(FAIR LAWN, NJ) -- Old Library Theatre (OLT), Fair Lawn Recreation Department’s resident theatre company, will present Titanic, the Musical, over two weekends, October 13-22, 2023. Featuring music and lyrics by Maury Yeston and a book by Peter Stone, won five Tony awards in 1997, including Best Musical. Although it opened the same year as James Cameron’s film of the same name, the two works are not related. Photographer John Posada was on hand to take photos.

In the final hours of April 14th, the RMS Titanic, on her maiden voyage from Southampton to New York, collided with an iceberg and ‘the unsinkable ship’ slowly sank. It was one of the most tragic disasters of the 20th Century. A total of 1517 men, women and children lost their lives. Based on real people aboard the most legendary ship in the world, Titantic, the Musical is a stunning and stirring production focusing on the hopes, dreams and aspirations of her passengers who each boarded with stories and personal ambitions of their own. All innocently unaware of the fate awaiting them, the Third Class immigrants dream of a better life in America, the Second Class imagine they too can join the lifestyles of the rich and famous, whilst the millionaire Barons of the First Class anticipate legacies lasting forever.

The production is directed by Evan T. Charpentier, with Music Direction by Joe Christianson. The show is produced by Armanda Cerqueira and Dawn Cardona; with costumes by Amy Kurfist, wigs and make-up by Megan Larsen, set design by Lee Nel and Jackie Mascoli, and Jackie Leibowitz and Lyss Wortman as Stage Manager and Assistant Stage Manager.

Performances are on Friday and Saturday evenings at 8:00pm, with Sunday matinees at 2:00pm at the George Frey Center for Performing Arts in the Fair Lawn Community Center, located at 10-10 20th Street in Fair Lawn, New Jersey. Tickets are available for purchase online - $23 for Adults, and $20 for Seniors.

Titantic, the Musical features a cast of 31, with many playing multiple roles. The crew is led by Brad Bebout as Captain E.J. Smith, Joseph Pierone as ship builder Thomas Andrews, Jeff Parsons as ship owner J. Bruce Ismay, Dave Toussas as Purser Henry Etches, Nicholas Culver as stoker Frederick Barrett, Matthew Hosmer as telegraph operator Harold Bride, Rafi Bromberg as First Officer Murdoch, Jan Eggers as Second Officer Lightoller, Matt Cavallo as lookout Frederick Fleet, and Benjamin Karras as the Bellboy.

The Third Class features Gabe Weiss as Jim Farrell, Emma Thayer as Kate McGowen, Caitlyn Greene as Kate Mullins, and Cynthia Raices as Kate Murphy. Second Class features Danielle Pennisi as Alice Bean, Paul Foster as Edgar Bean, Megan Larsen as Caroline Neville, and Greg Schultz as Charles Clarke. The cast also includes Melissa Broder and Robert Russell as Ida and Isador Strauss, Maysa Andujar, Kaitlyn Barnes, Amelia Carroll, Joe Christianson, Morgan Ford, Pearl Hart, Gerald Macanas, Elizabeth Mazzurco, Laura Penney Shamir, Penelope Romero, and Emi Simonds.

Here are more photos from the production.

Old Library Theatre (OLT), Fair Lawn Recreation Department’s resident theatre company, is a community theatre organization located in Bergen County, NJ. They want to acknowledge that we are on the traditional territory of the Lenape, the indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands. 

Old Library Theatre was started in 1967 in Fair Lawn by a handful of dreamers who wanted to make the joy of theatre performance available to everyone. The original theatre was on River Road, but the company relocated to the George Frey Center for Performing Arts in the Fair Lawn Community Center in 2006. Now in their 53rd season, them aim to continue the tradition of providing quality community entertainment at an affordable cost.

John Posada is a New Jersey based photographer specializing in photographing live theatre and music performances. For more than 15 years, John has photographed live events where he mastered the techniques of timing and capturing fast moving action under challenging lighting conditions. Currently, John has spent the last 3 years concentrating on photographing almost 200 theatre productions for over 70 different theatres. Click here for John's website.