{"id":581088,"date":"2026-04-13T06:00:07","date_gmt":"2026-04-13T06:00:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/581088\/"},"modified":"2026-04-13T06:00:07","modified_gmt":"2026-04-13T06:00:07","slug":"downtown-cult-hit-musical-is-campy-fun","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/581088\/","title":{"rendered":"Downtown Cult Hit Musical is Campy Fun"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tOh, Mary, what has Broadway become?<\/p>\n

\n\tYou might think playful outrageousness is now the norm with this month\u2019s wave of musical openings that take audiences into the extreme realms of parody, play and interactivity.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe opening of the cult hit \u201cTitan\u00edque\u201d\u2014 the musical spoof of the 1997 Oscar-winning smash \u201cTitanic\u201d \u2014 is the latest theatrical evidence that one can be stupid and smart at the same time.<\/p>\n

\n\tOriginating in L.A. in 2017, before docking in NYC in 2022 in the basement of an abandoned Gristedes, the show which was developed by a bunch of inspired and nutty pals, quickly found its word-of-mouth following and soon found its way to larger downtown venues, then to popular runs in other cities here and abroad.<\/p>\n

\n\tBut the question remains: Will its plucky, no-frills specialness be lost with its move from theatrical steerage to Broadway first-class?<\/p>\n

\n\tThe creative team of the show has carefully navigated this crossing, upgrading the show\u2019s production values just enough, adding a bit of star appeal (Deborah Cox, Frankie Grande, and especially Jim Parsons<\/a>, a deadpan delight in semi-drag) and dialing up the music a few notches without going overboard.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe conceit of the anything goes show \u2014 recalling another nautical trifle \u2014 remains deliciously daft with Marla Mindelle<\/a> as the French-Canadian diva C\u00e9line Dion narrating her own loopy, self-centered version of the James Cameron\u2019s Romeo-and-Juliet-at-sea romantic tragedy.<\/p>\n

\n\tAudiences needn\u2019t know the specifics of the film\u2019s story \u2014 or the onslaught of cultural throwaway jokes \u2014 to get the narrative gist within the madness.<\/p>\n

\n\tEssentially it\u2019s a non-bio jukebox musical like \u201cMamma Mia!\u201d but one that\u2019s veered way off the spindle. It primarily taps into songs from Dion\u2019s music catalogue, with additional nonsequitor songs like \u201cBeauty and the Beast\u201d and \u201cWho Let the Dogs Out\u201d that simply pop out of nowhere just because that can. There\u2019s also faux guest appearances by Peabo Bryson, Lenny Kravitz and most magnificently by a Tina Turner (an astonishing Layton Williams) as the fateful bitch iceberg that dooms the vessel and raises the \u201cTitan\u00edque.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tMindelle \u2014 who co-authored the show \u2014 is sensational, nailing Dion\u2019s quirky, sly-eyed, \u201ckooky-crazy\u201d persona with assured ease. With a bumpy Quebecois accent, the slightly demented chanteuse slips in and out of the story, tapping into her Vegas-styled, power ballads and narrating the story of what really happened to the film\u2019s characters on the ocean liner on that fateful 1912 voyage. (Hint: She was there on board, making her around 150 years old \u2014 but who\u2019s counting?)<\/p>\n

\n\tThis manifest includes Jack Dawson, played by Constantine Rousouli as an aging twunk who knows how to fill and show off his slim-fit khakis. Yet another of the co-scripters, Rousouli amps up the Leonardo DiCaprio, perfect-hair, aw-shucks boyishness to hysterical funny heights. His deranged drowning scene is brilliant and totally bonkers.<\/p>\n

\n\tMany of the film\u2019s iconic poses, props and dialogue are present and ready for mockery: there\u2019s the Heart of the Ocean necklace (more like an anchor here); the king of the world railing scene, the steamy backseat sex and the floating door raft.<\/p>\n

\n\tAs society gal Rose DeWitt Bukater, Melissa Barrera<\/a> has freewheeling fun with Kate Winslett\u2019s unhappy bride-to-be character. As Rose\u2019s aristocratic, Grindr-loving fianc\u00e9 Cal, John Riddle is one long running metrosexual joke, but he can also deliver the musical goods with an impressive \u201cI Surrender\u201d solo.<\/p>\n

\n\tBut everyone in the show has stunning vocal chops, including Cox as the Molly Brown who makes waves with \u201cAll By Myself\u201d; Grande as \u201cVictor Garber,\u201d the ship\u2019s oblivious and idiotic captain who belts out \u201cI Drive All Night\u201d before finally crashing; and, of course, Williams who out-divas Dion with \u201cRiver Deep, Mountain High.\u201d As Rose\u2019s impoverished yet imperious mother Ruth, Parson\u2019s dry deliveries offer great comic ballast to this ship of fools.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe mixed bag of humor here isn\u2019t so much biting as nibbling, less socio-satire and more \u201cForbidden Broadway.\u201d The jokes \u2014 good, bad and cheap \u2014 come non-stop in then show\u2019s 90 minutes, and are filled and sometimes pummeled with pop culture and brand-name references, puns, anachronistic humor, and naughty bits. (One can only laugh at so many \u201cseaman\u201d gags.) Every entendre is doubled down and the show has the most corn on Broadway since \u201cShucked.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tBut as delivered with confidence and staged with whiplash intensity by Tye Blue (yet another co-scripter), one can almost be duped into believing the jokes are clever as hell. With charisma, uniqueness, nerve and talent \u2014 to borrow RuPaul\u2019s mantra (the lipsynch-for-your-lifeboats number is a highlight) \u2014 the comic ensemble makes the gags work by sheer will.<\/p>\n

\n\tAdvertised as a strictly limited run, the show\u2019s established and Millennial-friendly fan base should be coming back for seconds and the Broadway gig will give cachet to future cruises. Overall, while the musical is not quite a night to remember, let\u2019s just say the show is, well, fantast\u00edque.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Oh, Mary, what has Broadway become? You might think playful outrageousness is now the norm with this month\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":581089,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[88,254797,254754,65893,175055],"class_list":{"0":"post-581088","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-entertainment","8":"tag-entertainment","9":"tag-jim-parsons","10":"tag-marla-mindelle","11":"tag-melissa-barrera","12":"tag-titanique"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/581088","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=581088"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/581088\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/581089"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=581088"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=581088"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=581088"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}