‘Titanique:’ A Fabulous, Lunatic, Camp Triumph

Full disclosure, I loved Titanique off-Broadway. Saw it twice and reveled in the  unabashed zaniness, the super gay sensibility and the show’s refusal to concern itself with hyper-sensitivities. Was I afraid the production might get a bit sanitized for a broader audience? Not really because I didn’t think the gifted creative team, Constantine Rousouli, Marla Mindelle and Tye Blue, would allow it. And thank the theatre gods, I was right.

Titanique is a fabulous, lunatic, camp triumph on Broadway. And, via a few wondrous casting hat-tricks as well as some star performers reprising their roles, it’s even more hilarious.

The show began life in a tiny studio theater in Los Angeles, then traveled to NYC’s Green Room before juggernauting to phenom status off-Broadway at the Daryl Roth Theatre where it ran for three years and  picked up a ton of awards including Lucille Lortel and Dorian Awards for Outstanding Musical. London’s West End production copped two Oliviers including Best Entertainment or Comedy Play.

Now, it docks at the St. James Theatre replete with its outrageous parody plot of the 1997 James Cameron film behemoth (which famously won 11 Oscars), its cast of wonderfully wacky actors and our fearless leader, Celine Dion shoving her way into each and every scene. After all, she was there (or so the book tells us)!

The show is initially set in the Titanic Museum  as a tour guide describes erroneous artifacts taken from the ship. Suddenly, an old woman removes her disguise to reveal she is the songstress Ms. Dion (Mindelle), and she begins to tell the real (in her addled mind) story of Titanic and the antics that occurred along her ill-fated maiden voyage.

I don’t want to detail much about the irreverent and insane plot or the songs used—suffice to say if you are familiar with Celine’s musical output, you will be in nirvana.

There is some improv mostly from the fantastically talented Mindelle. And many of the jokes are hit or miss (depending on the audience member’s sensibilities) but they keep coming with alarming regularity and some absolutely kill. I could not stop laughing at a one-liner about Rose’s empowerment and an eggplant. I’ll leave it at that.

Mindelle has played this role many times and she is simply diva-vicious. It’s an impersonation-meets-homage embodiment of all Dion’s sweetness and absurdities wrapped in one stellar package.

Rousouli plays Jack Dawson and as good as he was off-Broadway, he’s even better now, turning on the charm with his leading man looks and sexy AF swagger, but also showing his silly, sassy side. It’s reverential satire as he channel’s Leonardo DiCaprio by way of everyone’s petulant younger brother. He’s a dreamy scream!

Melissa Barrera is a swell match for Rousouli as Jack’s “I’ll never let go” lover Rose DeWitt-Bukater—who, of course, let’s go. Barrera has an amazing voice and great comic chops. She also manages to evoke the great Kate Winslet.

As Ruth, Rose’s greedy mother, multiple Emmy-winner Jim Parsons has found a role he can play the shit out of. Parsons is costumed in the most ridiculous frock and head-piece, and his acerbic, scathing line deliveries are a terrific treat. It’s a delightfully unhinged performance.

John Riddle reprises his OB part as Rose’s fiancé Cal Hockley, the Billy Zane role. Ostensibly a throwaway villain, Riddle gives him gravitas, irrational substance and a decidedly gay lean. One senses he’d rather be coaxing Jack into the sack, than Rose.

Grammy nominee Deborah Cox dives into Kathy Bates’ unsinkable Molly Brown with great force, commanding the stage every time she’s on it. And what pipes!

The Iceberg, by way of Tina Turner (you have to see it), is played by the remarkable Olivier-Award-winner Layton Williams, who stops the show with “River Deep Mountain High.”

Blue directs with swiftness but pauses for many demented moments, allowing his talented ensemble members to show off.

Music Supervisor, Arranger and Orchestrator Nicholas James Connell works his magic as does the entire design team.

Titanique is a crowd-pleaser, but it doesn’t feel like it’s been put together by marketing executive the way too many shows do nowadays. It meta-borrows shamelessly from popular culture, but it is also its own unique thing, hatched from the madcap Martini-soaked brain of Rousouli, Mindelle and Blue. Rousouli described it as their Gay Fantasia. And theatergoers are all the better for it.

The production will run through July 12, 2026, at the St. James Theatre (246 W. 44^th Street). For tickets visit TITANIQUE.