Information about Titanic the musical — Page 2

I saw the national tour when I was young and was disappointed with the staging. I only wish I had been able to see the Broadway production with its grandiose sets. Also, if I hadn't been so young at the time, I probably would've appreciated the music more.

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he's not the bell boy...he's the Thayer's son. John and Marion Thayer are a set of characters in the show actually based on a couple who made the crossing in 1912. They were in the first class; very wealthy. Why he runs across the stage with his toy boat though confuses me a tad as well...I'm sure it represents something none of us are grasping...

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I know a lot of people think Titanic is a great score but I am not one of them. To me Yeston's music is more pompous than profound - he seems to be trying to channel Edward Elgar in the big orchestral moments as if Englishness were required to give it authenticity. It doesn't work for me.

And on a related note the English accents were just godawful throughout the cast, biggest offender being Michael Cerveris. Couldn't they have gotten a dialect coach?

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No man is an island, byebyebaby. Some people are affected by tragedy even if it didn't directly affect them. Some people might think that your calling people over dramatic because it touched them insensitive. These were real people who died tragically. Some people are moved by that, even if it wasn't their grandpa.

Sorry if this link was posted. It's a slightly truncated version of
The Night Was Alive/The Proposal

Those sre all great reactions, observations and opinions of the show. As far as inside dirt or scandal there was not a lot because the cast and crew grew very, very close having gone through much hard work and long hours with major book and physical changes during rehearsals and previews. As many have stated the final moments where the survivors were joined by the victims for a reprise of the opening tableau was created close to opening night and was the moment the show crystalized for many.
There were stories that one of the "up and coming" actors was working his way through the ladies in the cast breaking a few hearts along the way. During one of the performances one of the actor's wives was having minor surgery when he got the phone call that she had died during the procedure, the cast and crew were informed during intermission and cast member Henry Stram made an emotional speech saying the best way to honor her memory was to sing her to Heaven and Act II was sung better than usual that night. Another night the actor playing Jim passed out on a second level and fell in his own vomit leaving Jen Piech singing to herself as the crew got him offstage unknown to the audience.
One married couple onstage had an illicet affair offstage during the run.
Closing night, each character as Ms Clarke introduced them got applause and the ovation after the GOD BLESS that ended the number got one of the loudest ovations I have heard in the theatre leaving every cast member shaken and some sobbing.
Oh, and there was time the crows nest didn't descend and David Elder was thrown onstage to sing his NO MOON, but as the crows nest set piece was waist high, the audience saw that under his peacoat, he was wearing no pants.

Updated On: 7/22/10 at 04:47 PM

fascinating stuff, cpd. thank you so much for sharing.

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ghostlight, I didn't mean to offend, the poster wanted some backstage stuff and those are old and rather innocent tales.
Constantine knocking up a chorine is much more explicit.

And if you are talking about the rumor of me and that hustler who is now a rising over the Hill well-proportioned juvenile, we both will deny it.
And all charges were dropped.

Updated On: 7/23/10 at 01:27 AM

Well, the story about "the actor playing Jim" is plain enough, and I know exactly who all the others are in his "innocent tales". I am very certain that not one of them would appreciate any of it being put out there on a very public theatrical message board. What do you think, CPD? Would you mind if any of your former colleagues knew it was you that you had told those stories? Do you really think they wouldn't mind? Adamgreer, if it was you these stories were being told about, would you be okay with it? Those were very personal matters and he absolutely has broken trust. The fact that he thinly veiled them in a blind item manner only adds to the tabloid level of interest - why on earth would it interest anyone that an actor was so sick that he fell into his own vomit? Or the very private matter of another actor's wife passing away? Is that the kind of "backstage stuff" anyone really wanted to know? He fell into his vomit - how fascinating....

Don't try me, CPD. It isn't the hustler story I had in mind. Think about that for a minute. What stories could a colleague of yours splash all over a message board? What stories could a colleague tell an employer? You're not as anonymous as you might think, and you really ought to respect the privacy of others. BTW, Clark is spelled without an "e".

The Elder no crow's nest/no moon/no pants story is funny, though, and an entirely different matter. That only happened once. The crow's nest failed to appear on several other occasions, but he was always wearing pants after that.

But usually no shoes.

The Blame

Updated On: 7/23/10 at 01:57 AM

Bye Bye, call me a softie but the Strauss's story gets me every time. I even get choked up in the movie when they show the single shot of the two of them embracing on their bed in their cabin with the water rushing in.

I too am a bit of a Titanic buff.

I'm also a pretty big Titanic buff. I haven't seen the musical, but the score is gorgeous. The first time I heard the entire opening was on XM Radio's "On Broadway" station. I was stuck in a traffic jam, and I didn't even mind because I was so enthralled by what I was hearing.

I'm sure that the Finale is really haunting when you see it, too.

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Count me among those who are fascinated with the Titanic story (facts and legend), and I thought this was one of the worst Broadway shows I've ever seen. And I've seen some real clunkers (Raggedy Ann: The Musical, Into the Light, etc.). If I hadn't had a friend in the cast, I would have left at intermission. I struggled to come up with something nice to say afterward. It was horrible.

For all the buzz about the expensive set, none of it showed on stage. If you took away the tilting (which is where all the money went), it was cheap and sparse, and together with the costumes looked like a low-budget Carol Burnett Show sketch. I'll never forget that cardboard model being pulled on a string across the stage. They could have gone down the street to Toys-R-Us and bought a better one for about $50. The lighting seemed off (too much of it was played in a very dim light---yeah, I get it, it was night outside), and the staging was pedestrian and completely uninspired. How many times can you march around in circles trying to show us there are more people with lots of activity going on? High schools have better direction than that.

The book wandered and seemed pointless and unfocused. The score sounded "pretty" but also pretty forgettable with precious few exceptions. The performers seemed to be serving the material adequately, but the material was terrible. The only thing I liked about it was the choral singing. When the ensemble sang in unison, it was truly gorgeous.

... which is what I told my friend (the very last part above).

The rest you can have.

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Updated On: 7/23/10 at 02:06 PM

There's almost no unison singing in the score, best12. Whenever the ensemble sings as a group, there are harmonies.

As a musician, and music teacher, my opinion is that Yeston is a great theatre composer, and Titanic a truly wonderful score. Unfortunately, it didn't speak to you. But using words like "forgettable" to describe good music is a bit dilettante-ish. What we remember has nothing to do with quality, but is usually due to something else (generally repetition, or subjective values).