Watching the story of The Secret Silk unfold on stage with powerhouse singers, leaping dancers, masterful puppetry and intricate set design, you would think this show was taking place in a theater on Broadway, but you’d be wrong.
Produced by Stephen Schwartz, the Oscar, Grammy and Tony award-winning composer behind popular shows such as Wicked and Godspell, The Secret Silk made its world debut on a stage aboard Princess Cruises’ Royal Princess, where it will be exclusively shown before expanding to Island Princess and Diamond Princess in 2018 and to other ships that have yet to be announced in 2019.
“This is the only place that you can see The Secret Silk,” said Schwartz in a Q&A session following the premier, which was part of a special media reception attended by Recommend on Feb. 28, 2018 at Port Everglades, Florida. “On a Princess ship is the only place you can see Magic To Do or Born To Dance,” he added in reference to the other two original shows he has produced exclusively for Princess Cruises.
For more than three years, Schwartz has partnered with Princess Cruises to bring Broadway-style performances to the cruise line with seven ships now featuring two of his shows, and a fourth show already in development.
“To get absolutely top flight, A-list Broadway directors, choreographers, designers to come and do this has been very easy because they get an opportunity to do something without having to worry about what’s the box office going to be,” said Schwartz of his projects with Princess. “Artists really get to be artists and practice their artistry and our responsibility is to tell a good story and do a good show and help them to realize their vision.”
And the storytelling work of these Broadway veterans has been well received by Princess guests so far.
“The response to all of Stephen’s productions has been nothing short of amazing,” said Gordon Ho, vp of marketing for Princess. “They’re all intrigued to know, ‘Is this going to be on Broadway?’ I think they want other people to experience it, and we actually have been approached about whether we’ll ever take these shows on the road, but we haven’t because part of our point of difference is that this is exclusive to Princess Cruises.”
When asked if Princess will continue to partner with Schwartz once his contracted four shows are complete, Ho said, “Anything is possible. We’re so pleased with our relationship with Stephen that we would definitely want to see it continue.”
Beyond the theater, The Silk Secret is not the only new addition to Princess Cruises with the cruise line now expanding offerings to cater to guests of all ages.
“We offer a great experience for all guests, including families. It’s an emerging market for us,” said Denise Saviss, v.p. of entertainment experience at Princess.
For guests ages 3-17, Princess Cruises offers the Camp Discovery program in partnership with Discovery Communications and the California Science Center, which now features a new curriculum. “We create a fun learning environment for them,” Saviss said.
Princess Cruises is also rolling out new game shows on board and bringing local musicians, as well as destination experts to interact with guests.
“It’s not just someone who is learning a script,” Saviss said. “It’s actually somebody from Mexico or from the Baltics or from all around the world who speaks to our guests and deliver that more authentic experience.”
For more information, visit princess.com.
