The musical “Titanique,” a parody of the well-known movie “Titanic,” has managed to dock at the Broadway stage of the St. James Theatre after it set sail from Los Angeles in 2017. It made a couple of stops at the Green Room for its New York premiere in 2018, and then berthed for three years at the off-Broadway, Asylum Theatre, closing in June 2025. During the dry dock, it has gone through extensive refurbishments and has also picked up a few new cast members on its journey to Broadway, but the structure remains intact. The book by Marla Mindelle, Constantine Rousouli, and Ty Blue, stays true to the original but also includes updated pop culture jokes which could change from performance to performance depending on the latest social media news. A word to the wise is to stay current to avoid drowning in the dark on a sinking ship. The inside theatre references, political skews, ribald jokes and campy gay humor, at times falls as flat as the cardboard cutouts of Patti Lupone and Carol Channing. There is a half a dozen too many “seamen” jokes that soon lose their impact.

Ms. Mindelle also portrays Celine Dion with satirical accuracy and the vocal cords to match. Her kooky demeanor, cross-eyed facial expression and conversational rambling are spot on. Mr. Rousouli delivers an enthusiastic Jack opposite Melissa Barrera who creates an innocent Rose. Joining the passengers on this sailing, are Debora Cox as Molly Brown who delivers a rendition of “All By Myself” that is truly “unsinkable”, along with Jim Parsons who steps on board as Rose’s mother Ruth, making a floor length evening gown swish more than the waves of the Atlantic, and sporting two doves atop his head, as part of a remarkable fascinator. His deadpan demeanor and solid baritone voice supply the best laughs in this over-the-top production, never trying to hide his male persona, as he slaps Rose silly. A highlight of the show comes when the ship runs into Layton Williams, the “iceberg bitch”, who sinks the ship, as a Tina Turner. He belts out “River Deep, Mountain High” to show-stopping applause.

Production values have been brought up to Broadway caliber, and the outstanding onstage band has increased in size, but unfortunately this incarnation remains just a small cult-followed musical. It is a fun night out with friends that want to have a couple of drinks and indulge themselves in some campy gay humor, but the show relies far too much on the audience swimming in the undercurrent and swallowing the bait, to catch a good laugh. The show basically resembles a VERY long SNL skit, with the skills that go along with executing that type of humor. What it does have going for it, is the pure entertainment factor, and a cast that is having a great time doing what they do, enjoying it just as much as the avid fans in the audience. It is a bleak season on Broadway for new musicals, which probably makes this a favorable choice when seeking a pleasant diversion. Just keep in mind that as fabulous as “Titanique” might be, as discovered while watching the show, it still only has two lifeboats!