Oh Ship! A Fabulous TITANÍQUE Sets Sail For Broadway — Review
Where else can you find Deborah Cox belting for the gods, Jim Parsons having a full manic breakdown, and Frankie Grande being, well, Franke Grande? That would be the St. James Theatre.
Let's rewind. The fact that Titaníque is currently on Broadway is cuckoo bananas. The silly little parody musical that tells the story of the world’s most famous maritime disaster set to the tracks of Céline Dion started as it should have: friends writing a comedic sketch musical to make themselves laugh. From their couches to small comedy clubs in Los Angeles, Titaníque turned into the little engine that could.
I first came across the show via a livestream from the Green Room 42 back in early 2021 before live theatre was back in New York. What I could tell watching from my couch in Boston was this is a show that wears its heart on its sleeve, and boy is it funny.
Cut to its New York premiere in the basement of a Gristedes that has since been demolished, a flashy transfer to the Daryl Roth in Union Square, numerous productions all over the world, and now Broadway, where it opened this evening at the St. James.
Now, amped up about as high as it can go with an all-star cast, Titaníque is guaranteed to deliver the most fun night you will have at the theatre this year. A campy, pop-culture, queer night of musical theatre that is sure to bring a smile to even the most dour among us. Now I have had the privilege of seeing Marla Mindelle don that golden wig and play Celine countless times, but now uptown, she is taking no prisoners. Her comedy and vocals are in peak form, and boy what a thrill it is to see her shine.
Co-written by Mindelle, Constantine Rousouli (also stars as Jack), and Tye Blue (who also directs), this new Broadway rendition takes the show we have adored for years and adds even more gags and laughs, if that could even be possible.
Blue directs his coven of stars including Parsons, Cox, Grande, Melissa Barrera, John Riddle, Layton Williams, and many more with an intensity that allows the 90 minute comedy to fly by yet also breathe when necessary. Nicholas James Connell has taken his orchestrations and arrangements from a band of four to eighteen (!!!) for a bright and dazzling sound.
Each star gets their moment to shine, but Layton Williams as the Iceberg not only steals the show, I have never witnessed audience members jump to their feet so quickly in any performance I’ve witnessed in a Broadway house. It's a performance for the history books.
If you are still here, it should be pretty clear Titaníque is big gay fun. If you’ve never seen it or been countless times, do yourself a favor and board that ship of dreams while it's docked on 44th Street, you won’t regret it.
Titaníque is now in performance at the St. James Theatre on West 44th Street. For tickets and more information, visit here.
