PRESENTED BY CAMILLE & DAVID KUNDERT SEPTEMBER 20 — OCTOBER 23, 2022 | QUADRACCI POWERHOUSE www.MilwaukeeRep.com | 414-224-9490 STORY & BOOK BY PETER STONE MUSIC & LYRICS BY MAURY YESTON ORCHESTRATIONS BY JOSHUA CLAYTON DIRECTED BY MARK CLEMENTS
2 Titanic: The Musical – PlayGuide Mark Clements ARTISTIC DIRECTOR Chad Bauman EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR PLAYGUIDE WRITTEN BY Lindsey Hoel-Neds CONTENT WRITER PLAYGUIDE EDITED BY Deanie Vallone LITERARY DIRECTOR Lisa Fulton CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER SEPTEMBER 20 — OCTOBER 23, 2022 | QUADRACCI POWERHOUSE Executive Producers Melanie & Steve Booth • Sandy & Bill Haack Associate Producers Katie & Chris Hermann • Abigail & David Nash TheTheTheSynopsis..............................................................................4Characters...........................................................................3RealPeopleBehindtheCharacters....................6BuildingoftheWorld’sGreatestShip.................8Sinkingof Titanic: A Timeline.............................10 The Wreckage of Titanic................................................12 Historical Context: Divisions in Social Classes and on Titanic................................13 Titanic in Popular Culture.............................................14 TABLE OF CONTENTS Story & Book by Peter Stone | Music & Lyrics by Maury Yeston Orchestrations by Joshua Clayton | Directed by Mark Clements Corporate Sponsor
SECONDCHARACTERSCLASSPASSENGERS Edgar Beane and Alice Beane Charles Clark and Lady Caroline Neville CREW Frederick Barrett Stoker & Crewman Thomas Andrews Architect/Ship Designer Herbert Pitman 3rd Officer J. Bruce Ismay Chairman of White Star Line Harold Bride Radioman Joseph Boxhall 4th Officer & Navigator Frederick Fleet Lookout Robert Hitchens Quartermaster William McMaster Murdoch 1st Officer Edward J. Smith Captain Charles Lightoller 2nd Officer Henry Etches Steward FIRST PASSENGERSCLASS Colonel John Jacob Astor and Madeline Astor Benjamin Guggenheim Mr. and Mrs. George Widener John and Marion Thayer Charlotte Cardoza Isidor Straus and Ida Straus THIRD PASSENGERSCLASS Kate Mullins Kate Murphy Jim Farrell Kate McGowan 3 Titanic: The Musical – PlayGuide
4 Titanic: The Musical – PlayGuide Act I Titanic: The Musical opens on April 9, 1912. Shipbuilding team of Harland and Wolff, alongside the ensemble, extol the great building feats in history and their own great building adventure, Titanic. The scene shifts to early the next morning in Southampton, England where the crew of the ship bustles about preparing and loading the ship for the upcoming grand voyage on the magnificent Titanic. Alongside the crew, the audience is introduced to passengers from the first, second, and third class levels as they anticipate boarding. As the boat sets sail, Captain Edward J. Smith; ship designer Andrews; and Chairman of the White Star Line, Bruce Ismay gather on the bridge. Ismay urges Smith to take the ship faster as he hopes to make the crossing as short as possible for publicity purposes and tries to get Andrews on his side. The scene changes to the boiler room where the stoker Barrett comments on the hasty increase in the ship’s speed and then tells his story through song. Later that evening, second class passengers gawk at the opulence of the First Class Dining Saloon, where the Captain and Ismay again discuss speed over safety. The Captain mentions that they will be taking the Northern route to save fuel and time. During the next evening’s dinner, Ismay is happy to hear of increased distance with increased speed the previous day. A crewmember arrives to alert the Captain of an iceberg warning. On Saturday evening, Ismay is annoyed when the Captain tells his second officer to maintain the speed at 21 Afterknots. dinner, the Captain and First Officer Murdoch discuss another report of the iceberg, but Smith does not worry as it is hundreds of miles away. Meanwhile, on the third class deck the audience hears the dreams of three Irish women all named Kate who are looking for opportunities in America. As the scene switches to the second class deck above, Charles and Caroline, who are engaged but pretending to be married, deal with the differences between their social classes in their lives at home. Back to the crew, Ismay is angry with Andrews and Smith, imploring them to show Titanic’s greatness through speed. In the radio room, Radioman Bride is furiously sending cables about the journey and receiving cables about the iceberg. Stoker Barrett comes in to send a cable to his love back home, sending her a proposal for when he returns. On Sunday morning, the first class passengers enjoy a ragtime band and dance after church services, and second class passenger Alice tries to sneak into the festivities. When she returns to her husband Edgar, she talks about how she wants so much more.
SYNOPSIS
The night is calm, cold, and moonless. Amidst all the stories taking place all around the ship, the lookout, Mr. Fleet spots the forewarned iceberg and sounds the alarm. In a slow motion tableau the ship makes contact at 11:40 pm on April 15th and the act comes to an end. Act II Just a few moments after the ship hits the iceberg, the crew begins to wake passengers. The first and second class passengers are told to put on life vests, dress warmly, and come to the upper decks.
The final scene of the musical takes the audience to the Carpathia, where the survivors tell of the tragic aftermath of the sinking of Titanic. Both the survivors and the departed come together for one final song and one final reminder of the tragedy of the ship of all ships, Titanic.
In the First Class Grand Salon, first and second class passengers gather under advisement of the crew. The crew tries to hide the truth from the passengers while at the same time telling them to don life vests and the ship noticeably starts to tilt.
Desperately trying to get help, radioman Bride sends distress signals to any ship he can find. Carpathia has replied, but will not arrive for over four hours. Californian appears to be closer, but he is getting no response. The possibility of help coming before Titanic sinks is becoming more and more a dream.
On the F deck below, the story is more immediately dire, as the third class passengers are locked below and the men’s dormitory begins to flood. Stoker Barrett attempts to aid some of the passengers in escaping the rapidly sinking level of the ship.
Back on the ship’s deck, first and second class women and children are being put into lifeboats. Separations occur and both crew and passengers lament their lost loves and the impending lost lives. As Titanic comes to its ultimate demise, the remaining people aboard the ship resign themselves to the truth and what is to come.
The third class passengers, by contrast, are told to stay below and await further instructions. Second Officer Lightoller reports to the bridge, noting that the ship is taking on water in several of the boiler rooms, which are rapidly filling. Andrews also arrives with reports of a 300 foot gash in the hull and six of the sixteen compartments impacted. Ismay does not want to alarm the passengers and says Titanic should be able to stay afloat; Andrews informs him that the damage is too severe and the boat will sink.
That night all over the ship, crew and passengers rest, converse, challenge each other, connect, and commiserate.
Above, the first and second class passengers move out onto the upper decks. The Captain, Andrews, and the officers discuss the lack of adequate lifeboats. The number was lowered to make accommodations for the view and comfort of the first class passengers. Captain Smith still refuses to tell the passengers what is really going on and instructs the crew to load the first and second class passengers into lifeboats. When Lightoller inquires about third class, the captain says not to worry about the hundreds of them stuck below.
5 Titanic: The Musical – PlayGuide
Fleet was originally from Liverpool and had spent much of his 25 years on ships when he joined the crew of Titanic as a lookout. At 11:39 pm, Fleet first spotted the iceberg ahead. Fleet was put onto a lifeboat to row along with another crew member. After the tragedy, Fleet had to participate in several inquiries about the sinking, where he indicated that the lack of binoculars for the lookouts contributed to the sinking. Fleet died in 1965.
Isidor and Ida Straus
John Jacob and Madeline Astor
PEOPLE
REAL CHARACTERSBEHINDTHE
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6 Titanic: The Musical – PlayGuide
Henry Samuel Etches
Etches was a First Class bedroom steward who was responsible for eight cabins, plus the cabin of Titanic architect, Thomas Andrews. Etches survived the sinking of Titanic and later testified in the American inquiry about the sinking.
Benjamin Guggenheim
Frederick Fleet
Guggenheim was a wealthy American businessman who maintained residences in both New York and Paris. He boarded Titanic with his mistress and several of their servants, and was one of the most prominent Americans aboard the ship. When the ship was sinking, it was reported that Guggenheim helped women and children board the lifeboats and then changed into evening wear, remarking, “We’ve dressed up in our best and are prepared to go down like gentlemen.”
Some of the characters in Titanic: The Musical are amalgams of multiple people who traveled on the real Titanic, but some of them are based on real individuals who experienced the tragedy.
John Jacob Astor was the wealthiest passenger aboard Titanic and at the time, one of the wealthiest people in the world. His second wife, Madeline, was 29 years his junior and became pregnant while they were traveling abroad, leading them to book passage on Titanic so their child could be born at home in the U.S. Madeline and her nurse survived the sinking by escaping on the lifeboats; her husband perished.
Isidor was a co-owner of Macy’s department store and a member of the U.S. House of Representatives. When the Titanic sank, Ida refused to board a lifeboat without Isidor and Isidor refused to take a seat that could be given to a woman or child. The two perished in the tragedy. Ida was the only first class woman who died.
Captain Smith had been a seafaring man his entire life, serving in the Royal Navy Reserve and eventually joining the White Star Line. During his career with the prestigious British carrier, he captained many ships and was made commodore of the entire fleet. His journey on Titanic was to be his last at the helm before his retirement. He perished in the tragedy.
Photo Credits: Isidor and Ida Straus: Straus Historical Society. John Jacob and Madeline Astor: Pinterest. Benjamin Guggenheim: RMS Titanic Facts on Tumblr. Frederick Fleet: Wikipedia. Frederick Barrett: Wikipedia. Captain Smith: Wikipedia. Harold Bride: Wikipedia. Henry Etches: Titanic Wiki. Thomas Andrews: Wikipedia
Captain E. J. Smith
Harold Bride Bride was a junior radio officer on Titanic who stayed at his post transmitting CQD and later the newer SOS signals to other ships until the ship’s power was completely out. Bride was washed off the deck as the boat was sinking, but was able to cling onto some wreckage and was rescued. Once safely on Carpathia, he helped his friend and Carpathia radio officer Harold Cottman transmit survivor and personal messages despite suffering injuries in the sinking.
Thomas Andrews Whose Stories Are Missing From Titanic: The Musical? 7 Titanic: The Musical – PlayGuide
https://www.wellesley.edu/news/2020/stories/node/175636https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-56755614https://titanichistoricalsociety.org/miss-louise-laroche/ Black Man on the Titanic by Serge light-on-passengers-of-color_n_1418049https://www.huffpost.com/entry/titanic-anniversary-sheds-Bilé
The LaRoche Family who traveled on Titanic Photo Credit: Titanic Historical Society.
Barrett was a British lead stoker in boiler room six on the Titanic. Boiler room six was the site of impact with the iceberg. Barrett was able to make his way to the deck and was put in command of one of the lifeboats, leading him to survive the tragedy. After the sinking, Barrett participated in several inquiries about the tragedy both in the U.S. and Great Britain.
Thomas Andrews was the main architect of Titanic and a staunch believer in voyaging on the vessels he designed in order to make improvements. This led him to travel on Titanic and to perish in its sinking. According to steward Etches in his inquiry testimony, Andrews was constantly taking notes, checking on things, and as the disaster loomed, he seemed only concerned with the passengers over himself.
When looking at stories of Titanic, there are often noticeably missing BIPOC stories. There are many reasons for this, from who has been telling these stories for the past 100+ years to the fact that BIPOC comprised a very small number of the thousands of people aboard. As historical research has advanced and diversified, the stories of a few of these passengers have been told. Although these people do not appear in the musical, their stories still deserve to be heard. To read more about BIPOC passengers on Titanic, see the following resources:
Frederick Barrett
Side view diagram of the Titanic. Photo credit: Wikipedia. RMS Olympic and RMS Titanic under construction in Belfast. Photo Credit: Library of Congress. The Musical – PlayGuide
8 Titanic:
At a 1907 dinner party hosted by Lord Pirrie, the chairman of Harland & Wolff shipbuilders, and attended by J. Bruce Ismay, the chairman of the White Star Line, the idea for Titanic was born. Cunard’s new ships Mauretania and Lusitania were the talk of the town, and the two colleagues launched a plan to outdo the French carrier. They would build three massive ships: Olympic, Titanic, and Gigantic. In 1908, the British White Star Lines announced the construction of Titanic and its sister ship, Olympic. Titanic was planned as the largest, most luxurious passenger steamship in the world. The ships would, of course, be built by Pirrie’s Harland & Wolff. While the White Star Line was a British company, the building of these new ships was funded by American J.P. Morgan’s trust, International Mercantile Marine. At the time of the ship’s construction, there were no gantries (a sort of cradle made for holding ships under construction) big enough for the proposed size of Titanic and Olympic. Over $1 million (approx $28 million today) was spent just on building the gantries for the construction. The proposed length of the ships was 860 ft long with a beam (width) of 92 feet. The first keel plate was laid for Olympic on December 16, 1908, and for Titanic on March 31, 1909. With the hull completed, on October 20, 1910, Olympic was launched and hauled out to her fitting-out basin. Titanic followed on May 31, 1911 to a crowd of over 100,000 spectators. The installation of machinery and completion of Titanic’s unparalleled interiors took ten months and the work of thousands.
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TITANICTITANICBYTHENUMBERSBYTHENUMBERS Number of portholes and windows2,000: Miles of electric cables strung on Titanic200: Workers at Harland & Wolff15,000: The cost of a First Class Parlour Suite ticket in today’s money$100k: Tons of coal carried by Titanic5,892: Boilers on the ship29: Crew aboardmembersTitanic892: Bathtubs for over 700 Third Class passengers2: 9 Titanic: The Musical – PlayGuide
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Some of these planned amenities did not end up being in the final plans or outfitting of the ship, such as the ballroom and the skating rink. approximate total building cost of Titanic at the time was $7.5 million, or over $200 million plans for Titanic called for 64 lifeboats, but the company reduced the number to 32 and then sixteen in order to make more room for deck space. collapsible lifeboats were added before the ship launched, bringing the total lifeboats to twenty and the capacity to 1,178 people, far below the passenger number of the ship. April 2, 1912, Titanic set sail for its sea trials after her final completion. April 10, she was in Southampton, being loaded for her fateful maiden voyage. of up to 5,000 passengers and 600 crew members swimming pool enough for deck and cabin space and Second Class with showers bathtubs gymnasium drawing rooms library large ballroom skating rink was planned fashion dining room seat no less than 600 people suites akin cafe of the upper decks Credit: Titanic.
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11:40 PM: The starboard side of Titanic scrapes along the iceberg. Captain Smith arrives on deck and is informed of the collison. Soon after, reports come in that the mailroom is filling with water. Other reports come in that at least five of the watertight compartments have flooded.
12:15 AM: Captain Smith orders the wirelessoperators to send out distresscalls to any ships near enough torespond. Most of the ships that arereached are too far away to arrivebefore the ship sinks.
12:45 AM: Lifeboat Number 7 is the first lowered into the water; it only has 27 passengers aboard, although there is room for 65. Many of the first lifeboats are launched at much less than capacity. Titanic launches the first of its distress rockets. A ship has been spotted less than ten nautical miles away, but cannot be reached by wireless. The rockets also prove unsuccessful in reaching the sighted ship. 1:00 AM: Number 3 is lowered with only passengers, twelve of whom were members.Water is seen at the base Grand Staircase (E deck). Number 1 is launched with only people (capacity forty), seven of are crew members. Later reports speculate that one of the First-Class passengers paid off the crew to stop people from boarding the lifeboat.
MORNING OF APRIL 14: Captain Smith cancels a scheduled lifeboat drill. 5:50 PM: After receiving ice warnings during the day, the ship changes course, but does not decrease speed. 9:40 PM: The Mesaba sends a warning of an ice field with packed ice and large icebergs, but the message never makes it to the Titanic bridge.
10:55 PM: The nearby Californian sends the following message to Titanic: “Say, old man, we are stopped and surrounded by ice.” Wireless operator Jack Phillips ignores the message to focus on passenger messages.
APRIL 14
12:55 AM: Number 5 and Number 6 are launched. Number 6 includes “unsinkable” Molly Brown, who later threatens Quartermaster Robert Hichens when he refuses to return for survivors after the sinking.
12:20 AM: The Carpathia receives a distress signal from Titanic and immediately changes course to come to the ship’s aid. Carpathia is 58 nautical miles away. It will take at least three hours to arrive.
APRIL 15 12:00 AM: The lifeboats are readied for launch.
10 Titanic: The Musical – PlayGuide
11:35 PM: The wireless operator on Californian turns off his radio. Lookout Frederick Fleet spots something ahead from the Titanic crow’s nest. He sounds the alarm and calls the bridge. First Officer Murdoch orders Titanic “hard-a-starboard” and reverses the engines. Doors to the watertight compartments are closed.
1:40 AM: Collapsible C is lowered, including Chairman of the White Star Line, J. Bruce Ismay. While he claimed that no women or children were in the vicinity, later reports refute that claim. He is later branded a coward by many for not going down with the ship. 2:00 AM: The only lifeboats remaining on Titanic are three of the collapsibles. Titanic’s bow has sunk enough that the propellers are visible above the water. The crew is released from duty, with Captain Smith saying “It’s every man for himself.” Several of the remaining lifeboats are swept off of the deck.
1:30 AM: Several male passengers try to board Number 14, causing Fifth Officer Harold Lowe to fire his gun three times. Number 15 and Number 13 are launched, with Number 15 almost landing on Number 13 as it is being lowered.
1:20 AM-1:25 AM: Number 9, Number 10, and Number 12 are launched.
1:35 AM: Number 16 is launched.
2:20 AM: The stern sinks and Titanic is consumed by the sea. While there is room in many of the lifeboats, many of the crew members are afraid of the boats being swarmed by survivors. When a few lifeboats do return, most of the passengers who went into the sea have died of exposure.
1:45 AM: Number 2, Number 11, and Number 4 are lowered. 2:17 AM: Wireless Operator Phillips sends a final distress signal. 2:18 AM: The electricity on Titanic goes out. As the bow goes under, the strain breaks the ship in half at its midsection. 3:30 AM: The Carapathia arrives in the area. 4:10 AM: Number 2 is the first lifeboat to reach Carpathia. It takes several hours for all survivors to be picked up. 8:30 AM: The Californian arrives, but finds no survivors. 8:50 AM: The Carpathia, carrying 705 survivors of the Titanic, departs for New York City, where it will arrive on April 18th.
1:10 AM: Number 8 is lowered, also wellbelow capacity. Isidor and IdaStraus are offered spots, butwhen Isidor declines a spotover women and children, Ida stays behind with him.
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11 Titanic: The Musical – PlayGuide
TITANICTHE WRECKAGE OF
Photo credit: Wikipedia Wreckage of Captain Smith’s Bathroom. Photo credit: NOAA. 12 Titanic: The Musical – PlayGuide
The bow of the Titanic wreckage. Photo credit: NOAA.
DSV Alvin, the submersible used in 1986 for the first crewed expedition to the wreckage.
On September 1, 1985, Dr. Robert Ballard and his team discovered the wreckage of Titanic approximately 400 miles east of Newfoundland. It had been undiscovered on the ocean floor since it sank over seventy years prior. The bow and stern were almost 2,000 feet apart, and contrary to some scientific hypotheses, the ship was greatly deteriorated since it had sunk so many years prior. Scientists believed that perhaps due to the temperature and the depth of the wreckage, more of the ship and the deceased might be preserved. Finding the wreckage was a years-long pursuit, especially considering that the ship sank in some of the deepest waters on the planet (diagram below for perspective). In the decades since it was first discovered, the wreckage of the Titanic has been explored by both crewed and uncrewed vessels and many artifacts have been recovered. Two distinct camps have emerged in the years since the wreckage was discovered: those who believe that the wreckage should be left alone as the final resting place of those who perished, and those who feel that the artifacts of the wreck should be recovered and conserved.
A FEW FACTS ABOUT
Upper class women’s traveling/walking attire. Photo credit:Vintage Dancer. Brookside Mill workers including child laborers, 1910. Photo credit: Wikipedia. Titanic: The Musical – PlayGuide
BY 1912 MOST CHILDREN WERE LEAVING SCHOOL AT 13 YEARS.
ONLY A PRIVILEGED 1% OF YOUNG PEOPLE WENT INTO HIGHER EDUCATION.
SOCIAL CLASSES IN GREAT BRITAIN IN 1912:
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HISTORICAL CONTEXT: DIVISIONS IN SOCIAL CLASSES AND ONTITANIC
THE AVERAGE WORKING WEEK IN 1912 WAS 56 HOURS. The dividing of the passengers of Titanic into various levels or classes was indicative of the social divisions of the time, especially in British society. For most of its history, Great Britain (as well as many other monarchies), lived in a world of strict social classes based on title and land holdings. Throughout the history of Great Britain, the landed aristocracy received privileges, wealth, and social status based on name and title alone. As the Industrial Revolution brought new means of wealth to not only Great Britain, but many countries in the world, the structure of the social hierarchy shifted slightly. Now, one did not always need a title or generational wealth to achieve greatness, but they didn’t hurt. Industrialization led to more wealth for businessmen and entrepreneurs, and changed the long-standing aristocratic stranglehold on power. While most of the wealthiest were still people who had some sort of family wealth or status on top of their own earnings, the clout was less tied to aristocratic titles. There was still a definite division between those with generational wealth and those with “new money,” with the latter being seen as less than. While the United States had abandoned the landed aristocracy with its departure from England and its establishment as a democracy, there was a distinct class system in place largely due to industrialization. While businesspeople such as J.P. Morgan were gaining immense amounts of wealth, an emerging middle class was gaining some power, while the lower classes still struggled, but in new ways. This distinct line between social classes can be seen in Titanic with the divisions between the passengers. While the ship was lauded as the most luxurious, opulent, and well-fitted of its time, those extravagances were only for the wealthiest passengers, with less luxurious accommodations for the other classes. While the amenities and accommodations show the division, perhaps it is greatest when looking at Titanic’s tragic end. Historians speculate that those in Third Class were not notified early of the accident, were not allowed above deck until much later than other passengers, and were deprioritized over the wealthier passengers when boarding the lifeboats. Historical analysis of numbers of deaths based on class is a hotly debated topic among Titanic researchers.
Titanic: The Musical is not the only musical theater production created about the story of the tragedy. One of the best known is The Unsinkable Molly Brown, a fictionalization of the experience of Margaret Brown, which premiered on Broadway in 1960 and went to the silver screen in 1964. Titanic: The Musical premiered on Broadway in 1997, winning the Tony Award for Best Musical. The show boasted a large cast and technical wizardry with a tilting stage to represent the sinking ship. In 2012, a retooled version of the musical was created, with a smaller cast and innovative use of technology to represent the ship. This version of the musical is the one you are seeing here at Milwaukee Rep. The story of Titanic has been fodder for many more straight plays than musicals, with several productions gracing the boards throughout the years. The first was The Berg: A Play by Ernest Raymond in 1929. The disaster also served as the backdrop for a sexual farce called Titanic in 1974. A psychological mystery called Scotland Road (1992) moves the story of a possibly time-traveling survivor into the hands of a descendant of John Jacob Astor. In more recent years, the plays Titanic (1997) and the Song of the Hammers examined the experiences of the men who built the great ship. Several multimedia and dance pieces have also centered around the disaster.
Theater
Music In the years immediately following the disaster, numerous songs were penned that reflected on the Titanic tragedy. In fact, only ten days after the sinking, the first song about Titanic was copyrighted, followed by over 100 songs in the subsequent two years. Other songs followed over the years by artists such as Bob Dylan and Lead Belly. Concerts were staged as fundraisers for families of the victims, other musical compositions were composed, and even a dance song was penned.
The world was immediately fascinated with the sinking of Titanic, and newsreels, slideshows, and other presentations about the tragedy abounded. In the U.S., slideshows were shown in many theaters and were very popular; in Great Britain, a presentation called a “Myriorama” entitled The Loss of the Titanic was more en vogue. The spectacle included large scale painted gauze backdrops, special effects, and a live pageant in the foreground. Newsreels, even though they lacked significant footage of the ship itself, were sought after and played to packed houses around the U.S.
The Disaster in Theaters of the Time
TITANIC IN POPULAR CULTURE Even in the time of Titanic, stories of grand ships and tragedies ensuing fascinated people’s imaginations. Since the sinking of the great ship 110 years ago, the story of Titanic, its end, and the people who died and survived have pervaded popular culture. The story of that fateful journey continues to be a cultural touchstone and moment in history that stays in our collective memory.
Films and Television
The first film about Titanic was released a short 29 days after the sinking, and starred and was co-written by Dorothy Gibson, a survivor. Saved from the Titanic was a heavily fictionalized version of her experience, but is considered a lost film that was destroyed by fire in 1914. Several other films from Europe followed, including In Nacht und Eis (In Night and Above: Poster from 1958’s A Night to Remember.
Photo Credit: IMDb. 14 Titanic: The Musical – PlayGuide
Photo Credit: 20th Century Fox. Still from Titanic: Honor and Glory video game in development.
15 Titanic: The Musical – PlayGuide
Some other films set on Titanic: • Titanic (1953)
• A Night to Remember (1958)
The most well-known portrayal of the story of Titanic burst into theaters the same year that Titanic: The Musical arrived on Broadway, 1997. The epic saga diligently researched and elaborately rendered by filmmaker James Cameron was a box-office and critical success, making over $1 billion just ten weeks after its release. With a budget of $200 million, it was the most expensive film ever made at the time, and the opulence and attention to detail was one of the highlights of the film. The film centers on two fictional characters who fall in love in the unlikeliest of circumstances: Rose DeWitt, a dissatisfied upper class socialite, and Jack Dawson, a third class dreamer from Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin. The film was nominated for fourteen Academy Awards, winning eleven, including Best Picture and Best Director. Its theme song, “My Heart Will Go On” performed by Celine Dion, became one of the quintessential love songs of the 1990s. The film remains a cultural touchstone for many to this day.
Ice), Et Drama på Havet (A Drama at Sea), Atlantis, and Lost in Mid-Ocean. In 1943, Nazi Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels commissioned a propaganda film entitled Titanic. Since the sinking, dozens of fictionalized dramas and documentary films have been made about the ship, its wreckage, and its passengers. Television episodes have also featured references to, or episodes set on, Titanic.
• S.O.S Titanic (1979 television film) • Raise the Titanic (1980)
Did You Know?
Books Many, many books have been written about the disaster, from survivors’ accounts to journalistic and historical elaborations on the events of the sinking to books about the rediscovered wreckage to historical fiction and even science fiction. References to Titanic can be found in almost every genre.
Several video games based on Titanic have been released or have made it to development: Titanic: Adventure Out of Time (1996), Titanic: Honor and Glory (2012), and Fall of the Titanic (2015). Levels set on Titanic or some version of it also exist in several other video games.
Photo Credit: Indiegogo.
Two fictional stories were written in the late 1800s that bear striking resemblance to the Titanic disaster. “How the Mail Ship Went Down in Mid-Atlantic, by a Survivor” (1886) by W.T. Stead tells the story of an ocean liner lacking adequate lifeboats that collides with a small ship in fog. When the ship begins to sink, only 200 of the 700 passengers are put into the lifeboats. The piece ends with the line: “This is exactly what might take place and what will take place if the liners are sent to sea short of boats.” In an ironic twist of fate, Stead died on the Titanic. The second novella, “The Wreck of the Titan: Or, Futility” (1898) had even more eerie premonitions. The story follows an ocean liner, Titan, that hits an iceberg in the north Atlantic and sinks. The Titan in the story had similar dimensions and accolades as the real Titanic, boasted to be “unsinkable” and the largest ship of its time. In the book, all 2,500 passengers except 13 die. After Titanic’s sinking the story was reissued and people saw the author, Morgan Robertson, as a clairvoyant. Still from 1998’s Titanic film with Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet.
James Cameron’s Titanic
Video Games
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THE REP VALUES YOUR SUPPORT
Advance the art of theater with productions that inspire individuals and create community Providedialogue.a richer theater experience by hosting Rep-in-Depth, TalkBacks and creating PlayGuides to better inform our audiences about our Educateproductions.over 20,000 students at 200+ schools in the greater Milwaukee area with Rep Immersion Day experiences, student matinees, workshops, tours and by making connections with their school curriculum through classroom programs such as Reading Residencies.
The Ticket O ce is visible on the left upon entering the Wells Street doors. The Quadracci Powerhouse is located on the rst level.
The Richard & Ethel Herzfeld Foundation
Milwaukee Repertory Theater’s Patty and Jay Baker Theater Complex is located in the Associated Bank River Center downtown at the corner of Wells and Water Streets. The building was formerly the home of the Electric Railway and Light Company.
The Ticket Office is visible on the left upon entering the Wells Street doors. The Quadracci Powerhouse is located on the Mezzanine and can be accessed via escalator or elevator.
Donations can be made on our website at www.MilwaukeeRep.com or by phone at 4 1 4-290-5376
The Richard & Ethel Herzfeld Foundation
The Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation
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Maintain our commitment to audiences with special needs through our Access Services that include American Sign Language interpreted productions, captioned theater, infrared listening systems and script synopses to ensure that theater at Milwaukee Rep is accessible to all. Educate the next generation of theater professionals with our EPR Program which gives newly degreed artists a chance to hone their skills at Milwaukee Rep as they begin to pursue their theatrical careers. We value our supporters and partnerships and hope that you will help us to expand the ways Milwaukee Rep has a positive impact on theater and on our Milwaukee community.
