The American Dream is well represented in "Titanic: The Musical" in the eyes of Allen Horner, who is bringing the extravaganza to Valparaiso's Memorial Opera House.
"The most expensive thing you could do on earth then was to ride the Titanic across the Atlantic Ocean, and all these millionaires did it, the Guggenheims, the Astors, the Thayers," he said.
"And you had all these immigrants coming over for a better life and coming to find the streets paved with gold in New York they all thought they were going to see when they got here."
Opening Friday and running through March 11, "Titanic: The Musical" tells the tales of the passengers and crew who sailed on the doomed ocean liner in April 1912. Nearly 1,500 of its more than 2,200 passengers died on its maiden voyage after it struck an iceberg in the Atlantic Ocean.
The musical was penned by acclaimed Broadway playwright Peter Stone, with music and lyrics by Tony Award-winning songsmith Maury Yeston. It made its Broadway debut in 1997, where it played to capacity audiences, broke box office records and took home five Tony Awards, including trophies for best musical and best score.
"It's kind of a romantic story," Horner said.
"It was the largest moving object in the world ever built -- an unsinkable boat. There's the whole romantic idea that it couldn't be sunk, and on the maiden voyage it sank and it disappeared and it wasn't found until the '80s. It always kind of stuck in people's minds. There was always a new story or a new rumor that came up."
That same year, another "Titanic" made even bigger headlines, this time on the big screen, directed by James Cameron. The movie became a pop culture sensation, Academy Award winner and, to this day, the highest-grossing film of all time.
Yet the tragic tale's stage and film versions are like night and day, according to Horner.
"There is no (fictional characters like the ones portrayed in the film by) Leo (DiCaprio) and Kate (Winslet)," he said. "Every single person in this show is someone who really existed and really lived and rode on the Titanic."
An admitted longtime "Titanic" fanatic, Horner did a hearty share of research to prepare his cast for the musical. He utilized several historical and Titanic-themed Web sites, most notably Encyclopedia Titanica (www.encyclopedia-titanica.org) for additional insight into the ship's crew and passengers.
"It's about the background of these people's lives, and I wanted to spend some time on their individual stories for the people who are playing these characters," he said. "And I wanted to be respectful of the memories of these people who passed away and spend a little more time with them and make sure we knew who they were."
In bringing the stories of the actual passengers to the stage, one of the focuses of "Titanic," Horner said, is on the vast degrees of social class. On the ship's sole voyage, many of the country's most prominent moneymakers shared deck space with average Joes and Janes.
While the budget of the musical comes nowhere near the scope of Cameron's film, Memorial Opera House facility director Brian Schafer said "Titanic" is a massive undertaking for the Memorial Theatre Co.
"It is definitely the most ambitious show we've attempted, probably in the entire history of the Opera House," Schafer said.
"Everything from the set design to the costuming to the music in the show -- we are spending a little bit more on the show, and we've received quite a bit of corporate-sponsor and private donations for the show, which is helping tremendously.
"You won't see anything like it in community theater in the area. It should rival any professional show."
Horner has assembled a cast of 40 actors and singers, with many taking on two to three different characters to perform in the 42 scenes that make up the play and its more than 30 songs.
The crew also has stepped up for the production -- creating a two-story, 24-foot-long set on a pivot that tilts to simulate the sinking vessel.
"The set is definitely ambitious," Schafer said. "A little bit of engineering had to go into it. A lot of hours have been put into it, and we're not done yet. There've been a lot of sleepless nights."
"Titanic: The Musical" originally was slated to run at Memorial Opera House through March 4, but they have added an additional weekend to the run due to expected high ticket sales.
Next up for the Memorial Theatre Co.'s 2007 season is a production of the musical "The Pajama Game," which is scheduled to open at Memorial Opera House April 13.
"Titanic: The Musical" is running at Memorial Opera House at 8 p.m. Friday, Saturday, Feb 23-24 and March 2-3 and 9-10, and at 2 p.m. Feb. 18 and 25 and March 4 and 11.
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"Titanic: The Musical"
When: Friday through March 11
Where: Memorial Opera House, 104 Indiana Ave., Valparaiso
Cost: $16 adults, $13 students and seniors
FYI: (219) 548-9137 or www.memorialoperahouse.com
