Titanique sparkles at the Segal Centre
OFF-BROADWAY HIT IS THE MOST SPECTACULAR SHOW OF THE YEAR
By Byron Toben
The Segal Centre has presented perhaps the most spectacular show of the year, this time in co-production with David and Hannah Mirvish of Toronto, of the Off-Broadway hit Titanique, an 18-song musical about the 1912 disaster of the 20th Century when the iron-clad steamship Titanic collided with an iceberg, drowning many staff and passengers.
A 1997 movie made by Canadian James Cameron won eight Academy Awards out of eleven nominations and set all-time grossing records. Its song, My Heart Will Go On, sung by Céline Dion, inspired author Ty Blue to write Titanique as having imagined herself being on board the ill-fated ship (which thus in Titanique would make her over 100 years old instead of her actual 56).
Titanique succeeds in imagining this by casting fellow Quebecer Céline impersonator Veronique Claveau as the golden gown-clad icon. Popular in francophone circles for short riffs, this is her first English show, let alone for a full-length presentation.
The eleven-member cast included Mariah Campos as survivor Rose, Seth Zosky as her drowned boyfriend Jack and Erica Peck as the unsinkable Molly Brown who survived by floating on a door. Christopher Ning played several roles, including that of the iceberg itself.
My Heart Will Go On, sung by?Céline Dion, inspired author?Ty Blue?to write?Titanique as having imagined herself being on board the ill-fated ship…
The show, directed by Ty Blue with musical direction by Nick Burgess, moved along briskly and had Montreal references to local places such as Birks department store which I assume will be substituted by Toronto places when the show moves there.
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When the diamond-encrusted heart necklace was thrown into the crowd ocean, it landed in the lap of my theatre companion who had to return it later.
The next show at the Segal is The Secret Chord: A Leonard Cohen Experience which runs from December 8 to January 12.
Titanique concludes on November 24.
Byron Toben, a past president of The Montreal Press Club, has been WestmountMag.ca’s theatre reviewer since July 2015. Previously, he wrote for since-terminated websites Rover Arts and Charlebois Post, print weekly The Downtowner, and print monthly The Senior Times. He also is an expert consultant on U.S. work permits for Canadians.