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 The great ship Titanic sank below the freezing waters of the North Atlantic at 2:20 am on April 15, 1912. There were 1500 people still on board.
UNSINKABLE WOMEN is an extraordinary new play about the women who survived that night. Their stories - of their time on the ship and their lives afterwards - are startling, unique, and deeply moving.
UNSINKABLE WOMEN focuses on nine distinct and striking figures. Among them are Madeline Astor, the clear-eyed bride of John Jacob Astor, heir to one of America's greatest fortunes.
There's Violet Jessop, the steady stewardess who tells of the friendships and loves of the serving staff below decks... and New York housewife Daisy Spedden whose son's teddy bear survived the sinking with them - and whose "adventures" that night inspired a classic children's book which she composed. No Titanic account would be complete without the feisty Margaret Tobin Brown - the "Unsinkable Molly" herself - who took charge of a floundering lifeboat and guided it to safety. It is this blunt and plain-spoken woman who recounts the details of the ships last moments.
As told here, the story of the Titanic is undeniably dramatic. But UNSINKABLE WOMEN also celebrates the theatre itself. Its events are punctuated with rich period songs, ranging from vaudevillian turns to the tender ballad "Toyland". The words of the women - artfully arranged and edited - are direct and compelling. But most important, this is a tour-de-force of brilliant acting. For each figure is brought to vivid life through the performance of the play's creator, the distinguished American actress Deborah Jean Templin.
The great ship went down ninety years ago - yet it still fascinates a vast and ever-increasing audience. UNSINKABLE WOMEN brings us the world of the Titanic. It is a world, though long gone, which echoes in our own. But most of all, the stories of nine remarkable people show how tragedy can liberate a deeper sense of self - and release incredible personal power. For these women - and for us - that is the legacy of the Titanic.
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Deborah Jean Templin
 Deborah Jean Templin researched and wrote her new play, UNSINKABLE WOMEN, while appearing in the national tour of the Tony Award winning musical TITANIC in a variety of roles. Of UNSINKABLE WOMEN, Jim Morgan, Artistic Director of the York Theatre Company wrote:
"Both the writing and performance are wonderfully theatrical and deeply moving. This is the most affecting version of the Titanic story I have seen."
Ms. Templin played Grace Farrell opposite Harve Presnell in a 45 city national tour of ANNIE, and appeared with Edie Adams in the musical BABY and with Jose Greco in the tour of the off-Broadway hit THE PASSION OF DRACULA. Her professional honors include Philadelphia’s Barrymore Award for Best Actress in a Musical and the Richard Burton Award in Acting from the Los Angeles Arts Council.
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 A twenty-five year veteran of theatre, film and television, she has played important roles with many of America’s most prestigious regional companies. Credits include Harriet Cornwall in ISN’T IT ROMANTIC at Philadelphia’s Walnut Street Theatre, the Lady from Lincoln in A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS at Trinity Rep in Providence, Rhode Island and Bertie in THE CLUB at Boston’s Charles Street Playhouse. At Arena Stage in Washington D.C. she played Mary Stewart in the musical ANIMAL CRACKERS. She was also featured in the San Francisco engagement of Herb Gardner’s I’M NOT RAPPAPORT opposite Nehemiah Persoff and Ben Vereen.
 Her New York stage credits range from the Cameron Mackintosh production TOMFOOLERY at the Village Gate to a musical adaptation of Abelard and Heloise. At the world-famous Edinburgh Festival, Ms. Templin starred as Auschwitz survivor Fania Fenelon in the United Kingdom premiere of Arthur Miller’s PLAYING FOR TIME. Directed by Michael Leeds, the production won a Fringe First Award.
Ms. Templin trained at San Francisco’s American Conservatory Theatre and holds a Masters of Fine Arts from California State University/Long Beach. She has served as a Resident Professional Theatre Associate and Visiting Professor at Cornell and Susquehanna Universities. She has also served as a member of the on-camera faculty at New York’s School for Film and Television. In addition, she is an experienced television and film actress. On television she was featured on MIDNIGHT CALLER, SUPERIOR COURT, ALL MY CHILDREN and the Mike Hammer television movie, MORE THAN A MURDER starring Stacey Keach. Ms. Templin has been in a number of commercials including national spots for Charmin, Old Spice and ABC Daytime. Her film credits include Penny Marshall’s AWAKENINGS, SCENT OF A WOMAN and YOU’VE GOT MAIL.
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Rave Reviews for Deborah Jean Templin
| "Both the writing and performance are wonderfully theatrical and deeply moving. This is the most affective version of the Titanic story I have seen."
| Jim Morgan, Artistic Director of the York Theater Company
| | "The production is unfussy and intelligent and centers around a performance of luminous understanding from Deborah Jean Templin" | PLAYING FOR TIME - The Times, London, UK
| | "Deborah Jean Templin is outstanding in the role played in the television version by Vanessa Redgrave." | PLAYING FOR TIME - The Daily Mail, London, UK
| | "Templin's world-weary but resolute 'Aggie's Song' brought the first big ovation of the evening." | Johnny Johnson - The Kurt Weill Newsletter, New York, NY
| | "Deborah Jean Templin strikes an exact chord of concern and exasperation... her's is a highly effective performance." | I'M NOT RAPPAPORT-The San Francisco Chronicle, San Francisco, CA
| | "The accolades must go to Deborah Jean Templin who, though playing two roles in the first half, kept the secret well hidden from those who had yet to check their program." | CLOUD NINE - Long Beach News, Long Beach, CA
| | "Splendid... Ms. Templin brings understated humor and cool intelligence to the role." | ANNIE-National Tour - The Louisville Times, Louisville, KY
| | "'SYLVIA PLATH' is performed with a shared conviction and spirit... One of the three Sylvias, Deborah Jean Templin, is wonderful." | The Royal Shakespeare Company program SYLVIA PLATH - The Boston Globe, Boston, MA
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 Brace yourself for what critics have called “a fast-paced musical romp through one of the most impassioned decades of the 20th century.” With its propulsive rhythms and dazzling harmonies, 8-TRACK delivers the songs of the 70’s in all their splendor.
From Barry Manilow to the late great Barry White, from "Desperado" to "Afternoon Delight", this powerhouse show turns out the hits faster than you can say “polyester.” Conceived by acclaimed director Rick Seeber, 8-TRACK has already brought down the house in Detroit, Denver, Minneapolis, Milwaukee and L.A. And the critics loved it, too! 8-TRACK is “Energetic,” “Eye-opening,” and “Downright Hilarious!” (The Oakland Press, Detroit).
Each song is performed by four rock-solid vocalists. From "Taking It To The Streets" to "Carwash" and "Convoy", 8-TRACK twists and turns through a phenomenal decade of music. Kids, Baby-Boomers, and all you others will raise your Bic lighters high to salute this parade of truly amazing hits…like the marvelous Marvin Gaye’s "What’s Goin' On", or the explosion of disco in "Get Down Tonight". Every song is “presented with such creativity and all-round showmanship, you simply can’t imagine anyone not having a good time” (The Detroit Monitor).
8-TRACK is an “an infectious, joyous celebration” (Minneapolis Star Tribune). Every precision dance step, every life-celebrating emotion, every hilarious ounce of humor in these great songs is magnificently projected by this incredible cast. Whether it’s "Your Song", "I Write the Songs", or a song you've long forgotten, this show has it all.
8-TRACK, The Sounds of the 70's...
Admit it, you feel good in polyester.
Rick Seeber
Creator/Director/Producer
The multi-talented Mr. Seeber imagined and directed the sensational 8-TRACK, The Sounds of the 70’s, which had its acclaimed debut at Milwaukee Rep in 2001, and has enjoyed long runs at The Century Theatre, Detroit as well as The Nationally Recognized Ordway Center for the Performing Arts, St. Paul. Other hugely successful engagements include stands in Denver, CO and a stand at the Hermosa Beach Playhouse in California last fall.
Mr. Seeber has been universally hailed for his production of Beehive, The 60’s Musical, which began with a year-long engagement in Denver followed by two coast to coast National Tours, the most recent playing in 70 cities. Other mountings of Beehive produced and directed by Mr. Seeber include the World Famous Luxor Hotel Las Vegas, Harrah’s Atlantic City, the Gem Theatre Detroit, San Jose Repertory Theatre, Casa Manana Theatre Ft. Worth, Theatre Under the Stars Dallas, and Stagewest Toronto.
Mr. Seeber’s production of A Brief History of White Music ran for a year in Denver, followed by engagements at Milwaukee Rep and Florida Studio Theatre as well as productions in Memphis, TN and Jackson, MS.
The 2000 National Tour played cities as diverse as Aspen, CO, Billings, MT and Springfield, MA. In New York, Seeber produced the Off-Broadway play The Singular Dorothy Parker (written by his twin brother Rory).
Rick Seeber has been contributing to the national theatre scene for over 30 years, and 8-TRACK, The Sounds of the 70’s is his most recent, and most impressive success.
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 First came My Soul Is A Witness, the acclaimed chronicle of the Civil Rights Movement. Now, The JENA Company continues the story with JACKIE, VI, AND LENA…three extraordinary people who stood up in the storm.
Charismatic, intensely private, Jackie Robinson, the first black man to play Major League Baseball. His fierce heart, sharp mind, and phenomenal physical talent made him the idol of millions. Defining it all was a commitment to justice so strong, he acted on it until- literally- the last hours of his life.
Viola (Vi) Liuzzo, an overscheduled Detroit housewife… Stirred by television reports of the brutal beatings of Civil Rights workers in Alabama, she drove 1,000 miles to take part in Martin Luther King's legendary march from Selma to Montgomery. And lost her life for it. Bright, passionate, and ahead of her time, she was the only white woman enshrined on the National Civil Rights Monument.
Lena Horne, brilliant singer, stunning beauty, star… of television, recordings,  Broadway, and in supper clubs and concert stages all over the world. Lena fought fiercely for Civil Rights, with words, actions, and the full force of her celebrity and fame. Sexy, elegant, tart-tongued, she was an original who called it as she saw it and told it like it was.
JACKIE, VI, AND LENA gives us the richness of their world, from jazz and bee-bop to baseball hysteria, violent protests in the streets… and the first flickerings of television. Full of vivid sounds and color, it's a past time that still echoes in our own.
But the play's true strength lies in the portraits of its heroes. Their stories, fascinating and untold, range from the joys and challenges of the everyday to events so large and shattering, they'll take your breath away.
JACKIE, VI, AND LENA -- real, vibrant, extraordinary people.
They stood up-- and alone-- in the storm.
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