It started in a basement theater, moved off-Broadway, wowed audiences in London, and now has its rightful place on Broadway.
But “Titanique” isn’t a typical musical. It’s a Vegas-level spoof that suggests Celine Dion wasn’t just the “Titanic” ballad singer but a tour guide through a Titanic museum.
Marla Mindelle, who co-wrote the show with co-star Constantine Rousouli and director Tye Blue, makes a perfect Celine. She captures the woman’s kidding nature and nails the bravado. When she’s offstage, “Titanique” sinks a little.
Still, others work like crazy to keep it afloat. Rousouli is goofy (and good) as the Leonardo DiCaprio character; Melissa Barrera is silly in the Kate Winslet role. “Big Bang Theory’s” Jim Parsons plays her mother; John Riddle turns up as her fiancé; Frankie Grande is “Victor Garber,” the ship’s captain; Deborah Cox is the unsinkable Molly Brown, and Layton Williams is the iceberg. Yup, the iceberg.
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Celine Dion (Marla Mindelle, center) and the cast of "Titanique" on Broadway.
Throw them together, let Mindelle finesse the concept and “Titanique” becomes a “why didn’t I think of that?” kind of venture.
While the show’s set is too much (particularly since the musical had such pluck as an underdog), it works for all the hijinks the director has planned.
Using a catalog of pop songs (with a heavy dose of Dion) to tell the story, “Titanique” is a jukebox musical that gives jukebox musicals a good name. It isn’t just a whitewashed bio-musical. It’s a laughfest that affords Mindelle and company a chance to improvise each night.
When she uses Rousouli and Barrera as her puppets, it’s “Saturday Night Live” with bite.
Mindelle is so talented, even Dion couldn’t be offended. This is a tribute of sorts that should have its own Las Vegas residency. It could go on and on … and we wouldn’t mind.
Goofy theater definitely has its place.
