On the RMS Titanic, everybody yearns for something. A better life, a new lover, another adventure.

Almost all those dreams are dashed by the shipping company’s chairman, J. Bruce Ismay. He’s preoccupied by ego and reputation and demands the floating city travel ever faster – towards its demise. This is Titanic The Musical, with music and lyrics by Maury Yeston and book by Peter Stone.

Anthony Warlow in Titanic The Music: In Concert, The Marrollo Project. Photo © Paul Mulligan

While it won a raft of Tony Awards (including Best Musical) when it opened in 1997, it now seems dated. The book is unsophisticated and lacks depth and urgency. In fact, the narrative seems to slow as the tragedy unfolds in the second act, partly because it occurs through the eyes of the ship’s designer who imagines the improvements he might make to the vessel.

The score, played by a fulsome 26-piece orchestra, is sometimes cinematic (especially in the overture, entr’acte and finale) but has few memorable numbers.

The failings of the work itself might be more noticeable to contemporary Melbourne audiences who have recently been treated to Hamilton and