Move over, Leo. Make room, Cathy Bates. Northwestern’s own “Titanic” is about to hit shore. (Forgive us, the puns are just so easy.) And this production has more to offer than James “King of the World” Cameron’s special effects and sappy love story.

After all, Leo and Kate never confessed their love for one another in song – Celine Dion, in all her wondrous glory, did the honors.

This time around, a cast of 57 students will bring Tony Award winner Maury Yeston’s music and lyrics and Peter Stone’s story to life in Cahn Auditorium.

Instead of having just three or four main characters and an enormous supporting cast, this production gives numerous students the chance to shine. That’s one of the main reasons director Dominic Missimi chose the show, he said.

“Where you might have been third from the left in a production of ‘Oklahoma,’ here you actually get to come forward and sing a duet or a solo,” Missimi said. “You actually have stage time with a name; you are part of an ensemble with a sense of equality.”

In this musical, all the characters have a story to tell — the ship’s captain, the third class Irishman, the first class Russian couple — and most of them do get to share their dreams and worries with the audience. (Note: The show is two hours and 40 minutes.)

A 23-piece orchestra, 200 period costumes and a set that fills Cahn’s stage like none before are three more reasons why this version is going to blow the Paramount Pictures production out of the water.

Here’s one more: You won’t be subjected to hearing the horrendous line “I’ll never let go, Jack.” (If only she had.)

– Ellen Carpenter