthinkable circumstances. It's about the struggle to survive, the desire to make sense of insensible tragedy and the unfortunate power of greed, ambition and social prejudice to blind us to what is right," says the Facebook entry.