As the curtains rise in the Lennie and John de Csepel Theatre, the audience met the many passengers and crew in the Sacred Heart Greenwich Upper School theater production of Titanic. Under the guidance of Miss Michaela Gorman ‘05, Upper School Drama Teacher and Director of Drama Productions, the cast brought the audience to tears with the story of the passengers and staff aboard the ship’s ill-fated maiden voyage across the Atlantic Ocean. The cast performed Saturday, March 1 at 7 p.m and Sunday, March 2 at 3 p.m. Through emotional storytelling, the cast depicted the different perspectives of the first, second, and third class passengers and staff on the 1912 journey of the Royal Mail Ship (RMS) Titanic.
Titanic portrays the history of the ship’s maiden voyage from Southampton, England to New York City, New York. It includes the story of immigrants seeking a new life, aristocrats going after their next fortune, middle class couples traveling abroad, and all those that lost their lives aboard the RMS Titanic. From first class to third class, every passenger carries ambitions, hopes, and dreams, which the production explores during their journey. In this production, the opening scene introduced the characters and reveals the difference between the first, second, and third class passengers through their aspirations expressed in the opening song.
Thomas Andrews, designer of the ship, played by senior Ava Clear, constantly notes the problems that occur on the journey and wishes to further perfect them for the comfort of others. As the story unfolds, Andrews’ sense of responsibility and care for both the ship and its passengers becomes evident. His quiet determination and unwavering commitment makes him one of the most heartfelt and tragic figures in the show. Ava’s character played a vital role throughout the show, and she shared her favorite moment when creating this production.
“In the opening of the whole show, when Sutton’s character sings ‘how do they build Titanic?’, there was a TikTok that we took a dance move from and during rehearsal we would joke around,” Ava said. “So it’s every time I hear that, I think of that moment.”
Fredrick Barrett, played by Sutton Burchetta exhibits the emotional turmoil apparent in the show, particularly through his love song to the girl he loves, Darlene. His job as the lead stoker in Boiler Room Six takes him away from long periods of time. Through his song, Barrett expresses his desire to marry Darlene when he gets home. This love confession makes his death more emotional as instead of saving his own life and obtaining a seat on one of the lifeboats, he tries to save others. These romantic moments are touching, heightening the sense of loss and heartbreak as the ship’s tragic fate unfolds.
Despite constant warning and lower of sea temperatures, Captain Smith, portrayed by senior Natasha Stewart, continues to increase the speed. With the persistence of the ship’s owner, Bruce Ismay, portrayed by senior Piera Coppola, the captain switches to a course that would make them arrive into New York Harbor quicker. Ismay only cares about the reputation and success of the ship, not the comfort and safety of his passengers. With the end of Act One, the ship encounters an iceberg that later causes problems for the ship in Act Two.
Titanic is Ava’s eighth Sacred Heart Production. Ava has admired the support and team work of the cast and crew while working on this production. Their dedication, creativity, and countless hours of rehearsal have brought this story to life. With only two months to put together this show, Ava reflected on how they all came together to make this production a success even with the shorter timeline.
“With the shorter amount of time that we had it was scary,” Ava said. “We basically has 2 months to put on this full production which has so many little stories and little nuisance things. It was building the characters and trying to learn everything at the same time while also trying to stay on top of school work and maintain a social life and a home life. It’s challenging for some of the younger participants, since it is their first time, but again we support each other and we are all here for each other.”
Featured Image by Gianna Rodrigues ’27
