Titanique: The Complete Guide to Broadway’s Campiest, Most Gloriously Unhinged Musical

A Titanic parody told by a fictional Céline Dion who was absolutely, definitely there. From a one-night concert in a Los Angeles basement in 2017 to a Tony-nominated Broadway smash at the St. James Theatre in 2026, this is the full story of Titanique — the jukebox comedy that conquered Off-Broadway, the West End, and the world.

Titanique (sometimes stylised as Titaníque) is a jukebox parody musical featuring the music of Céline Dion, with a book by Tye Blue, Marla Mindelle, and Constantine Rousouli, and music supervision, arrangements, and orchestrations by Nicholas James Connell. The show is a comedic retelling of James Cameron’s 1997 blockbuster film Titanic — but filtered through the outrageously self-important perspective of one person who claims, emphatically and without a shred of evidence, to have been aboard the doomed ship: Céline Dion herself.

In the show, a fictional Céline Dion hijacks a museum tour of a Titanic exhibition and proceeds to narrate — via her greatest hits, increasingly absurd revelations, and a rotating cast of characters from the film — what she insists was the true story of Jack, Rose, and the iceberg. The result is a show that is equal parts camp spectacular, heartfelt comedy, and vocal showcase, built on a foundation of extraordinary Céline Dion songs performed with infectious commitment by a game, gifted company.

The musical began life as a one-night concert event in Los Angeles in December 2017 before developing through a series of Off-Broadway engagements, eventually transferring to the Daryl Roth Theatre for a celebrated three-year run. A 2025 West End production at London’s Criterion Theatre won two Olivier Awards, and in March 2026 the show docked at Broadway’s St. James Theatre with a star-studded cast including Emmy winner Jim Parsons, Grammy nominee Deborah Cox, and Layton Williams. The Broadway production earned four Tony Award nominations, including Best Musical, at the 79th Annual Tony Awards.

Background

Titanique grew from a simple, delirious creative question: what if Céline Dion had been on the Titanic? The concept was the brainchild of writer-director Tye Blue and performers Marla Mindelle and Constantine Rousouli, who shared a passion for both the maximalist drama of the 1997 film and the transcendent power of Dion’s songbook. Their premise — that Dion, armed with an inflated ego and a catalogue of heart-shattering ballads, might insert herself into one of history’s great tragedies — turned out to be comedy gold.

Mindelle, who would go on to originate the role of Céline, and Rousouli, who plays Jack Dawson, had worked together in the musical theatre world before. The creative trio developed the piece with Nicholas James Connell, whose arrangements would prove crucial to the show’s identity: Dion’s songs are not merely played as-is, but reimagined, recontextualised, and sometimes brilliantly misapplied to scenes from the film, creating a running joke that the music always fits because Céline insists it always fits.

The show also benefits significantly from its semi-improvisational DNA. The book contains room for topical pop culture references and audience interaction, meaning no two performances of Titanique are ever quite the same. References to RuPaul’s Drag Race, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, and other contemporary touchstones are woven through the text, giving the show a live, spontaneous energy more akin to a comedy cabaret than a traditional musical. This quality has been central to its longevity and its passionate fanbase, who return repeatedly to catch new jokes, new asides, and new moments of inspired camp.

Production History

Los Angeles Concert Premiere (2017)

The very first version of Titanique was performed as a one-night-only concert event titled Titanique: In Concert at the Sorting Room Theater in Los Angeles on 14 December 2017. Directed by Tye Blue, the concert starred Marla Mindelle as Céline Dion and Constantine Rousouli as Jack Dawson, with Alex Ellis as Rose and music direction by Nicholas Connell. Other cast members included Peter Porte, Tom Lenk, Drew Droege, and Sebastian La Cause. The response was rapturous, demonstrating an immediate appetite for the concept.

New York Concerts (2018)

Encouraged by the Los Angeles reception, the creative team brought the show to New York for a series of concert stagings at the Green Room 42 inside the Yotel hotel. The first run of performances took place on 25–27 August 2018, with Mindelle, Rousouli, Ellis, La Cause, and Zelasko returning, joined by new cast members including Stephen Guarino, Kathy Deitch, Mikhail Thompson, and Mykal Kilgore. The show returned for six more performances at the Green Room 42 from 30 November to 3 December 2018, further building an eager word-of-mouth following. These early stagings earned the show the 2019 BroadwayWorld Cabaret Award.

Off-Broadway Premiere: The Asylum Theatre (2022)

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. Directed once again by Tye Blue, with choreography now credited to Ellenore Scott, the production reunited Mindelle and Rousouli in their defining roles. The original Off-Broadway cast also included Alex Ellis as Rose, Frankie Grande as Victor Garber, Kathy Deitch as Molly Brown, Ryan Duncan as Ruth, John Riddle as Cal, and Jaye Alexander as The Iceberg. The creative team featured scenic design by Gabriel Hainer Evansohn, costumes by the Olivier-nominated Alejo Vietti, lighting by Paige Seber, and sound by Lawrence Schober.

The production was seen by several cast members from the original 1997 film. Victor Garber — who played the ship’s designer Thomas Andrews in Cameron’s film and is, of course, lampooned in the show — attended a performance and was photographed backstage with the company. Dion’s own management and publicist also attended, lending the production a degree of unofficial blessing from the icon at its heart.

Transfer to the Daryl Roth Theatre (2022–2025)

The show’s success at the Asylum Theatre led to a transfer to the larger Daryl Roth Theatre in November 2022, with the same creative team and most of the original company. Several cast changes were made at this point: Carrie St. Louis replaced Alex Ellis as Rose, Desireé Rodriguez took over from Kathy Deitch as Molly Brown, Russell Daniels succeeded Ryan Duncan as Ruth, and Avionce Hoyles replaced Jaye Alexander as The Iceberg.

The Daryl Roth run became one of the most talked-about Off-Broadway engagements of recent years, driven almost entirely by word of mouth and social media. GLAAD specifically cited Titanique‘s celebration of queer culture and campy humour as a significant factor in its extended run and devoted fanbase. The show ran at the Daryl Roth Theatre until 29 June 2025, by which point it had spawned productions across four continents.

International Productions (2024–2025)

The Titanique phenomenon rapidly went global. An Australian production opened at The Grand Electric in Sydney on 12 September 2024, starring Marney McQueen as Céline Dion, and ran until 22 June 2025. A Canadian production opened at the Segal Centre for Performing Arts in Montreal on 27 October 2024, later transferring to the CAA Theatre in Toronto and returning to Montreal for an encore season in early 2025. The French-Canadian production starred Vèronique Claveau.

In Chicago, a production produced by Porchlight Music Theatre and Broadway in Chicago opened at the Broadway Playhouse on 25 March 2025, directed by Tye Blue and starring Clare Kennedy McLaughlin as Céline Dion. It ran until 13 July 2025. The musical also opened in Paris on 24 April 2025 at the Théâtre du Lido on the Champs-Élysées, and played in São Paulo, Brazil, at the Teatro Frei Caneca, with a Brazilian cast including Alessandra Maestrini.

West End Production (2025–2026)

Titanique opened in the West End at the Criterion Theatre in Piccadilly Circus in previews on 9 December 2024, with an official opening night on 9 January 2025. The West End production starred Lauren Drew as Céline Dion, Rob Houchen as Jack, Kat Ronney as Rose, Darren Bennett as Victor Garber, Charlotte Wakefield as Molly Brown, Stephen Guarino as Ruth, Jordan Luke Gage as Cal, and Layton Williams as The Iceberg — a role he would later reprise on Broadway. The West End production adapted the pop culture references for British audiences, weaving in nods to Gemma Collins, EastEnders, and Jonathan Bailey’s viral dance number from the Wicked film.

At the 2025 Olivier Awards, the West End production was nominated for three awards, winning two: Best Entertainment or Comedy Play and Best Actor in a Supporting Role in a Musical for Layton Williams. Lauren Drew was also nominated for Best Actress in a Musical. The West End run is scheduled to continue at the Criterion Theatre until 30 August 2026.

Broadway Production (2026)

Titanique began performances at Broadway’s St. James Theatre on 26 March 2026, with an official opening night on 12 April 2026. The Broadway production reunited original co-creators Marla Mindelle (as Céline Dion), Constantine Rousouli (as Jack), Frankie Grande (as Victor Garber), and John Riddle (as Cal), joined by new company members Melissa Barrera as Rose, Deborah Cox as Molly Brown, Jim Parsons as Ruth, and Layton Williams reprising his acclaimed West End turn as The Iceberg. The Broadway production is booked at the St. James Theatre until 20 September 2026.

Plot

The action of Titanique begins in the present day at a museum exhibition dedicated to the 1912 sinking of the RMS Titanic. A tour group is moving through the exhibits when their guide is dramatically interrupted by none other than Céline Dion — or rather, a fictional version of the legendary French-Canadian singer who is entirely convinced she was personally aboard the ship during its doomed maiden voyage and subsequent sinking.

Céline seizes control of the tour and begins to tell her version of events — a version that is, naturally, completely different from the events depicted in James Cameron’s 1997 film Titanic. Through an extended flashback that constitutes the bulk of the show, she narrates the story of Jack Dawson and Rose DeWitt Bukater’s ill-fated romance, inserting herself into every significant scene and assigning Céline Dion songs to every dramatic moment — regardless of whether they fit. (They never do. That is the joke. It is a very good joke.)

Among the highlights of the retelling: Céline claims a special, intimate connection with both Jack and Rose; she insists that she alone could have saved the ship; her interactions with the supporting characters — including the aristocratic villain Cal Hockley, the wonderfully bossy Molly Brown, the icy Ruth DeWitt Bukater, and a certain anthropomorphised iceberg — are played for maximum comedic effect. The show is partly improvised, and audience interaction is encouraged, giving each performance a unique energy.

The story builds toward the inevitable tragedy: the ship hits the iceberg, chaos ensues, and the famous door scene — in which there is clearly enough room for two — is revisited with appropriately absurdist comic treatment. Céline, naturally, survives. She always survives. That is, she reminds the audience repeatedly, her defining quality. The show ends on an emotional, mock-triumphant note with the inevitable performance of “My Heart Will Go On.”

“Titanique reimagines Jack and Rose’s timeless love story aboard the ship of dreams through the French-Canadian eyes of someone who was totally there: Céline Dion! The superstar singer remembers the doomed romance with more shocking twists, mega-diva antics, and face-melting vocals — and not even an iceberg can stop her.” — Official Broadway production description

Musical Numbers

The score of Titanique draws entirely from the existing recorded catalogue of Céline Dion, with all musical arrangements, orchestrations, and adaptations by Nicholas James Connell. The comedy arises from the creative (mis)application of Dion’s emotionally colossal songs to scenes from the film. The following are among the songs featured in the show:

1. “My Heart Will Go On”Performed by Céline Dion — the signature song of the film, used both as dramatic underscore and as the show’s climactic showstopper
2. “All By Myself”A showcase for Céline’s sense of singular drama and loneliness
3. “To Love You More”Featured in key romantic scenes between Jack and Rose
4. “The Power of Love”Used with characteristic Titanique irony at a dramatically loaded moment
5. “Think Twice”An entreaty to the characters — and to fate itself
6. “Beauty and the Beast”Dion’s Oscar-winning duet from the 1991 Disney film, repurposed here with gloriously mismatched sincerity
7. “Because You Loved Me”A soaring ballad applied to the Jack/Rose relationship at its most heightened
8. “It’s All Coming Back to Me Now”Deployed in Céline’s memory-flashback framing scenes
9. “A New Day Has Come”Used at a moment of theatrical triumph — Céline’s, naturally
10. “If You Asked Me To”Featured in scenes involving Cal Hockley, applied with impeccable wrongheadedness
11. “I’m Your Angel”Performed by the Seaman character (as Peabo Bryson, per production notes)
12. “Didn’t Know I Was Looking for Love” / “Tell Him”Ensemble production numbers featuring Molly Brown (performed in character as the “Irish Lady”)
13. “My Heart Will Go On” (Reprise)Full company — the emotional and comedic climax of the evening

Music supervision, arrangements, and orchestrations throughout are by Nicholas James Connell, whose work gives the score a theatrical depth and tonal variety that belies its jukebox nature. Geoffrey Ko serves as Musical Director for the Broadway production.

Broadway Cast (2026)

The Broadway production opened at the St. James Theatre on 12 April 2026, produced by Eva Price. The cast brought together original Off-Broadway cast members with major new additions, creating the most starry iteration of the show to date.

Original Off-Broadway Cast (2022)

Notable Replacements

Given the show’s unusually long Off-Broadway run of nearly three years at the Daryl Roth Theatre, Titanique saw a number of notable cast replacements that themselves became theatrical events, particularly in the role of Victor Garber — a character that lent itself to high-camp guest-star casting.

The casting of the Victor Garber role became a recurring headline generator for the show. The character — a fictional portrayal of the real actor who starred in the original film — was played by a succession of entertainers with strong queer followings, including RuPaul’s Drag Race alumnae Rosé and Willam Belli. These guest stints generated significant press and social media attention, extending the show’s cultural reach far beyond the theatre community.

For the West End production, notable replacements included Luke Bayer, Hiba Elchikhe, and comedian Tom Allen, who stepped into the role of Ruth in 2025. Astrid Harris took over the role of Céline Dion from Lauren Drew in July 2025.

Creative Team (Broadway, 2026)

Critical Reception

Titanique has attracted enthusiastic reviews across all of its productions, with critics consistently highlighting the show’s committed camp sensibility, the quality of the vocal performances, and the inspired absurdity of the central premise. It has occasionally been noted that the show works precisely because it takes itself seriously — or at least, Céline does, and the cast plays that truth with total conviction.

The Broadway production, opening in April 2026 with its upgraded star cast, drew broadly positive notices, with particular praise directed at Layton Williams — whose physical comedy as The Iceberg was widely cited as one of the theatrical highlights of the Broadway season — and at Deborah Cox, whose vocal performances as Molly Brown were described by multiple outlets as showstopping.

“A titanic amount of pure joy.” — New York Theatre Guide (Broadway production, 2026)

GLAAD specifically acknowledged Titanique‘s significance for queer audiences and the LGBTQ+ community, attributing the show’s sustained popularity and extended runs to its unapologetic celebration of camp, queerness, and Céline Dion — three things that, it turns out, belong together.

Awards and Nominations

Off-Broadway (2022–2023)

West End (2025)

Broadway (2026)

Legacy & Cultural Impact

What began as a one-night concert lark in a Los Angeles basement has become one of the most improbable success stories in contemporary musical theatre. Titanique reached Broadway on the strength of something increasingly rare in commercial theatre: genuine, grassroots, audience-driven enthusiasm. No Hollywood studio backing, no major pre-existing IP machine, no elaborate marketing campaign. Just an incredibly funny idea, a committed creative team, and an audience that refused to let it close.

The show’s significance to queer culture and the LGBTQ+ theatre community cannot be overstated. GLAAD’s recognition of the production’s extended run as a celebration of queer values is well-founded: the show revels in camp, adores a diva, and creates a space where that love is both the joke and the point. Céline Dion — an artist whose music has soundtracked some of the most emotionally raw moments in many people’s lives — is treated here with a kind of loving mockery that ultimately reads as profound respect.

The show’s journey from Off-Broadway to the West End to Broadway also represents a new model for musical theatre development. The extended Off-Broadway run allowed the production to refine its material over three years, develop a fiercely devoted audience base, generate international interest organically, and arrive on Broadway not as a nervous debut but as a battle-tested, joyfully confident machine. Every revival of the Victor Garber casting, every celebrity replacement, every viral clip of Mindelle’s Céline interrupting a museum tour, was another brick in the foundation of the Broadway production’s cultural moment.

When Marla Mindelle — co-creator, original performer, and the heart of the entire enterprise — received her Tony nomination for Best Leading Actress in a Musical in 2026, it represented both a personal vindication and a recognition that camp, comedy, and jukebox parody can be art too. Near, far, wherever you are, Titanique has already earned its place in the story of Broadway.