This weekend, Brunswick audiences will be transported back to 1912 and come aboard the “unsinkable” RMS Titanic for its ill-fated maiden voyage. The cross-Atlantic journey, of course, will be cut short when the luxury steamship sideswipes an iceberg and sinks, resulting in the deaths of 1,500 passengers and crew.
“Many hands in the pot” make the show work, said Choate, including a cast and stage crew totaling more than 60 students, in addition to many parent volunteers and sponsors.
Choate’s educational and professional background is musical theater. She moved back to Brunswick last year and directed a play in the fall, continuing the 22- year legacy of former BHS Players director Pamela Mutty.
Choate and Ashley Albert, the show’s music director and BHS music teacher, chose “Titanic” because, Choate said, it was a fresh idea that would challenge students.
The production is a full ensemble, with multiple story lines examining the lives of the passengers and crew divided by social and economic boundaries — from the third-class Irish immigrants looking for a better home in America, to the Titanic’s captain and his conflicts with the ship’s designer and builder.
Cast members thoroughly researched their characters in order to bring them to life. As a result, Choate said, the production “humanizes every person who was on the ship.”
Senior Elliott Nagler, who plays a crew member who pines for a girl back home, said most of the characters on the stage, including his own, are based on real people.
“There are very, very real moments,” said Nagler. “It’s definitely something that we’ve all heard about in history class and it feels great to be connected to such a fleshed out story.
“We, as a cast, have put in so much of our time and energy into this one thing,” said Nagler, who has been in most every BHS Players production throughout his high school career. “And we all release it in four shows — just four shows so to see all the pieces moving at the same time is watching machines come to life. It’s more like magic than anything else.”
“Titanic”
• Thursday to Saturday at Crooker Theater, Brunswick High School
• Show times 7 p.m. each night, 2 p.m. matinee Saturday
• Tickets $12 for students/seniors, $15 for adults
• All tickets reserved seating
• Purchase tickets at https://m.bpt.me/event/3319393
• For more information, follow Brunswick High School Players on Facebook, visit brunswick.k12.me.us/bhsplayers
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