Marriott Marquis: 10th Anniversary Marriot Marquis, Hand-Signed, Limited-Edition Lithograph, Published in 1995 ~ 77/200 ~ AL HIRSCHFELD

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Michael Cerveris

Titanic, a musical epic about the sinking of the luxury ocean liner, survived problematic reviews to win the 1997 Tony Award as Best Musical June 1, sweeping all five categories in which it was nominated, including Best Score for Maury Yeston and Best Book for Peter Stone.

Opening Night April 23, 1997

LUNT-FONTANNE THEATRE

3 PM: Three and a Half Hours to Curtain

Setting Up the Cast Party:

Most of the people who will take part in tonight's opening of Titanic are finishing lunch at 2 PM, but Mark A. Certonio is focused on the post show dinner. He's senior catering sales manager of the Marriott Marquis Hotel directly across 46th Street from the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, where his expected 1300 dinner guests will be attending the first performance.

Sitting in the near-empty Westside Ballroom, Certonio described how he'd begun planning the event two weeks earlier. The producers asked that the dinner reflect as closely as possible the final dinner served aboard the Titanic, and Certonio has been working from a book, "The Last Dinner on the Titanic" to recreate not just the menu, but the glassware, china and place settings.

The original 12-course meal included Consomme Olga (a scallop soup), Chicken Lyonnaise, lamb, etc. Certonio's three executive chefs and a kitchen staff of 12 have been working for two days to recreate the sumptuous meal. Menus bear the logo of the Titanic's White Star Line. A local New York brewery bottles under an Old Titanic label, and 12 cases of the brew are expected through the door any minute. As Certonio signs for extra chairs in the hotel's mauve and rose colors, he explained that he enjoys setting up opening night parties, especially those with themes, like Titanic's.

His favorite party so far was the one for Ralph Fiennes' Hamlet in 1995, at which skull-shaped cakes were served and his ballroom was filled with stars from every medium."

Asked how he got into organizing Broadway cast parties, he said, "I kind of asked for it. My main market is conventions. I decided I wanted a local market to deal with so I wouldn't get bored. 

It's fun."

As the pace of movement in the room picked up, 

Certonio was relaxed: "My work is done at this point."

-- By Robert Viagas

APRIL 23, 1997

Turns out the Titanic served food as rich and glamorous as its most famous passengers.

A menu for the liner’s dinner on April 11, 1912, is hitting the auction block, The New York Times reported on Thursday. The only known copy from that evening, it’s expected to hammer down for up to £70,000, or about $86,000. Along with the list of dishes being served that night, the menu shows an embossed red White Star Line flag and water damage.

An opening montage of London is presented, beginning in 1940 with the initial meeting and then marriage of the Walkers. Amidst World War II, the husband, Captain Walker, parachutes into Germany, where he is captured as a prisoner of war by the Nazis.

 Back in London at 22 Heathfield Gardens, the captain's brother Ernie delivers a care package to the pregnant Mrs Walker just as two officers arrive at the home to announce the disappearance and presumed death of her husband ("Captain Walker").

The production ran in the West End at the Shaftesbury Theatre from 5 March 1996 until 8 February 1997

A production ran in the West End at the Shaftesbury Theatre from 5 March 1996 until 8 February 1997, featuring Paul Keating (Tommy) and Kim Wilde (Mrs. Walker).