Poseidon! An Upside-Down Musical will play the 2003 New York International Theatre Festival. The Hell in a Handbag Productions show was a hit in Chicago, extending twice. It is directed by David Zak, longtime artistic director of Bailiwick Repertory Theater. The cast of 12 replicate the parts created by Gene Hackman, Shelley Winters, Jack Albertson, Red Buttons et al in the 1972 movie "The Poseidon Adventure," which has been credited with launching the disaster movie genre that thrived in the 1970s. In the film, a luxury liner, the Poseidon, capsizes, and a handful of passengers' only hope of survival is to "climb" from the ship's top decks to the bottom—the sole part of the vessel still above water.

The show was written by Handbag's artistic director, David Cerda, whose previous credits include Rudolph, the Red-Hosed Reindeer and Touched by Jayne Mansfield. Songs in Poseidon include "Bachelor Haberdasher," "Mr. Rogo (The Only Way is Up)" and "In the Water, I'm a Very Skinny Lady."

Call (212) 279-4488.