‘Titanic’ brings a ship full of stories to Greenville Theatre

Everyone knows how the story ends.

But Greenville Theatre’s production of “Titanic: The Musical,” opening Sept. 11, is less interested in the sinking of the ship than in the people aboard it — the passengers and crew members whose hopes, dreams and relationships give the tragedy its human dimension.

“You will fall in love, laugh, and cry with all of these characters,” said Ahsha Daniels, who is directing the production. “The passengers and crew members all had hopes and dreams for the future which gives this story a timeless quality.”

The musical, which predates James Cameron’s blockbuster 1997 film, offers a portrait of a floating society in 1912 — a society divided by class, but ultimately united by catastrophe.

When the ship strikes the iceberg, distinctions begin to disappear.

“Once they hit the iceberg, there are no more classes,” Daniels said.

That human dimension is central to Daniels’ approach. Because the characters are drawn from real passengers and crew members, she said, the production is intended to honor people who experienced the tragedy rather than simply use the disaster as spectacle.

The production, which launches the theater’s 101st season with the theme of “Sail On,” features more than two dozen performers in an ensemble version of the musical in which actors double, triple and sometimes even quadruple roles. An actor might portray a third-class passenger in one scene and a first-class passenger in another.

The production also fills the entire Greenville Theatre’s stage, incorporating the ship’s deck, bridge and balconies and numerous levels.

‘Beautiful score’

A live orchestra will perform the score from the theater’s pit, an element Daniels particularly relishes. She considers the music the show’s greatest strength.

“This was the first musical that I’ve ever done where I fell in love with the score first,” she said. “The music is just so, so beautiful.”

For Daniels, “Titanic” may be the largest production she has directed, rivaling her previous work on “Anastasia” at Greenville Theatre. Keeping such a large cast and multiple storylines moving — while maintaining suspense in a story whose conclusion is known to everyone — is the central challenge.

Yet Daniels hopes audiences will leave with more than an appreciation for the spectacle.

“It’s really nice to bring these passengers back to life and retell their stories,” she said.