This winter, Cherry Creek High School put on “Titanic” the Tony-Award-winning musical. The Cherry Creek cast sang and danced to a story rooted in historical accuracy and emotional appeal.

The cast and crew worked on the play since early January. Props had to be built, costumes designed, and lines memorized and rehearsed.

Set design and props had to design and build a two-story set to facilitate the allusion of being on the Titanic. Props built a boarding ramp that could be raised and lowered to simulate the slowly sinking deck of the Titanic. An actual size lifeboat was designed to be raised and lowered from the pit.

“You put a lot of yourself into it, so by the end it does take a lot out of you, but seeing it all come together on stage is worth every second of stress,” said Hannah Seavers, assistant stage manager.

The stage was more dynamic than a platform to act on. Lighting changed the scene between daytime, nighttime and the boiler room. The rafters were used as a lookout tower on the boat with an actor singing from up there.

The cast was one of the largest yet in a Cherry Creek High School musical. It included a multitude of characters between first, second, and third class passengers, the crew of the ship, and the owner, builder, and captain of the Titanic.

Beneath the second story sat the orchestra who played all of the music live.

Unlike the James Cameron movie of the same name, the musical did not feature the love story between Jack and Rose. Instead, it focused on the story of the people aboard, the families who were split, and all the lives lost.

Taylor Lowry, who played one of the Titanic’s stewardesses, said, “It was so emotionally raw, because none of the actors had ever gone through an experience where we knew we were going to die and someone else we loved were going to die and we were never going to see them again.”

The musical was continually full each night, and each performance ended with a standing applause. The Creek theatre program plans to put on a show this spring that has not yet been announced.