The All-Singing, All-Dancing..."Titanic"?

Stan Freberg here. How about a Broadway musical based on the sinking of the Titanic? "Come on, that's sick, Freberg!" Yeah? It may be sick, but it's about to become a reality. A peek through the portholes, after this. [:60 SPOT BREAK] Freberg here. Broadway musicals have been based on a lot of different real-life situations, from "Oliver!" to "Les Miz." But a musical about a disaster at sea, in which over 1500 people went down with the ship? Hmm - doubtful; and yet the producers of "Titanic," which sails onto Broadway in April, are betting 10 million that there's a lot to sing and dance - and presumably swim - about, in the century's most deadly cruise. Actually, the sinking of the Titanic has been the subject of several recent books, a TV mini-series, a dramatic film, and a documentary. They could be on the right track. But a sinking ship might sound like the worst premise for a musical sincce Mel Brooks created "Springtime For Hitler" in his movie, "The Producers." Of course, the weird idea is no obstacle to success, as the New York Times recently pointed out; but I'm not too sure about "Titanic." If it doesn't make it, the critics' review is guaranteed to read "Last night, 'Titanic' sank!" And speaking of sick jokes, a Broadway producer, Arthur Cantor, thinks "Titanic" needs a better title. He says, "How about '20,000 Legs Under The Sea'?" (Laughs.) Stan Freberg here. Copyright ©1996, Stan Freberg/Freberg, Ltd. (but not very) Distributed by Dick Brescia Associates and Radio Spirits, Inc.