Titanic 1912 to 2012

Planning has been underway for some time, but now it is upon us - rehearsals have started and the first wave of auditions is already complete. The ship: Titanic - the Musical has been launched and is getting ready for her maiden voyage on 6th-9th June 2012 at the Park Community School Theatre in Havant.

They said it couldn't be done. "It's a tragedy, for goodness sake," said the experts and even the family and friends of Peter Stone (story and book) and Maury Yeston (music and lyrics) wondered why anyone would want to do a "musical" about the death of fifteen hundred people?

But great musical theatre can deal with serious themes and do them well - look at West Side Story (one of the first musical tragedies) and Fiddler on the Roof. Even the otherwise light-hearted South Pacific does not shrink from the issues of racism and the colour bar.

Stone and Yeston had a much higher opinion of the theatre-going public than the "experts" and felt that audiences would accept the story of RMS Titanic as a fitting vehicle for a great Broadway show. As Stone pointed out, "Now and again, a true story will come along that's tailor-made for the stage...Titanic has become a universal legend, one which combines excitement, romance, tragedy, heroism, venality and sacrifice."

But we all know it has an unhappy ending! One wag summed up the story as "Big ship hits iceberg. Ship sinks. People die." But there is so much more to it than that. The show does not avoid the inevitable climax but it does end with a hopeful denouement. In other words, the deaths are not the end of the story. The lost are surrounded on the stage by the "survivors with their dreams and hopes and their memories...inspiring them.", as the audience too should be inspired.

Immediately acclaimed at its opening on Broadway in 1997, Titanic is now recognised as one of the great ground-breaking musicals AND an on-going memorial to those who perished.

And finally - if you're hoping for Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet on the prow of the ship, you're going to be sorely disappointed! But never be afraid to try something new. Remember - amateurs built the Ark; professionals built the Titanic.

Skittles Evening

We held another very enjoyable Skittles Evening at the Royal British Legion Club on Hayling Island on December 14th 2011. As always, Kaye Lee-Wright did a brilliant job organising it. The refreshments were excellent and, together with a raffle and the "Killer Skittles", we raised the very useful sum of £216 pounds towards the cost of Titanic. Kaye is happy to organise another Skittles Evening for 2012, but if you would like a different format for a change, she would like to receive suggestions and ideas as soon as possible.

Subscriptions

Notice to all members - subscriptions for 2012 are now due. Please ensure they are paid as soon as possible - or discuss a payment plan with Mike.

Shopping on-line?

If you do a lot of your on the internet, why not raise some money for the Society at the same time? It won't cost you a penny and you'll still have access to all your favourite on-line retailers. Just click here and start shopping.