How did the Titanic sink on Broadway?- Page 2

[frontrowcentre2]

Posted: 5/3/09 at 2:07am

CatsNY is right. It doesn't HAVE to be all that elaborate. In fact watching the Broadway production I wished they had gone with a minimalist staging (thing GRAND HOTEL at sea and you'll get the idea.)

Trouble was the set was huge but some of the drops looked cheap and scenes such as the first class dining room cried out for an opulence that was missing.

Also director Richard Jones seemed so concerned with the technical aspects he wasn't giving more than general direction to the cast. (Jones was not even nominated for a Tony that year.) Fortunately most were able to develop some kind of characterization from Peter Stones' very thin script.

But the show had moments. The tableau at the end of act one when the set cleared away and se saw the mighty Titanic off in the distance sailing across the ocean and off stage to a crash. Blackout. I thought it was brilliant. But when I first heard about it I must admit it sounded chintzy. Then I saw it and saw how effective it was.

Maury Yeston's score was (as any who have heard the cast album know) gorgeous. The show was helped by first by Rosie O'Donnell constantly plugging it, then winning the Tony award, and finally when the phenomenally successful movie coming out 8 months later. Unfortunately the movie was so huge that within a year there was Titanic backlash and audiences grew weary of hearing about it. The receipts for the show fell off rather dramatically in the winter of 1999 and the show closed still in the red. It was a flawed show but certainly interesting. I know at least two community theatre groups here are planning to mount it next spring.

[IdinaBellFoster]

Posted: 5/3/09 at 2:13am

My high school did it last year, and everyone loved it.

We had a large platform that was flat for most of the show, and then slowly throughout act two it got steeper and steeper. Then during 'The Blame' we closed a curtain in front of the platform and placed sawhorses under it to make it quite steep and sturdy, and put black wooden pieces fit to the shape of the gap that was created in front.

A little lame, but you do what you have to do.

[WishingOnlyWounds2]

Posted: 5/3/09 at 3:19am

Wait, was the movie story based off the musical? I always thought the show came after.

[antonijan]

Posted: 5/3/09 at 3:36am

How about a Titanic Musical the movie?

[tourboi]

Posted: 5/3/09 at 4:04am

When I saw the show on Broadway I laughed (as many did in the mezz, where I was sitting) when the little boat came out. It was really, really cheesy.

Half of the score was decent, half was a mess IMHO. And the book paper thing. Not a show I'd rush back to, but it does have its followers.

[EugLoven]

Posted: 5/3/09 at 4:10am

WAAAAYYY BACK IN SEPTEMBER 2005, I started an "Appreciation" thread on TITANIC THE MUSICAL where fortunately, many BroadwayWorld members shared their first memories and experiences of this INCREDIBLE show.

Check it out:
https://forum.broadwayworld.com/readmessage.cfm?thread=868946

There are also 2 existing (ahem-bootleg-ahem) videos of this show from Broadway and San Diego Tour (don't PM me about them) that provide a GREAT visual of just how the ship sank (the stage tilted)
Updated On: 5/3/09 at 04:10 AM

[antonijan]

Posted: 5/3/09 at 4:54am

Did the small boat looked like the one in Phantom?

Posted: 5/3/09 at 9:01am

The musical is based on the actual incident. The movie is fiction that uses the basic story as a backdrop to made up characters (Rose & Jack). I don't know that there was a Titanic backlash as much as there was so much audience confusion that the musical didn't mention Rose or Jack and didn't include "My Heart Will Go On."

[broadway122]

Posted: 5/3/09 at 9:07am

When our director mentioned we might do this, one girl said "I call being Rose" and another said "I hate Celine Dion, so I won't try out"

[AndAllThatJazz22]

Posted: 5/3/09 at 9:09am

By not recouping its investment

[singtopher]

Posted: 5/3/09 at 9:35am

I once sat in on local auditions for a Regional production of the show and some 16 year old girl came in, sang "my heart will go on", and did one of Gloria Stewart's monologues from the movie. It was a laugh.

[ohjustjake]

Posted: 5/3/09 at 11:27am

I absolutely love this show, but I never got a chance to see it on Broadway.

But my community theatre did put this one, and I was cast as Officer Lighttoller. It's one of the best productions I have ever been in because the cast got so close.

As for the sinking - we had a large flat that was about 6 feet tall that ran the width of the stage. It was painted black with portholes and whatnot, and had two large sliding doors in the middle to come in and out of. Most of the Officer scenes were on top of the flat, and a lot of the others were in front of it. We had a hydraulic lift on the stage right side of it so throughout the second act, we had it increasingly lift up. And at the end of the sinking, we had a black curtain rise from the floor and meet another curtain lowered down.

The budget for this show doesn't have to be huge - it can be very simple or very elaborate. I think that somewhere in the middle is probably perfect.

[deck925]

Posted: 5/3/09 at 11:47am

Ehh, I'm very mixed about Titanic. It was my senior show, and a big dissapointment to many of us. Personally while I do enjoy most of the score, there are some not so good songs within it. I really think the music is a little difficult for high schools to be attempting, especially with many of the male roles needing to sing at least an F or G.

[brad3]

Posted: 5/3/09 at 3:09pm

is there a video anywhere?

[tourboi]

Posted: 5/3/09 at 3:16pm

The boat was like a model you'd buy in a store.

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 5/3/09 at 3:30pm

Except that it lit up. Most of the models you can buy in a store don't light up. That feature is saved for much more expensive models.

[tourboi]

Posted: 5/3/09 at 4:41pm

HAH! You're so right.

[amoni]

Posted: 5/3/09 at 7:39pm

If you go to Google Video and type in Titanic a new musical you will get a bunch of legit clips form the Dutch Tour which is very similar to the Broadway version. You'll see the ship tilting and the piano slide too.

[Tsao5]

Posted: 5/3/09 at 9:18pm

In both the Dutch touring, and the German sit down in Hamburg, the little boat that moves across the stage at the end act 1 was...thankfully....cut. I am not sure if the sound effect of ice scratching against the hull was in the Broadway production ( cannot remember). But act 1 in the German production I saw ended with a black curtain/scrim with stars coming down during the final strains of the music..the music swelling with the sounds of ice ripping a hole in the ship under it. It was a nice effect, and from what I remember much better than a toy ship being pulled across the stage.

The sinking itself was similar BUT at least in the German production, there were some actors who jumped from the ship during the chaos. You could see them climbing up on the back railing, with others trying to stop them...and then jumping off (kinda like when Raoul jumps into the lake in Phantom). It looked cool.

[JazzSquare55]

Posted: 5/3/09 at 9:21pm

Tsao - When I saw it, I do recall a sound effect (Broadway mounting)

[Theatrical Landladies]

Posted: 5/4/09 at 5:47am

We were very disappointed with the sets for TITANIC! We travelled from the UK especially to see the show and already loved the music (big Maury Yeston fans)so were really looking forward to seeing the staging. Unfortunately we went to FORBIDDEN BROADWAY the previous evening and they had several TITANIC moments including SHIP OF AIR (instead of SHIP OF DREAMS) and "BOTTOM, SHALL WE ALL MEET ON THE BOTTOM (instead of AUTUMN!).

Ship of Air was hillarious as the cast made fun of the fact that there is no ship for the opening boarding scene but rather the audience is in the space the ship should be and the cast are imagining they are looking at the ship. When we then saw TITANIC the joke really hit home.

Many of the backdrops looked very stylized and rather home made. The small ship was a real mistake. We were sitting dead centre orchestra and when the ship appeared there was an intake of breath from the audience as they expected something wonderful and you could hear the gasp then an "aw" of disappointment as this little toy chugged along the stage. It sent us all to the bar laughing.

We still loved the show as the music and performances transcended the staging. IMO you don't go to the theatre to see the sets but when they are fantastic it does add to the enjoyment. Titanic's staging is best forgotten.

[songanddanceman2]

Posted: 5/4/09 at 8:05am

"There are also 2 existing (ahem-bootleg-ahem) videos of this show from Broadway and San Diego Tour"

Oh yeah i have both of them lol

I did however get to see it just before it closed in NY and have to say i walked away with very mixed feelings.

The staging of the show for the most part was great. The sinking was OK but it bugged me that the actors on the upper level when the ship was tilted did not slide down and just hung on, I know on the touring version they did (though the tour did not have the multi level ship for the scene and that impacted the tour.

I thought many of the flats they used on Broadway were a mess and made it look cheap but the multi leval more than made up for it.

The score was ok but had many songs that i found myself checking my watch. I loved the opening song, Ladies Maid, Andrews Vision, To The Lifeboats, Still etc but many were dire.

The cast were wondeful but they did not really have any characters to play, so many characters were used that little time was given to each. I really wanted to feel more for Mr and Mrs Strouse during Still but didnt.

The little boat at the end of Act 1 i thought was dreadful and made it feel like a parody of titanic.

It was always going to be a tough one to put on stage, and this is probably the best they could have done with it.

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 5/4/09 at 9:08am

God, I despised this show. A huge lumbering bore.

[blondebaby589]

Posted: 5/4/09 at 9:38am

high school kids are OBSESSED with Titanic and they love doing the show. It makes them feel like Leo or Kate.

...Those characters aren't in the musical. Either high school students are very dumb, or you're mistaken when you assume that. I'm going to have to agree with Dame. This show is painful and boring.

[millie_dillmount]

Posted: 5/4/09 at 9:48am

singtopher: Did she get a part in the show? Lol.