"The Last Lifeboat" is anchoring into Geauga Lyric Theater next weekend and calling "Ahoy" to an award-winning play and its little known story about the…
“The Last Lifeboat” is anchoring into Geauga Lyric Theater next weekend and calling “Ahoy” to an award-winning play and its little known story about the Titanic.
“It’s premise — an untold story about the Titanic and the ethical dilemma and aftermath faced by the builder of the ship, Bruce It’smay — captivated me and as I dug deeper, I was even more fascinated and thought it would be a terrific season opener,” said Geauga Lyric Theater Guild Executive Director Erika Hansen. “We just had a season of laughter so we wanted to open with something different and dramatic — and this play certainly fits the bill.”
“The Last Lifeboat,” directed by Michael Rogan, opens Sept. 16 and runs through Sept. 25 at the Geauga Lyric Theater on Chardon Square.
“It is getting a great deal of attention these days in theaters from southern Ohio to Canada,” said Civia Weisner, GLT board vice president. She added the theater guild is one of the first community theaters in the world to be producing this play.
“Ours is the Northeast Ohio premiere and we are proud of that,” she said.
The nearly two-hour play tells the story of Englishman J. Bruce It’smay, who was owner of the White Star Shipping Line when the Titanic sank and whose decision to save himself rather than go down with the ship made him the scapegoat for one of the greatest disasters of all time.
“I think it is an intriguing view on the story we’ve heard about from the ‘other side’ more often,” Weisner said, of the play’s fresh look. “Maybe this is part of the truth, It’smay was torn in his attempts to build the ship and to please his investors, designers and his father. We’ll never really know.”
This epic tale explores not only the April 1912 tragedy itself — made even more famous by the 1998 film “Titanic,” which won 11 Oscars — but the sensationalized trials and aftermath of the night that changed the world forever.
“The cast is a talented, hardworking, focused group that has bought into my concept of the show,” said Rogan, of Highland Heights.
Cast members include veteran Gala award-winning actor John Kolar as It’smay, Kate Bernardo as It’smay’s wife, Florence, and Weisner as It’smay’s real love of his life, Vivian.
“I hope show-goers gain a better understanding of the true causes that lead to the sinking of the Titanic,” Kolar said, of the most serious role he’s played so far. “It has been said that it was a combination of many factors that led to the disaster.”
Bernardo will be making her GLT debut.
“I have much sympathy for Florence,” Bernardo said, of her character. “After the sinking, she struggles to keep It’smay sane and tries to redeem his reputation. He is the love of her life and is willing to sacrifice herself to save him, despite his erratic behavior.”
Weisner’s character is a woman It’smay fell in love in their youth, but It’smay’s father felt her below his son’s upper-class standing and forced him to leave for New York.
Weisner, a California native, had coffee with “The Last Lifeboat’s” Playwright Luke Yankee while out in Southern California.
“We had time to sit at an outdoor caf to talk about the Titanic and ‘Lifeboat,'” Weisner said. “He was, and is, passionate about presenting a new viewpoint and did a great deal of research to complete his play.”
She added, “My visit with Luke was a highlight of my summer. He is a very approachable, intelligent man with great plans to bring many different and provocative stories to the stage.”
Actors continued their busy rehearsal schedule for the show kicking off the new season.
“The first time I read the script, I saw that it would allow me to be very creative,” Rogan added, a retired trial attorney who “got back to his first love, the theatre.”
His wife, Helen, a physician, lends her talents as assistant director.
“She is the organized one,” Rogan said. “I am the idea man. We started working together about six years ago. I wanted to get her involved so we could do theatre together.”
Kristine Edwards shares the stage with her two daughters. Her youngest, Brigitte Edwards, portrays Angela, who is rescued from a cabin by It’smay.
“It’s always an honor to tell someone’s story and this experience is so extra special because I desire for my children to know the magic of theatre that my mother shared with me such that they, in turn, share it with future generations,” Kristine Edwards said. “I feel the pain of the past as I look into the eyes of my children on stage. Life is short then, and now — we must cherish every moment in time and make wise decisions to protect all children.”
Film Critic Rex Reed said “The Last Lifeboat” is destined to become a theatre classic.
“I hope people will realize that the truth of an epic disaster lies between the horror of the event and the hatred that it creates,” Rogan said. “We are so quick to judge. People will think that maybe Bruce It’smay is not the devil that history made him out to be. People should see it because it is thought provoking.”
