Don Stephenson was a member of the original Broadway cast of "Titanic: The Musical," a show that opened in 1997 to reviews that ranged from mixed to negative but went on to win the Tony for best musical. Now he's directing its debut at the Muny, where he and his wife, Emily Loesser, have performed many times.

• Audiences associate the Muny with shows like "Oklahoma!" or "Guys and Dolls." But "Titanic" is about a real-life tragedy. Let's put it this way: It's not "The Producers." But I think it's one of the great American musicals — the last great choral musical. And its first half-hour will knock your socks off.

• What does it have to do with the James Cameron movie? Nothing. Don't come expecting Jack and Rose. In the musical, the story is told by basically everyone. All the actors bear the burden of pushing the story forward.

• The musical and the movie came out about the same time, about 90 years after the Titanic sank. Why do you think people still care? It's a cultural touchstone. Don't you always wonder what you would have done if you'd been there? Would you go down with the ship? Would you tear the life jacket off somebody else? You can't know — and maybe you don't want to know.