Titanic (play)
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''Titanic'' is a one- act play written by
Christopher Durang Christopher Ferdinand Durang (born January 2, 1949) is an American playwright known for works of outrageous and often absurd comedy. His work was especially popular in the 1980s, though his career seemed to get a second wind in the late 1990s. ...
. The play was initially presented at the
Yale School of Drama The David Geffen School of Drama at Yale University is a graduate professional school of Yale University, located in New Haven, Connecticut. Founded in 1924 as the Department of Drama in the School of Fine Arts, the school provides training in e ...
in 1974.


Overview

The play takes place on the RMS ''Titanic'', called an "outrageous tale of sex and seduction aboard the titular ship" by Jackson R. Bryer (professor of English at the University of Maryland) and Mary C. Hartig.Bryer, Jackson R. and Hartig, Mary C. "Durang, Christopher", ''The Facts on File Companion to American Drama'', Infobase Publishing, 2010, , p. 143


Productions

The play was presented in a workshop in 1973 at the American Place Theatre. It was then performed at the
Yale School of Drama The David Geffen School of Drama at Yale University is a graduate professional school of Yale University, located in New Haven, Connecticut. Founded in 1924 as the Department of Drama in the School of Fine Arts, the school provides training in e ...
, Yale Experimental Theatre, in May 1974. Directed by Peter Mark Shifter, the cast featured Kate McGregor Stewart as Victoria Tammurai, Kenneth Ryan as Richard Tammurai, Joel Polis as Teddy Tammurai (their son), Christine Estabrook as Lidia, Robert Nersesian as The Captain, and Richard Bey as Higgins (the sailor).Durang, Christopher
"Script"
''Titanic'', Dramatists Play Service Inc, 1983, , p. 9
The play premiered at the Direct Theatre in New York City in February 1976. Directed by Shifter, the cast featured Stewart, Stefan Hartman as Richard Tammurai, Richard Peterson as Teddy Tammurai,
Sigourney Weaver Susan Alexandra "Sigourney" Weaver (; born October 8, 1949) is an American actress. A figure in science fiction and popular culture, she has received various accolades, including a British Academy Film Award, two Golden Globe Awards, and a Gram ...
as Lidia, Jeff Brooks as The Captain, and Ralph Redpath as the sailor.
David Dukes David Coleman Dukes (June 6, 1945 – October 9, 2000) was an American character actor. He had a long career in films, appearing in 35. Dukes starred in the miniseries ''The Winds of War'' and ''War and Remembrance'', and he was a frequent telev ...
was set to play the part of Richard Tammurai, but left before rehearsals ended to replace John Wood in the Broadway play ''
Travesties ''Travesties'' is a 1974 play by Tom Stoppard. The play centres on the figure of Henry Carr, an elderly man who reminisces about Zürich in 1917 during the First World War, and his interactions with James Joyce when he was writing ''Ulysses'', ...
''. ''Titanic'' premiered
Off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...
at the Van Dam Theater, running from May 10, 1976, to May 16, 1976. The director and cast were the same as in the Direct Theatre production."'Titanic' Off-Broadway"
lortel.org, accessed November 25, 2015


Plot

''Titanic'' opens in the Titanic's dining room, where the Tammurais (Richard, Victoria, and their son Teddy) are seated. Pondering why they haven't been seated at the captain's table, Richard suggests that the "snub" may be a result of Victoria's less-than-noble past growing up on a pig farm in Indiana. Victoria in turn announces that she wants a divorce and further reveals that Teddy is not Richard's natural son, which prompts Richard to claim that their unseen daughter Annabella is not Victoria's natural daughter. From here, there is a comedic blur between three characters: Annabella, Harriet Lindsey, and Lidia, the latter of whom is confusingly (but amusingly) the captain's daughter...or is she? With Victoria and Richard at odds, Lidia—who keeps and feeds a variety of animals in her vagina—befriends Teddy and coerces him into non-consensual bondage scenarios. Meanwhile, Victoria begins a lurid affair with the passionate captain while Richard ravenously pursues and humiliates Higgins, a young sailor. On several occasions, it appears that the vessel has struck that fabled iceberg and is sinking (a fate Annabella, Harriet/Lidia desperately desires), but the sounds of catastrophe are always followed by an announcement that it was merely the captain's wife broadcasting from a sound effects record—a practical joke that ultimately prompts the captain to execute his wife. Following her funeral, the characters decide a wedding is in order—Victoria will marry Annabella/Harriet Lindsey, and Richard will marry Teddy (who he has by now begun to call Dorothy). In the final scene, we return to the Titanic's dining room where Teddy and Annabella/Harriet/Lidia exact deadly revenge on Richard and Victoria, just before it appears once more that the ship has struck an iceberg...but has it?


Notable actors who have appeared in ''Titanic''

*
Christine Estabrook Christine Estabrook (born Mary Christine Estabrook; September 13, 1952) is an American actress, known for her roles on the television series '' The Crew'', ''Nikki'', '' Desperate Housewives'' and ''American Horror Story''; she had a recurring ...
 – Lidia *
Richard Bey Richard Wayne Bey (born July 22, 1951) is an American talk show host. He was popular in the 1990s as host of '' The Richard Bey Show'', a daytime talk show containing ordinary people's personal stories incorporated into entertaining competitive g ...
 – Higgins, the Sailor *
Sigourney Weaver Susan Alexandra "Sigourney" Weaver (; born October 8, 1949) is an American actress. A figure in science fiction and popular culture, she has received various accolades, including a British Academy Film Award, two Golden Globe Awards, and a Gram ...
 – Lidia


Notes


References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Titanic (Play) Plays by Christopher Durang 1974 plays RMS Titanic in fiction