There’s little more joyful than the moment a laugh fizzes up and out, that bubbly rush of feeling delighted by a punchline, turn of phrase, reference or idea. It can be the best part of your day. Titanique, the scrappy off-Broadway confection that asks “what if the hero of James Cameron’s Titanic was actually Celine Dion all along?”, lives in that moment.
Created by longtime Broadway performers Marla Mindelle (Sister Act, Cinderella), Constantine Rousouli (Wicked, Ghost) and director Tye Blue (who worked across a variety of theatre and TV projects, including the casting team for RuPaul’s Drag Race), the production started as a joke between friends and built momentum from a one-night showing in Los Angeles to a short run in a 150-seat theatre in 2022. Buzzy word-of-mouth that year propelled the show into a larger off-Broadway house in a run that continues to be extended, with international productions planned for Canada and the West End as well as here in Australia. Playing at the tiny Grand Electric theatre, usually a home of circus-cabaret and comedy, this Sydney production wisely keeps the production small so that the performances can be (forgive me) titanic.
Marney McQueen is a fanatically observed, fantastically energised Celine Dion with the vocal chops to back it up. The soul of the show, she keeps it moving and keeps it funny, playing with the audience like we’re her co-conspirators, remaking the story with her at every step. It’s a fantastic cast: longti.