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Titanic

Epic and majestic, with moments of heartbreaking intimacy, Titanic captures the triumph and tragedy of the hopeful passengers on the ill-fated Ship of Dreams.

PLEASE BE ADVISED: There are multiple versions of this title. Before you proceed, please double-check to ensure that you are applying for the version you want. If you’re not sure which version best suits your needs, you may purchase a perusal for each available version.

  • Full Length Musical
  • Drama
  • 120 minutes

  • Time Period: 1910s / WWI
  • Target Audience: Teen (Age 14 - 18), Senior, Adult
  • Set Requirements: Unit Set/Multiple Settings
  • Cautions: Mild Adult Themes
  • Orchestra Size: Large

  • Performance Group:
  • Large Stage, Community Theatre, High School/Secondary, Professional Theatre, College Theatre / Student

  • Accolades:
  • Winner! 5 Tony Awards including Best Musical
    Winner! 2 Outer Critic Circle Awards for Set Design (tie) and Lighting Design (tie)
    Winner! The Drama Desk Award for Orchestration
Titanic is available for licensing in two versions:

Titanic (Original): Designed for a large cast, with 14 lead roles and at least 23 supporting roles. Presented on Broadway with a cast of 37 performers.

Titanic - Ensemble Version: Designed for a total of 20 actors, with performers doubling or tripling on roles.

The sinking of the Titanic in the early hours of April 15, 1912, remains the quintessential disaster of the twentieth century. A total of 1,517 souls -- men, women and children -- lost their lives (only 711 survived). The fact that the finest, largest, strongest ship in the world -- called, in fact, the "unsinkable" ship -- should have been lost during its maiden voyage is so incredible that, had it not actually happened, no author would have dared to contrive it.

But the catastrophe had social ramifications that went far beyond that night's events. For the first time since the beginning of the industrial revolution early in the 19th Century, bigger, faster and stronger did not prove automatically to be better. Suddenly the very essence of "progress" had to be questioned: might the advancement of technology not always be progress?

Nor was this the only question arising from the disaster. The accommodations of the ship, divided into 1st, 2nd and 3rd Classes, mirrored almost exactly the class structure (upper, middle and lower) of the English-speaking world. But when the wide discrepancy between the number of survivors from each of the ship's classes was revealed -- all but two women in 1st Class were saved while 155 women and children from 2nd and 3rd (mostly 3rd) drowned -- there was a new, long-overdue scrutiny of the prevailing social system and its values.

It is not an exaggeration to state that the 19th Century, with its social structure, its extravagant codes of honor and sacrifice, and its unswerving belief that God favored the rich, ended that night.

The musical play Titanic examines the causes, the conditions and the character involved in this ever-fascinating drama. This is the factual story of that ship -- of her officers, crew and passengers, to be sure -- but she will not, as has happened so many times before, serve as merely the background against which fictional, melodramatic narratives are recounted. The central character of our Titanic is the Titanic herself.  -- Peter Stone

REVIEWS:

"A modern musical theatre masterpiece."

Mark Shenton, The Stage

"A consummate bit of theatrical craftsmanship...It tells a great story, and tells it with thrilling theatricality."

Richard Christiansen, Chicago Tribune

"An inspired and inspiring night of musical theater."

John Harding, DC Metro Theater Arts

"A masterpiece of modern theatre that is packed with emotion...Maury Yeston’s melodic tunes soar through the auditorium as if on wings."

Anne Cox, Stage Review

"A glorious and moving score with a story full of aspirations, hope, love, ambition and ultimately tragedy."

Soraya Scrivener, My Theatre Mates

"Peter Stone’s beautifully constructed book… brilliantly establishes the interweaving lives caught up in the story – from crew to passengers of different classes – with Yeston’s sweeping, enveloping score."

Mark Shenton, The Stage



Premiere Production: Titanic opened on Broadway at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre on March 29, 1997, and played for 804 performances.
  • Casting: 23M, 14F
  • Casting Attributes: Reduced casting (Doubling Possible), Ensemble cast, Flexible casting, Expandable casting
  • Chorus Size: Large

  • Principals
    THOMAS ANDREWS - the ship's designer and builder, late 30s
    J. BRUCE ISMAY - the ship's owner, late 40s, fastidiously dresses, dark hair and moustache
    E.J. SMITH - captain of the Titanic, grey-bearded
    MURDOCH - first officer; doubles as 2nd-Class Passenger, a Scotsman, 39
    HAROLD BRIDE - radioman
    FREDERICK BARRETT - stoker, 24
    FREDERICK FLEET - lookout; doubles as 1st-Class Passenger and 2nd-Class Passenger
    HENRY ETCHES - senior 1st-Class Steward; doubles as 3rd-Class Steward; 50
    JOSEPH BELL - chief engineer, doubles as bandmaster Wallace Hartley & 3rd-Class Passenger
    ISIDOR STRAUS - 1st-Class Passenger, doubles as 3rd-Class Passenger
    IDA STRAUS - Mrs. Isidor Straus; doubles as 3rd-Class Passenger
    ALICE BEANE - 2nd-Class Passenger
    KATE McGOWAN - a young Irish girl

    Officers & Crew
    LIGHTOLLER - second officer; doubles 2nd-Class Passenger; 38
    PITMAN - third officer; doubles as The Major & Fourth Man; 32
    BOXHALL - fourth officer; doubles as Taylor, Rogers & 3rd-Class Passenger; 28
    HITCHENS - quatermaster; doubles as Bricoux & 3rd-Class Passenger, a Cornishman, 23
    BELLBOY - doubles as 3rd-Class Passenger

    First_Calss Passengers
    (all double as 3rd-Class Passengers) JOHN JACOB ASTOR, 47
    MADELINE ASTOR, 19 - the very young Mrs. Astor
    BENJAMIN GUGGENHEIM - an American millionaire
    MME. AUBERT - Guggenheim's French mistress
    JOHN B. THAYER
    MARION THAYNER - John's wife
    JACK THAYNER - their nine-year-old son
    GEORGE WIDENER - doubles as Carlson
    ELEANOR WIDENER - George's wife
    CHARLOTTE CARDOZA - a handsome woman in her 40s
    EDITH CORSE EVANS - doubles as 2nd-Class Passenger
    J.H. ROGERS - doubles as Boxhall, a bespectacled American in his 40s
    THE MAJOR - doubles as Pitman

    Second-Class Passengers
    ALICE BEANE - middle-aged, American with middle-west accent
    EDGAR BEANE - husband of Alice
    CHARLES CLARK - young, British and middle-class
    CAROLINE NEVILLE - young, British and aristocratic

    Third-Class Passengers
    (all doubles as 1st-Class Passengers) JIM FARRELL - a handsome Irishman
    THE THREE KATES - young Irish girls
    KATE McGOWAN
    KATE MULLINS
    KATE MURPHEY

    Others
    FRANK CARLSON - an American on shore; doubles as Widener
    ANDREW LATIMER - steward in First Class
    STEWARDESS ROBINSON
    STEWARDESS HUTCHINSON
    THE DaMICOS - professional dancers
    WALLACE HARTLEY - bandmaster (doubles as Bell)
    TAYLOR - bandsman; doubles as Boxhall
    BRICOUX - bandsman; doubles as Hitchens
    STEVEDORE
    STOKERS
    SAILORS
    STEWARDS - for all three Classes
    ADDITIONAL 1st-CLASS PASSENGERS [Fleet, Farrell, McGowan, Mullins and Murphey]
    ADDITONAL 2nd-CLASS PASSENGERS [Murdoch, Lightoller, Fleet and Edith]
    FIRST MAN - from 3rd-Class; doubles as Thayer
    SECOND MAN - from 3rd-Class; doubles as Widener
    THIRD MAN - from 3rd-Class; doubles as Guggenheim
    FOURTH MAN - from 3rd-Class; doubles as Pitman
    GERMAN MAN - from 3rd-Class; doubles as Isidor
    ITALIAN COUPLE - from 3rd-Class; double as Mr. & Mrs. Astor
    ADDITIONAL 3rd-CLASS PASSENGERS [Boxhall, Hitches, Bell, Bellboy, Ida, Aubert, Marion, Jack, Eleanor, Cardoz and Edith]
  • Name Price
    Perusal Material Shipped immediately. This is optional. Order Now

    1 x Lib-Vocal Book

    $24.00
    Rehearsal Material Shipped a minimum of 3 months before the last performance. This must be hired as a condition of the License to produce this show.

    25 x Libretto/Vocal Books
    2 x Piano-Conductor's Score

    $550.00 +$135.00/pm
    Orchestral material Shipped a minimum of 1 month before the last performance. This is optional.

    3 Violins I & II (2 vol. each)
    1 Viola
    1 Cello
    1 Bass

    1 Reed I:Piccolo, Flute, Alto Flute (or Clarinet) and Clarinet
    1 Reed II: Oboe and English Horn (or Clarinet)
    1 Reed II: Clarinet
    1 Reed IV: Flute and Clarinet
    1 Reed V: Bassoon and E-flat Contrabass Clarinet (or Bassoon)

    1 Horn I & II
    1 Trumpets I & II (both double B-flat Piccolo Trumpet -8 measures only)
    1 Trombone I (tenor)
    1 Trombone II (bass)

    1 Keyboard Synthesizer I - principally Harp
    Additional registrations for: Glockenspiel, Piano, Steel Guitar, Harpsichord, Vibraphone, Tuba and optional Bass Trombone. (2 vol.)

    2 Keyboard Synthesizer II - principally Strings
    Additional registrations for: Marcato Strings, Fast Strings, Pizz. Strings, Trem. Strings, Double Basses, Celeste, Celeste + Vibes, Harmonium & Harp. (2 vol.)

    2 Percussion I & II: (trap drum set & mallet instruments)
      (I – mallet instruments)
      Tubaphone (or Bells)
      Xylophone

    $350.00 +$135.00/pm