Off Broadway, the makers of “Titaníque” knew that the theater’s funniest effects are also its cheapest. On Broadway, where the Céline Dion jukebox musical opened Sunday at the St. James Theatre, somebody has thrown way too much money at this once tacky-looking show.
In its downtown incarnation, the script included a joke about the “Titanic” set being ripped off from some third-rate production of “Anything Goes.” At the St. James, that joke has been cut because the musical’s boat deck, designed by Gabriel Hainer Evansohn and Grace Laubacher, looks high-tech and very first-class lux. As a result, this 90-minute musical takes way too much time to kick into high gear despite the inspired humble-brag performance of Marla Mindelle, the show’s Céline Dion narrator.
Also, there’s now a new skit near the top of the show that parodies the musical “Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York).” It’s an odd choice because, week after week, “Two Strangers” clocks in the lowest box office receipts of any musical on Broadway. I’m probably one of the few theatergoers sitting in the St. James who had actually seen “Two Strangers” and I didn’t get the joke.
Back in 2022, I wrote a rave review for the Off Broadway version of “Titaníque.” Had I gotten it completely wrong?
Whew! Despite a slow start, “Titaníque” retains its status as the “Oh, Mary!” of musicals. Director Tye Blue keeps most of the best bits, as well as the tackiest of props. When Jake (Constantine Rousouli) and Rose (Melissa Barrera) make love in a limo, they steam up a little piece of Plexiglas. When it’s revealed that there are only two – count ’em two — lifeboats, a contest is waged to decide who’s being saved and who’s drowning. Alejo Vietti’s costumes define “Auf Wiedersehen” as spoken on “Project Runway.” As for the iceberg itself, that villain is portrayed by the furious Layton Williams, who convincingly mimics a guest star whose identity will not be revealed here. This extended showstopper, choreographed by Ellenore Scott, is far wilder, funnier and gender-bending than anything in “Cats: The Jellicle Ball.”
“Titaníque,” like “Oh, Mary!,” is an equal-opportunity offender. In the world of camp, heterosexuality has always been the biggest joke of all. These two new shows eschew that rule to ridicule their LGBTQ characters with equal relish. In recent musical theater, lavender characters too often serve as objects to be beatified (think “Jagged Little Pill,” “Some Like It Hot” and “& Juliet”). “Titaníque” takes no such pathetic prisoners.
The best running joke in this “Titanic” parody is how everyone tries to save Rose from ending up with her rich in-the-closet fiancé, Cal (John Riddle in great singing voice). In fact, it is Rousouli’s hot stud Jack who, from the get-go, unloads far more helium into his loafers.
The show’s book by Mindelle, Rousouli and Blue delivers lots of great skits. Many of the one-liners, however, are merely smile-worthy. What makes them laugh-out-loud funny is the cast’s gifted delivery. When Barrera’s Rose says her favorite color is “burnt sienna,” Rousouli’s silent reaction deserves a Tony. In fact, that award’s nominators for best featured actor in a musical can round out that entire category with not only Rousouli but Riddle, Williams and Frankie Grande, who delivers a devastating impersonation of Victor Garber that I wouldn’t wish on the Orange President.
Which leaves one more Tony slot open. Jim Parsons joins this distinctly downtown cast, and his drag take on Rose’s money-grubbing mother sets back transvestites to a pre-Dame Edna era. Parsons makes no attempt to appear female, scoring major comic points with his baritone and often butch delivery. He’s so awesomely ugly, complete with two white doves above his receding hairline, that his character screams for a big solo entrance. It’s a major missed comic opportunity that Parsons enters the stage as simply part of the ensemble.
