The New York City Center Encores! production of the Tony-winning musical Titanic set sail June 11, and performances will continue through June 23. Read the reviews here, and hear from the company in the video above.
The cast is led by Ashley Blanchet as Kate Mullins, Adam Chanler-Berat as First Officer Murdoch, Chuck Cooper as Captain E.J. Smith, Eddie Cooper as Henry Etches, Lilli Cooper as Kate Murphey, Andrew Durand as Jim Farrell, Drew Gehling as Edgar Beane, Alex Joseph Grayson as Harold Bride, Karimloo as Frederick Barrett, Emilie Kouatchou as Caroline Neville, Judy Kuhn as Ida Straus, Jose Llana as Thomas Andrews, Bonnie Milligan as Alice Beane, Ari Notartomaso as Bellboy, Nathan Salstone as Fredrick Fleet, A.J. Shively as Charles Clarke, Brandon Uranowitz as J. Bruce Ismay, Samantha Williams as Kate McGowan, and Chip Zien as Isador Straus.
With so many Broadway superstars taking on Maury Yeston's beloved score, plus the 30-piece Encores! orchestra, the production has created a wall of sound fit for a ship of dreams.
"This [is an] extraordinary cast," Kuhn says. "I mean, every single person in it is a superstar, the voices are incredible. There are 32 cast members, and when everybody's singing together, and then we're going to be joined this week by a 30-piece orchestra…I think when people hear that sound, which is a sound you rarely hear in the theatre—never, really—I think people are going to lose their minds."
WATCH: Ramin Karimloo Sings 'Barrett's Song,' Chip Zien and Judy Kuhn Perform 'Still' in City Center Encores! Titanic
The ensemble includes Colin Anderson, Daniel Beeman, Brandon Contreras, Ali Ewoldt, Leslie Donna Flesner, Evan Harrington, Leah Horowitz, Amy Justman, Michael Maliakel, Timothy McDevitt, Grace Morgan, Kent Overshown, Lindsay Roberts, Matthew Scott, and Daniel Torres
The concert staging is directed by Anne Kauffman with choreography by Danny Mefford. Rob Berman leads The Encores! Orchestra as guest music director.
READ: Bonnie Milligan on How Her Alice Beane in Titanic Is 'a Fun Little Homage' to Victoria Clark
The limited engagement also has orchestrations by Jonathan Tunick, costume design by Márion Talán de la Rosa, lighting design by David Weiner, and sound design by Megumi Katayama.
With music and lyrics by Maury Yeston (Nine, Grand Hotel) and a book by Peter Stone (Woman of the Year and 1776), Titanic won five Tony Awards, including Best Musical, Best Score, and Best Book.
Earlier in the 30th anniversary season, the City Center Encores! series presented two-week engagements of Once Upon a Mattress and Jelly's Last Jam. Casting for all three productions is by The Telsey Office. Once Upon a Mattress will transfer to Broadway later this summer, in a limited engagement beginning July 31