Titanic - the musical

i have a strong bias toward this show, because it was the first broadway production i ever saw. it was a knock-out experience and left me in tears for quite some time after the final curtain. i know it didn't "work" for some people, but it certainly worked for me. you should definitely get the cast recording, if you don't have it already.

here's an earlier thread where people expressed their opinions ...

https://forum.broadwayworld.com/readmessage.cfm?boardname=bway&thread=802279#933935

here's a photo from the german production ...

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Updated On: 7/4/05 at 01:43 PM

I saw this musical about 5 times when it was open in New York. There were some great performances -- Victoria Clark, Michael Cerveris, and Brian D'Arcy James -- however, I didn't think any of their roles allowed them to "stand out" in a season that boasted the likes of Chicago (which subsequently took home most of the acting awards this year).

The score? Mediocre. The only thing I really remember from the show are the lines, "There she is...big a** ship" (or something to that effect and "I want to be a lady's maid...lady's maid in America."

It was really fantastic to see the ship sink...quite honestly, it made it worth the price of the ticket. I did rush the entire time, so for $20, it was worth it!

Thank you guys so much. Did they make a cast recording? I tihnk they did, if so, how was it and is it worth buying?

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They did, indeed, make a cast recording. I think there are only about 6-7 songs on it. My opinion? Not worth having.

the only thing besides 700 sundays to make me cry during the show. the staging was great. the music didnt thrill me at first, but after listening to it many times throughout the years, i have the score burned in my memory.

To clarify...

I was JOKING about the "There she is...big *ss ship." It's something to the effect of: "There she is...towering high, blah, blah..." Insert more choruses about how magnificent the ship is.

Second, I haven't listened to the CD in awhile...I might be confusing it with something else. While the show definitely has a full score, I thought the CD only featured a few songs and the rest was largely instrumental. Perhaps I'm wrong -- if I am, oh well. (Maybe I have a promotional CD? Not worth checking into.)

I really liked the German production and the German recording is really good. It is also a Dutch recording of it available.

David Costable...BRILLIANT

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I saw Titanic a number of times, and for the most part I must agree with Marlen on this one. Really when you get right down to it, the show was very well constructed, and as for the music being "Mediocre", maybe you should get your ears checked. The only problem I had with it, in my opinion, was the obvious lack of character development. The only two characters that I truly felt sorry for were Isador and Ida Strauss, and that was mainly for the reason that they had just finished singing the gorgeous number "Still" right before they died. I would love to see somebody tool around and try to fix the problems with the shows book, but other than that, I loved Titanic.......The German production is the BEST yet!

See Ya!

Phantom05

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That's correct. The CAST RECORDING of Titanic is rather incomplete. it does fill the entire disc with a 78 minute running time, but there were a lot of musical "sections" that had to be left out in order for it to remain a one disc recording.

The song sung by Edgar and Alice, and then Caroline and Charles - "Edgar, look, right in there. The first class dining saloon!" / "Caroline aren't you thrilled? Finally now, you'll see what second class looks like!" along with several other scenes that had portions of sung dialogue ... the reprise of "What A Remarkable Age This Is" was not recorded. "I Have Danced" was reduced from a brilliant combination of scene and song to a simple sung-through song which takes away its charm. The Entr'acte and act two opening number "Wake Up! Wake Up!" are also missing and "The Staircase" song was not recorded, but overall, though, it is still a brilliant recording. It's just not complete.

And I must disagree with those who have negative things to say about the book. Peter Stone is/was a genius and the book for titanic is remarkable in the sense that he was able to combine all the characters and all the scenes into a seemingly seamless show with still - even though we know the ending - an act two filled with high tension my only complaint is that the millionaire's song "Behind Every Great Fortune" did not make it to opening night.

Updated On: 7/4/05 at 06:30 PM

Lot of misinformation you're so casually rattling off there, BroadwayMel, but as Joekv99 has corrected most of them, I won't go over them again. Little puzzled by your claim that CHICAGO "took home most of the acting awards this (sic) year".

CHICAGO, a revival, took six Tonys. TITANIC, an original, took five, including best musical. Granted, maybe CHICAGO's awards may have been for the actors performances while TITANIC's were for book, score & such, but they weren't even in competition. One a revival, the other new.

Personally, loved the show. Michael Cerveris' eleventh hour number, redesigning the ship as she sinks, was heartbreaking.

The show certainly had its faults, but it's an OBC album well worth having.

Updated On: 7/4/05 at 08:31 PM

I stand by my post, ghostlight. I was SPECIFICALLY talking about the acting. I believe I wrote:

There were some great performances -- Victoria Clark, Michael Cerveris, and Brian D'Arcy James -- however, I didn't think any of their roles allowed them to "stand out" in a season that boasted the likes of Chicago (which subsequently took home most of the acting awards this year).

NONE of the performers in Titanic were nominated for the Tony. While the show took home some creative awards (and best musical), the two major acting awards went to Bebe and James Naughton from Chicago. Now, we all know that a Tony nomination doesn't mean jack with regard to talent (see Victoria Clark, not nominated for Titanic and subsequent winner for Piazza). However, the role should make the actor stand out. Titanic really didn't have this when compared to The Life or Chicago.

As for the score, everyone is entitled to their opinion. I actually own the CD. However, it's certainly not on my list of top 15 OBCs to run out and buy.