Titanic
Produced by Seabiscuit Productions

Cast: Hayden Tee, Brendan Higgins, Nick Tate, Tony Farrell, Todd Goddard, Tony Cogin, David Pearson, Matthew Willis, Alexander Lewis, James Shaw, Cameron Mannix, David Goddard, Keegan Joyce, Robert Gard, Joan Carden, Bartholomew John, Greta Sherriff, Barry Langrishe, Deborah Krizak, Luke Joslin, Sigrid Langford-Scherf, Frank Garfield, Julie O'Reilly, Leonie Page, Nick Christo, Katrina Retallick, Derek Metzger, Frank Hanson, Ana Marina, Warwick Allsopp, Belinda Wollaston, Robyn-Jane Lacey, Belinda Morris, Siobhan Ginty, Adam Williams, Andrew Conaghan and Sharyn Winnie.

Book: Peter Stone
Music and Lyrics: Maury Yeston
Director: John Diedrich

Publicist: Amanda Buckworth

Australian Premiere: Theatre Royal, Sydney. 26 October, 2006.


The Lowdown:
The first professional production of Titanic in Australia. After a lavish opening night and glowing reviews, the show failed to fire at the box office and closed in Sydney ahead of schedule.  A planned national tour was scrapped.


AussieTheatre.com Review:
After an exceptionally long drought a book musical has arrived in Sydney and it is absolutely fabulous!

Winner of five Tony Awards including Best Musical, Titanic is well worth the wait. There is a real score with an actual overture and beautiful songs; and from start to finish it's full of glamour and old style class. If you are expecting Jack and Rose and a My Heart Will Go On medley you will be sorely disappointed. Titanic’s characters are based on real people who travelled on that fateful maiden voyage and the humanity of the characters and their journey is what makes Titanic into a great musical.

Maury Yeston’s lyrics and music are perfectly balanced to Peter Stone’s book. The songs are moving and memorable and allow the audience to take a journey and plunge into a fascinating moment in history.

The cast are a great ensemble of actors and you have to call them an ensemble because although there are characters that have a bigger role to play than others, all seem on equal ground and the entire cast is genuinely needed to tell the story. John Diedrich directs the whole piece with precision and clarity.

Hayden Tee is a standout in his role as Andrews, the ship's designer. He opens the show and from the very first moment hooks you into the Titanic’s incredible historic journey. His ability to convey great emotion from anger, to sadness and even frustration through song is incredible.

The entire cast have fantastic voices, which are showcased throughout the production, however special mention should be given to Alexander Lewis who plays Barrett, a stoker in the Boiler Room. His voice is outstanding and he captivates the audience with his energy.

Katrina Retallick is hilarious as Alice Beane, a second-class passenger desperately trying to mingle with the upper echelons of society. Retallick’s voice is great and her characterisation is brilliant. Belinda Wollaston as the third class Irish woman Kate McGowan is energetic and playful.

Joan Carden and Robert Gard have great chemistry and play lovable characters that remain true to each other till the very end, even if their duet was a little lacklustre in delivery.

This show has a stellar cast who give it all they have till the very end. This is a musical for great voices and the cast prove this with quality number after number. The strength and passion of the singing in Titanic is a true highlight and is a reminder of what coming to the theatre is all about.

The one question I do have is why do audiences always give a standing ovation to the jukebox musical, but when something decent comes along that actually conveys not only a coherent story, but showcases the incredible singers we have in Australia at present, a mere smattering of the audience rises to the occasion?

The most interesting thing about Titanic is that even though we know exactly what is going to happen in the end there are still moments where you have a fleeting thought that maybe just maybe there will be a happy ending and that they will indeed all be saved.

This musical has the potential to be incredibly drawn out and somewhat dull, however the elaborate and detailed costumes, the extraordinary voices and the well-constructed detailed set give the piece originality and class. It is perfect in length and the individual character’s stories humanise this production to the point that in some moments it is utterly heart wrenching and bittersweet.

What a relief. It has been so long since I have seen a quality musical with all the elements and with no excruciating dance medley at the end. In terms of wow factor it is the voices rather than the set that attracts the most attention.

Titanic has truly pushed the tourist musical off the top step and is set to rule the roost.


Production Shots:



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