Loyalsock Township High School graduate and Uptown Music Collective alum Tess Marshall has joined the cast of the hit Off-Broadway comedy Titanique the Musical. The show has been extended through June 2024 and is running at the Daryl Roth Theatre, Union Square, New York City.

Marshall was cast as a swing, covering three lead female roles of Celine Dion, Rose DeWitt Bukater and the Unsinkable Molly Brown, as well as two background vocalists.

Titanique, which won the 2023 Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Musical and the award for lead performer and costume design, is a hilarious take on the film version of Titanic, as told by Dion.

Marshall got her start in a fifth-grade production of “Annie” at Schick Elementary School, Loyalsock Township. She would go on to appear in many high school and regional musicals and won a Ray of Light Award.

“Jacquie Engel, who directed me in many productions, gave me confidence in my abilities and encouraged me to abandon my plans to go to law school and pursue my passion instead,” Marshall said.

After graduating from high school, she attended Shenandoah Conservatory before moving to New York City to pursue a career in musical theater, television, and film. Since moving to NYC, Marshall has worked in productions nationwide, including a recurring role on the NBC television show, Ordinary Joe.

It was during her youth that Marshall became involved with the Uptown Music Collective and over her five years in the program, Tess was an integral part of a generation of students who first put the school on the map as a performance organization. In her time at the Collective, she performed in over 10 major performances, two as director, including overseeing the UMC’s first collaboration with the Community Theatre League, and co-directing her final senior performance, Killer Queen.

“Tess left a big mark on our school, setting the bar high for the vocalists and performers that have come after her, said Dave Brumbaugh, executive director of the Uptown Music Collective. “Her passion, work ethic, caring personality, and high level of skill are still an inspiration for our students, and videos of her performances are required viewing in my Stage Craft classes.

Marshall credits the opportunities young people are exposed to in the Williamsport area with being a big part of her success.

“I spent many years at the Uptown Music Collective being mentored by Dave Brumbaugh and others,” she said. “My time at the Collective taught me music theory, technical stage audio and know-how and quality performance techniques. Dave is still a dear friend and a big part of my story. Very few people have the privilege of growing up performing on a stage as grand as the Community Arts Center with Act Up and the Uptown Music Collective.”

While at the Collective, Marshall also met some of her closest friends and bandmates of popular rock band Clyde Frog, for which she is the frontwoman.

“Playing with Clyde Frog has been instrumental in helping me develop my live rock vocals, which I have used more in my professional music theatre career than I could have ever imagined,” she said, adding that pursuing a career in musical theater, television and film is a “difficult labor of love.”

Marshall now is working at Titanique six days and eight shows a week. The business isn’t always as glamorous as it may seem until “show time,” when Marshall and her castmates hit the stage in full makeup, hair and costumes to deliver the top-quality, high-energy singing, dancing and acting audiences have come to expect in NYC.

“While in high school, I was invited to perform with visiting Broadway actors at the Community Arts Center. One of those with whom I performed gave me some terrific advice when she told me, ‘It’s hard. If you’ll be happy doing anything else, go do that. If not, then you have to do this.'”

For more information about Marshall, check out tessmarshall.com or find her in Instagram at tess_marshall. Stay up to date with Uptown Music Collective events on Facebook and Instagram or visit uptownmusic.org.