# Titanique

Titanique (sometimes stylized as Titaníque) is a jukebox musical featuring music of Celine Dion, with a book by Tye Blue, Marla Mindelle, and Constantine Rousouli. The musical is a parody of the 1997 film Titanic, and the story is a retelling of the movie's events from Dion's perspective.
The show premiered in Los Angeles in 2017. It premiered off-Broadway at The Asylum Theatre in June 2022, before later transferring to the Daryl Roth Theatre. At the 2023 Lucille Lortel Awards, the off-Broadway production won three awards, including Outstanding Musical.

## Premise

In the present-day, Celine Dion hijacks a Titanic museum tour, where she claims to have survived the Titanic's sinking. Celine begins to narrate her version of what really happened to Jack and Rose, and the other characters from the movie on the night the Titanic sank.
The musical is partially improvised, and uses several pop culture references, including references to RuPaul's Drag Race and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.

## Productions
### Los Angeles (2017)

The show premiered at Los Angeles' Sorting Room Theater as a one-night-only experience titled Titanique: In Concert on 14 December 2017. Book writer Tye Blue directed with co-writers Marla Mindelle and Constantine Rousouli starring as Céline Dion and Jack, respectively, with music direction by co-creator Nicholas Connell who also arranged & orchestrated the music, joined by Alex Ellis, who starred as Rose. Other cast members included Peter Porte, Tom Lenk, Drew Droege, Sebastian La Cause, Katherine Tokarz, Tom Detrinis, and Adam Zelasko.

### New York premiere (2018)

The show held a limited engagement at New York City's Green Room 42 inside the Yotel hotel on 25–27 August 2018 with Mindelle, Rousouli, Ellis, La Cause, and Zelasko returning. Joining the cast were Stephen Guarino, Kathy Deitch, Mikhail Thompson, and Mykal Kilgore. An encore six-concert run followed from 30 November to 3 December 2018.

### Off-Broadway (2022–present)

A fully-staged off-Broadway production began previews at The Asylum Theatre in New York City on 14 June 2022, with an official opening on 23 June 2022. It was once again directed by Blue, music directed by Connell, and choreographed by Ellenore Scott. It starred Mindelle as Dion, Rousouli as Jack, Ellis as Rose, Frankie Grande as Victor Garber, Deitch as Margaret "Molly" Brown, Ryan Duncan as Ruth, John Riddle as Cal, and Jaye Alexander as The Iceberg. The creative team was rounded out with scenic design by Gabriel Hainer Evansohn, costumes by Alejo Vietti, sound design by Lawrence Schober, lighting by Paige Seber, and hair/makeup/wigs by Tommy Kurzman. The production was seen by several people associated with the film, such as Garber, as well as Dion's manager and publicist.
The production closed on 13 November 2022 and re-opened on 20 November 2022, at the Daryl Roth Theatre with the same creative team. Several members of the company remained, except for Ellis, Deitch, Duncan, and Alexander, who were replaced by Carrie St. Louis, Desireé Rodriguez, Russell Daniels, and Avionce Hoyles, respectively. Grande departed the show on 22 December 2022, and the role of Victor Garber was assumed by Wulf Clark, with Mark Evans taking over the role of Cal on 24 December 2022. Rosé assumed the role of Garber on 26 January 2023, followed by Willam Belli who took over the role on 5 September 2023.
The production won Lucille Lortel Awards for Outstanding Musical, lead performer in a musical (Mindelle) and costume design (Vietti). Also nominated were Scott for choreography and Riddle as featured performer.

### Australia (2024)

An Australian production premiered at The Grand Electric in Sydney. The musical began performances on September 12, 2024, and stars Marney McQueen as Dion.

### Canada (2024-25)

A Canadian production of Titanique opened at the Segal Centre for Performing Arts, in Montreal on October 27, 2024 before closing on November 24, 2024. The production then transferred to the CAA Theatre in Toronto, where began performances on December 5, 2024 and will run through January 12, 2025. Véronique Claveau stars as Dion. Due to popular demand, the Toronto engagement was extended for two weeks, through January 19, 2025. After this, the production played a return engagement at the Segal Centre between February 2 to 16, 2025.

### West End (2024–25)

Titanique opened in the West End at the Criterion Theatre in previews on December 9, 2024, with an official opening on January 9, 2025. It is scheduled to play until June 8, 2025. Lauren Drew stars as Céline Dion. It adopts British cultural references such as Gemma Collins, Eastenders, and Jonathan Bailey's musical dance number "Dancing Through Life" in the film Wicked.

### Planned Chicago production

Titanique is set to run at the Porchlight Music Theatre in Spring of 2025.

### Planned France production

The musical is scheduled to play in France from April 24, 2025 at the Théâtre du Lido in the Champs-Élysées, in Paris.

## Musical numbers

Notes
* ↑ The actor playing Seaman performs this song as Peabo Bryson
* ↑ The actress playing Molly Brown performs this song as the "Irish Lady" character

## Cast and characters

| Character | Off-Broadway | Off-Broadway | Australia | Canada | West End |
| Character | 2022 | 2022 | 2024 | 2024 | 2024 |
| Céline Dion | Marla Mindelle | Marla Mindelle | Marney McQueen | Véronique Claveau | Lauren Drew |
| Jack Dawson | Constantine Rousouli | Constantine Rousouli | Drew Weston | Seth Zosky | Rob Houchen |
| Rose DeWitt Bukater | Alex Ellis | Carrie St. Louis | Georgina Hopson | Mariah Campos | Kat Ronney |
| Victor Garber | Frankie Grande | Frankie Grande | Matt Lee | Mike Melino | Darren Bennett |
| Molly Brown | Kathy Deitch | Desireé Rodriguez | Abigail Dixon | Erica Peck | Charlotte Wakefield |
| Ruth DeWitt Bukater | Ryan Duncan | Russell Daniels | Stephen Anderson | Constant Bernard | Stephen Guarino |
| Cal Hockley | John Riddle | John Riddle | Keane Sheppard-Fletcher | Michael Torontow | Jordan Luke Gage |
| The Seaman / Iceberg | Jaye Alexander | Avionce Hoyles | Abu Kebe | Christopher Ning | Layton Williams |

### Notable replacements
#### Off-Broadway

* Céline Dion: Nicole Parker, Jackie Burns, Dee Roscioli, Cayleigh Capaldi
* Rose: Lindsay Pearce, Cassadee Pope
* Victor Garber: Rosé, Willam, Tommy Bracco
* Ruth: Drew Droege, Nathan Lee Graham
* Molly Brown: Lisa Howard
* Cal: Mark Evans
Notes
* ↑ The musical played at The Asylum Theatre between June and November 2022, before being remounted at the larger Daryl Roth Theatre later in November 2022.

## Response

Titanique quickly developed a devoted fanbase, primarily through word-of-mouth buzz. The original off-Broadway production's popularity led to the musical moving to the larger Daryl Roth Theatre, where it has continually been extended due to popular demand. According to The New York Times, the musical has cultivated a fan army of "TiStaniques", with some having seen the musical over a dozen times. GLAAD has attributed the musical's popularity to its unapologetic celebration of queer culture, campy humor, and pop culture references that have struck a chord with theater fans and the LGBTQ community.

### Critical response

Titanique has received widespread critical acclaim. Elisabeth Vincentelli of The New York Times praised the show's absurdity and campy nature, mentioning that it fully embraces the over-the-top elements of both Titanic and Céline Dion. Johnny Oleksinski of the New York Post similarly praised the show's campy humor, describing the show as "outrageously funny", and praised Mindelle's performance as Dion. Likewise, Robert Hofler of The Wrap said the show was "really funny" and that it offers a refreshing take on familiar material.
Charles Isherwood of The Wall Street Journal found the music to be "blandly adult contemporary", although he commented that the show was entertaining and praised the infectious joy of the cast. James Kleinmann of The Queer Review highlighted the show's appeal to queer audiences, praising its witty book and rich array of pop culture references. He noted that the production's campy and festive atmosphere sets the tone for a show that is "both beautifully crafted and joyfully irreverent".

## Awards and nominations
### 2022 Off-Broadway production

| Year | Award | Category | Nominee | Result |
| 2023 | Lucille Lortel Awards | Outstanding Musical | Outstanding Musical | Won |
| 2023 | Lucille Lortel Awards | Outstanding Leading Performer in a Musical | Marla Mindelle | Won |
| 2023 | Lucille Lortel Awards | Outstanding Featured Performer in a Musical | John Riddle | Nominated |
| 2023 | Lucille Lortel Awards | Outstanding Choreography | Ellenore Scott | Nominated |
| 2023 | Lucille Lortel Awards | Outstanding Costume Design | Alejo Vietti | Won |
| 2023 | Drama League Award | Outstanding Production of A Musical | Outstanding Production of A Musical | Nominated |
| 2023 | Drama League Award | Distinguished Performance Award | Marla Mindelle | Nominated |
| 2023 | Drama Desk Award | Outstanding Book of a Musical | Marla Mindelle, Constantine Rousouli, Tye Blue | Nominated |
| 2023 | Outer Critics Circle Award | Outstanding Book of a Musical | Marla Mindelle, Constantine Rousouli, Tye Blue | Nominated |
| 2023 | Outer Critics Circle Award | Outstanding Lead Performer in an Off-Broadway Musical | Marla Mindelle | Nominated |
| 2023 | Off Broadway Alliance Award | Best New Musical | Best New Musical | Won |
| 2024 | Obie Award | Distinguished Performance | Marla Mindelle | Won |

### Original West End Production

| Year | Award | Category | Nominee | Result |
| 2025 | Laurence Olivier Awards | Best Entertainment or Comedy Play | Best Entertainment or Comedy Play | Pending |
| 2025 | Laurence Olivier Awards | Best Actress in a Musical | Lauren Drew | Pending |
| 2025 | Laurence Olivier Awards | Best Actor in a Supporting Role in a Musical | Layton Williams | Pending |