Information about Titanic the musical- Page 2

[StageManager2]

Posted: 7/22/10 at 1:55pm

^^^
Isn't he a belllboy going around greeting people?

[backwoodsbarbie]

Posted: 7/22/10 at 1:56pm

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.

Posted: 7/22/10 at 1:59pm

The little kid was a passenger who was playing with his sailboat as he waited to board. (I think) Pointless.

[matineeidol2013]

Posted: 7/22/10 at 2:07pm

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...

[ghostlight2]

Posted: 7/22/10 at 2:14pm

"I remember they were having lots of technical difficulties during previews. The set wasn't working properly, and there were many nights, when, according to the cast, they "rewrote history" since the ship didn't sink that night."

The show was frequently stopped for long periods of time while the hydraulics were worked on, but the only time I remember that it didn't sink, they sent the audience home.

There was a bellboy and Thayer's little boy playing with his sailboat. Oddly, the bellboy was played by a woman. I loved this show and I would love to see it revived. I think my two favorite numbers are "The Night Was Alive/The Proposal" duet b/w Marty Moran and d'Arcy James, and Cerveris' "Andrew's Lament" - though "The Blame" was pretty good too..

"Crying? Really?"

Yep, really. It was a tragedy of huge proportion. Just because it happened a long time ago doesn't make it any less tragic.

Updated On: 7/22/10 at 02:14 PM

[mallardo]

Posted: 7/22/10 at 2:16pm

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?

[byebyebaby12]

Posted: 7/22/10 at 3:17pm

I understand crying during the show but crying and touching the names? I get it if they were like your Grandpa or something. It just seems over dramatic.

[ghostlight2]

Posted: 7/22/10 at 3:50pm

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

[Boq101]

Posted: 7/22/10 at 4:24pm

I love this score, first heard it in the seventh grade. Our new choir teacher that year had played Mrs. Hutchinson (one of the maids) in the original cast. Great soprano voice. Such a great score :)

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 7/22/10 at 4:47pm

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

[byebyebaby12]

Posted: 7/22/10 at 6:14pm

Okay, before I start this, I should let you know that I am incredibly interested Titanic story. I have every book and watched every special I could get my hands on. I am not much a fan of the 1997 movie seeing as the plot and writing are terrible even though it is visually stunning.

But anyway, a physical representation of events like what was shown on the stage, I understand

I was responding to people looking at names on the wall, touching them and crying which is a bit over the top. Given, these were just names without pictures.

That did not even happen at the Titanic exibit I went to where they gave you "passport" at the door with a name on it. You are this person, boarding the ship. They make you feel like you are passenger and you walked through recrations of the rooms with artifacts from the time period and some from the wreckage. They had a deck area where you could feel and see what it was like the night of the sinking. They then take you to the "bottom of the ocean" where they have more of the wreakage. They then take you into a dark room where there is the GIANT peice of the hull they brought up. No one talked much in there, just kind of stunned silence. Afterwards, you are shown the wall of names and find out if "you" survived. No crying, no hysterics. Just people looking and kind of stunned.


There was a community theatre that did the show a few years back and I wish had gone just to see how they handled the set.

Updated On: 7/22/10 at 06:14 PM

[matineeidol2013]

Posted: 7/22/10 at 6:47pm

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

[ghostlight2]

Posted: 7/23/10 at 12:56am

I honestly don't get how you find CPD's tabloid tales of heartbreak, death, vomit and illicit affairs "fascinating". Not one of those stories has anything to do with the show. These are very personal matters and no good colleague would stoop to that level of disclosing those details. Not cool. I'm sure CPD has a few stories he'd like kept in the closet too. He keeps talking out of school, I'll share a few with you.

"Afterwards, you are shown the wall of names and find out if "you" survived. No crying, no hysterics. Just people looking and kind of stunned."

I am sorry that you feel the need to denigrate those who have the sensitivity you lack. Someone shedding tears upon contemplation of such a tragedy is not exhibiting "hysterics". Very unfortunate that you think that something must impact you personally on some level before you can show emotion regarding it. So, "stunned" is okay, but tears are not? If it doesn't move you, fine, but why pass judgement on those it does?

On topic, this is a great version of the
opening number with full cast

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 7/23/10 at 1:27am

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

[adamgreer]

Posted: 7/23/10 at 1:31am

I thought Curtain's stories were general and vague enough that he didn't break any kind of trust he might have had with the parties involved.

[ghostlight2]

Posted: 7/23/10 at 1:57am

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

[newintown]

Posted: 7/23/10 at 9:28am

Oh come down off the high horse, Pollyanna Ghostlight. Everyone with a brain loves gossip, and anyone who gets into performing who thinks they have the right to not be talked about needs their head examined.

That's it. Final word. People in the public eye get talked about, and they have no control over it. Done.

Posted: 7/23/10 at 10:15am

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.

[ghostlight2]

Posted: 7/23/10 at 10:52am

Sure, Newintown, people in the public eye get talked about. What I objected to more than anything else was the fact that CPD is talking about people who, in his words, were a "cast and crew [that] grew very, very close", presumably a cast and crew he was a part of. Sue me, I think it's kind of sleazy to talk about your colleagues, especially those you're "close" to - and especially with such lame gossip. Seriously, blind items and vomit?

But I've voiced my objections, and as you've deemed it not only inevitable but also that anyone with a brain actually enjoys hearing about death and bodily functions, let's see if CPD has any other juicy gossip. Maybe someone had explosive diarrhea at one point. It is possible someone called out of the show because their dog got run over. Until then, I'm going to talk about the show.

JoeKv, I'm a huge Titanic buff as well, and I loved the Strausses. I did think "Still" ran a bit too long, for its placement that late in the show, but the breaking of the glass at the end of the tune was a touching moment.

Here's an odd little tidbit - very early in previews, before the moving tableau CPD mentions had gelled, Cerveris ended the show as Ballard, the man who discovered the wreck of the Titanic. In his hands was a model of Alvin, the bright yellow submersible that he used to make the discovery. It was a huge wtf moment and I think was only done twice.

[SporkGoddess]

Posted: 7/23/10 at 1:45pm

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.

[adamgreer]

Posted: 7/23/10 at 1:57pm

JoeKv, I'm a huge Titanic buff as well, and I loved the Strausses. I did think "Still" ran a bit too long, for its placement that late in the show, but the breaking of the glass at the end of the tune was a touching moment.

My big problem with Still (which I think is a gorgeous song) is that we don't earn that big emotional payoff. We don't get a whole lot about the Strauss' in the show, and they're fairly minor characters. It seemed a little out of nowhere that they got this emotionally stirring duet in the ship's final moments.
Updated On: 7/23/10 at 01:57 PM

[best12bars]

Posted: 7/23/10 at 2:06pm

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.

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

[byebyebaby12]

Posted: 7/23/10 at 2:10pm

I love the Strauss story. I wish they had fleshed it out in the movie a bit because if you blinked you missed it. My favorite part of the movie was Victor Garber. Which is not saying much since I really don't like it. If they said Rose or Jack one more time I was going scream.

I really wish I could have seen the show though. It sounds more true to the actual story.

[newintown]

Posted: 7/23/10 at 2:25pm

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).

[ObiHave]

Posted: 7/23/10 at 2:26pm

The Strauss story is wonderful...you could almost do an entire musical about them...I think most people object to the lack of prominence in the story and then this big dramatic duet which seems to come out of nowhere. I personally thought this song seemed like and after thought. I love the score and this song but it sticks out like a sore thumb. I personally would have liked something more soft and intimate...but I haven't won a Tony so who am I to say?