THE HANGOVER REPORT – The deliriously silly TITANIQUE is a smart, giddy musical parody that hits all the right notes

The cast of “Titanique” at Asylum NYC (photo by Emilio Madrid).

Last weekend at Asylum NYC (located in the basement of a Gristedes in Chelsea), I had the opportunity to catch Titanique, a jukebox musical parodying James Cameron’s 1997 blockbuster film Titanic. This version of the Jack and Rose’s famously tragic transatlantic love story is narrated by none other than pop superstar Celine Dion, whose ubiquitous hit song “My Heart Will Go On” is synonymous with the Oscar-winning movie. As someone who thinks that jukebox musicals have been stymying creativity in theater and that musical parodies have seen their best days, I came to Titanique in a resistant frame of mind.

I needn’t have feared, however. Titanique is deliriously giddy fun, hitting all the right notes and perhaps the best example of the form since Seth Rudetsky’s Disaster!, another musical parody that’s also coincidently set on a sinking cruise liner. Don’t let the silliness fool you, however. The book by Marla Mindelle, Constantine Rousouli, and Tye Blue – the former two star as Celine Dion and Jack, respectively – is inspired and super smart, and is in equal measure nostalgic and irreverent. The resulting show, which ingeniously incorporates the Celine Dion songbook, is both hilarious in its shameless cultural references and oddly heartfelt in its fond retelling of the film.

The show has been directed by Mr. Blue, who gives the production a scrappy but imminently lovable quality. Throughout, the acting by the Broadway-caliber cast is appropriately over-the-top. As Celine Dion, Ms. Mindelle’s vocal stylings are a dead ringer for the the French Canadian songstress’s singing. Just as uncannily spot-on are her imitations of Ms. Dion’s often mimicked stage mannerisms. Equally brilliant in their amped up musical theater portrayals are Mr. Rousouli as Jack, Frankie Grande (Ariana’s brother!) as Victor Garber, Kathy Deitch as Molly Brown, Ryan Duncan as Ruth, Alex Ellis as Rose, John Riddle as Cal, and Jaye Alexander as the Iceberg.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

TITANIQE
Off-Broadway, Musical
Asylum NYC
1 hour, 45 minutes (with no intermission)
Through September 25

Categories: Off-Broadway, Theater

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