Love (Or Hate) Titanic? New Bucks County Playhouse Show Offers One-Man Interpretation

NEW HOPE, PA — A one-man, burlesque-style retelling of the blockbuster film Titanic will be the first play to open Bucks County Playhouse's 2022 Visiting Artist Series.

Michael Kinnan's "Never Let Go" offers a rendition of the James Cameron movie "designed for fans, lovers, and skeptics of the film." Kinnan says his unauthorized, unorthodox performance is dedicated to the Ship of Dreams.

Kinnan, who grew up worshiping the movie and its iconic cast of characters, plays all of them. As told by Rose, the play takes you on an intimate journey into the fateful romance that is shadowed by one of the most devastating man-made disasters of modern history — the sinking of the Titanic.

"Never Let Go" packs the three-and-a-half-hour epic into just one hour, which the Playhouse calls "a surprisingly subversive punch for a project whose source is a 90s Blockbuster film, created by one of Hollywood’s most notorious directors."

“Never Let Go” has been shown to sold-out audiences since 2017 at the Drama Book Shop, Vital Joint, PosterHouse, and most recently in an extended run at The Brick, where it became a New York Times’ Critics’ Pick.

"'Never Let Go’ is a feat of ingenuity that works regardless of whether you have seen the movie," Elizabeth Vincentelli wrote for the New York Times. "It’s easy to follow the story and identify the characters, even though there is no ocean liner and only minimal costume alterations.”

Now the production comes to the stage in the Visiting Artist Series, which lets outside producers showcase their work alongside Bucks County's local favorites.

Kinnan began his career at the oldest off-Broadway house, The York Theatre NYC, assisting a variety of productions. He then directed new scripts with collaborator Liz Magee in a string of short play festivals garnering the Best Play Grand Prize at the Manhattan Repertory Theatre Riant Festival. He is also a former Observer in the SDC Observership Program, assisting the Pioneer Theatre Company production of Bruce Norris’ Clybourne Park.

Bucks County Playhouse has joined performing arts organizations across the country in requiring that all guests provide proof of COVID-19 vaccination, along with photo ID, to attend indoor performances. Masks continue to be required for the duration of the performance.

Tickets for performances, which run Jan. 14 through Jan. 16, are on sale now online or by calling the box office at (215) 862-2121.

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