Theatre Review: Titanique

Titanique

Written by Marla Mindelle, Constantine Rousouli and Tye Blue

Directed by Tye Blue

Music by Nicholas James Connell

Choreographer Ellenore Scott

Photo Credit Daniel Boud

The Grand Electric, Surry Hills

Reviewed by Ron Lee, CSP, MAICD

The Grand Electric in Surry Hills is hosting one of the most enjoyable productions that I’ve seen in a while.

Titanique is a musical spoof of James Cameron’s 1997 film (yes, it has been 28 years). It’s cleverly written, fast-moving, somewhat gay, and includes a load of movie and theatre in-jokes, bitchy comments and the inevitable seamen double entendres. Most of all, it’s hugely entertaining.

The 17 musical numbers are performed by extraordinarily talented triple threats. Each is strong in their own right and you can tell that there is total trust within the cast, which is important when there is the occasional ad lib. Even though the production is tight, it’s flexible enough to allow for some topical references. The mention of Peter Dutton elicited a huge laugh.

Some bits are reminiscent of The Village People and The Allen Brothers from the Bandstand days.

On the night on which I attended there were four alternates but you wouldn’t have known it.

As the narrator, Jenni Little was Céline Dion who often popped up unexpectedly and burst into song.

Matthew Predny was the dreamer Jack Dawson and Artemis Alfonzetti, as Rose Dewitt Bukater was the perfect ingénue.

Keane Sheppard-Fletcher, as Rose’s fiancé Cal plays it more gay than the Cal in the movie but it enhances the plot and makes everything more congruent.

Stephen Anderson in sort-of drag as Rose’s mother Ruth reminded me of the camp, focus-pulling character, Johnny in the film Flying High/Airplane!

Another of the many highlights is Abu Kebe who does some Tina Turner turns. The irony is that he has a more appropriate voice and a much better figure than the woman who starred in the Australian production of Tina The Musical. Kebe was in that show so he had  time to study the character. It would have been interesting if he was the alternate to play Tina.

Another powerful voice and riveting stage presence is possessed by Jo-Anne Jackson as the Unsinkable Molly Brown. When Rose is contemplating having sex for the first time, she asks Molly for advice and Molly whips out an eggplant that she happens to be carrying in a certain part of her clothing, and the demonstration begins.

All this is not surprising considering that co-writer and director Tye Blue was involved in the production of four seasons of RuPaul’s Drag Race.

Titanique has a similar vibe to it as Ruthless! The Musical which I saw in New York and later in Sydney. Both are extremely appealing.

The intimacy of The Grand Electric is perfect for this show and it also wouldn’t be out of place in a much bigger venue such as the Theatre Royal or the Lyric Theatre. It can be played big enough to fill those spaces. Titanique is a show that you could easily see more than once and I believe that there is a special “repeat” ticket price. 

With due respect to the other musical productions on in Sydney at the moment, if I was a normal theatre-goer, I would put Titanique at the top of my list.