Review: Titaníque
- The Verdict
- May 2
- 4 min read
Sailing onto Broadway after a highly successful three-year Off-Broadway run, Titaníque is a “kooky crazy” musical that has made quite a splash. A semi-adaptation of James Cameron’s 1997 blockbuster Titanic, which tells the fictional story of Jack (Constantine Rousouli) and Rose (Melissa Barrera), this campy romp infuses the tragic story with a much less tragic celebrity: Celine Dion (Marla Mindelle) and her music. Reimagined in a world where the pop star was a survivor of the disaster and lived to tell the tale over 100 years later, she embellishes Cameron’s story with plenty of audience interaction, ad-libs, and, of course, her music.
The book, penned by Mindelle, Rousouli, and Tye Blue, who also directed, is frequently updated to ensure that the countless pop-culture nods remain current. For example, Mindelle referenced the collapse of Spirit Airlines, which had been announced the night before, and Nicole Scherzinger’s performance of the National Anthem at the Kentucky Oaks, also taking place the previous day (I saw the show May 2). Famously, there were not enough lifeboats on the Titanic to save all of the passengers, so in this version, survivors were chosen through a lip-sync battle akin to RuPaul’s Drag Race. In addition, the set, which has undergone a major upgrade for Broadway, is constantly referenced to resemble that of The Voice, another running joke throughout the show. Other musicals are also key inspirations. Chicago is referenced twice, Newsies is nodded to through Jack’s costume (designed by Alejo Vietti), and Patti LuPone makes an appearance via a cardboard cutout as she spits out some of her famous insults.
As funny as it is, the book and thus the show have pacing issues. The opening sequence takes almost twenty minutes, comprising Dion’s entrance, the well-placed “I’m Alive,” and then what I can only describe as Celine Dion stand-up comedy. All of that happens before the story begins, and by that point, we’re already a quarter of the way through the show. Once the plot starts moving, however, it picks up a breakneck pace and doesn’t let up for the remaining hour and a quarter. This show leaves no room for real emotion, for it would be out of place in such a silly farce, but the speed of the story barely allows the audience to understand where they are before it moves on. I was lost for much of the show, since plot points were only connected by loose threads that sometimes mimicked the movie. However, I do not think that affected my overall enjoyment.
Dion isn’t the only star in the show: the cast is full of big names. In a meta style that certainly fits this show, the performers reference their real-life work or past projects. Jim Parsons (Ruth, Rose’s mother) winks at The Big Bang Theory, Barrera nods to Scream, and Deborah Cox (The Unsinkable Molly Brown) sings a line from one of her own songs. Also worth mentioning: Cox was once a backup singer for Dion herself.
Fact and fiction are pushed even further than in the original film. Here, Frankie Grande plays Victor Garber, one of the stars of the 1997 movie, as a version of himself who also serves as the ship’s captain. It’s a clever bit, but like many of the show’s references, it adds another layer to an already overcrowded world and is a slightly more niche reference that may not land with some audience members unfamiliar with the film.
Layton Williams, reprising his Olivier-winning role from the West End production, is still the show-stealer. As both the Seaman and the Iceberg, he leads the cast in “River Deep, Mountain High,” fully committing to a Tina Turner impersonation that becomes the undeniable high point of the night. The performance is electrifying, even if it exists almost entirely separate from any sense of narrative cohesion.
The music, all drawn from Celine Dion’s catalog, is unsurprisingly a highlight of the evening. The performances across the board are strong, with each number treated as a full vocal showcase. Deborah Cox’s “All By Myself,” in particular, is a standout, delivered with the kind of power that stops the show in its tracks. At the same time, the songs don’t always function as traditional storytelling devices. Rather than advancing the plot, many numbers play more like concert moments, allowing the audience to enjoy the music they came for. “My Heart Will Go On,” the only real link between Dion and the material, ultimately leans into this, extending beyond the show itself into a post-curtain-call singalong led by Mindelle. It’s less about narrative cohesion and more about celebrating the music, which it certainly achieves.
Titaníque is less a cohesive retelling of the Titanic story than a fast-moving, self-aware spectacle built around Celine Dion’s music and an endless stream of rapid-fire, "wink wink" references. Like the ship, the show doesn’t always hold together, and at times it moves too quickly to fully land its jokes or ideas. Still, the strength of the performances, particularly the vocal showcases, keeps the show engaging, even when it veers into chaos. It may not offer much clarity or emotional depth, and its uneven pacing prevents it from fully landing as a cohesive whole, but as a high-energy, campy night at the theater, it delivers in bursts.
3.5/5 stars
1 hour and 40 minutes, one intermission
St. James Theatre
Through September 20, 2026
