The Royal Mail Steamer Titanic tragically sank back in 1912 killing 1,500 people on its maiden voyage. The fascination with the legendary ship’s legacy is still alive in 2025, and thanks to Porchlight Music Theatre’s Chicago premiere of Titanique, its heart will continue to go on.
For eight weeks the Lortel Award-winning musical will be “King of the World” at the Broadway Playhouse and judging from the popularity of the 1997 film Titanic, the Windy City might have a major hit on its hands with this parody.
Titanique is a jukebox musical capitalizing on the songbook of Celine Dion in a twisted fairytale told by the Canadian songstress herself. While out on a Titanic museum tour one day, Dion appears and claims to have survived the sinking ship on that fateful night. Dion expresses her version of the events through her classic catalog of songs and modern improvised references.
There were at least a few gay seamen aboard that mail vessel back in the day and Titanique’s cast is packed to the brink with a rainbow of representation.
Several members of the cast sang select tunes for a preview at Sidetrack on Halsted St. on March 17 then spoke to Windy City Times after the performance.
Clare Kennedy McLaughlin portrays the pop icon Celine and is part of the LGBTQ+ community. She stated that Titanique “is full of queer themes and for people who love Celine Dion. The show is a celebration of Celine and my favorite song is “Taking Chances.” There are gay references throughout the production and a whole drag sequence performed by Lorenzo Shawn Pernell, who plays the Iceberg character. Rob Lindley plays Ruth, Rose’s mom and his monologue is a showstopper. It’s different every time and it’s about being a woman. To have so many queer performers in the room to play off of is wonderful.”
Previously seen by Chicago audiences in Sex Tips for Straight Women from a Gay Man, Adam Fane grew out his hair similar to Leonardo DiCaprio’s to audition for the role of Jack, “I was a huge fan of Titanic with the double VHS tapes and soundtrack on CD. I didn’t know I was gay when I was nine years old, but it was formative to me. There are so many gay men who remember the first time they heard “My Heart Will Go On” and when I heard this show was coming, I knew I had to audition for it.”
Fane’s take on why the tale still resonates with people: “It’s a timeless story of a love affair that was doomed from the beginning like Romeo and Juliet.”
The Aurora, Illinois native explained, “Titanique is like a drag show in a bar, but then Maya and I are very serious in our scenes. We want this love story to affect people and make them remember the first time they fell in love. Maya and I are having fun onstage together.”
He performed the musical Jersey Boys on a cruise ship in the past which eventually made a pit stop at the Titanic museum, foreshadowing his future. Adam said, “When we reached the area where the Titanic sank the captain announced that global warming had melted all the ice so the tragedy will never happen there again.” If a ship he was on did happen to be evacuated in a situation such as this, his most treasured item to take with him would be his PlayStation 5.
Maya Rowe co-stars with Fane as Rose and confessed that navigating her character has been challenging, “[Director Tye Blue] wants her to be Kate Winslet, but there are so many wacky things in the show that she has to make sense of while still keeping the sincerity of the love story. I’m falling in love with a beautiful, gay man in the process—and that’s not foreign to me after being in musical theater for a long time.”
Rowe identifies as bisexual and has enjoyed the rehearsals so far.
“It’s nice to have the writer in the room so we can ask questions along the way,” she said. “I came in thinking Rose would be crazy, but she’s treated quite seriously at times.”
If the Titanic was sinking, she would rescue her husband Gabe or if was too late, she joked, “If he had a life preserver on then I would make him take the floatation device off and drown with me!”
The creation of Titanique began as a one-off for a single night in 2017 and grew into an Off-Broadway production in New York in 2022. The show expanded to Australia, Canada and England before arriving in Chicago this year.
At the Sidetrack event, the director Tye Blue described Titanique as “one part drag show, one part improv comedy and another part American Idol, with the nostalgia of the movie Titanic mixed in.” He co-created Titanique with Constantine Rousouli and Marla Mindelle, who played the original Jack and Celine, “I knew in the moment Constantine mentioned the idea to me that the show had a strong concept and then we began writing it together.”
When questioned about the relevance of the ‘90s fad in modern times, “It’s a great movie and the special effects still hold up today as well as the storyline. When I first watched the movie, it had an impact on me and many people feel the same way.”
His favorite Celine song is “I’m Alive” and to his knowledge Dion has not seen Titanique yet: “Listen, I’ve brought her manager, her dancers, her doctor, her friends and family to see it, so she knows about it.”
If Blue was on a ship that was sinking, the first thing he would grab would be a bottle of Grey Goose or possibly a wig. The previous executive producer of four seasons of RuPaul’s Drag Race gave casting advice for artists attempting to be on the reality series.
“Play to the brand, know your brand to fit into an archetype on the show and make it easy for them to see you on Drag Race,” he said. “I was always advocating for show girls that have paid their dues, but these days it’s about social media followings.”
He sets sail to Paris to produce Titanique in France after this Broadway in Chicago run, then jets to Massachusetts to direct a play about Joan Rivers at The Cape Playhouse opening in early September.
McLaughlin is warming up for this gig and focused on doing justice to Celine’s incredible work: “This feels like a dream to be in this production and I hope to not wake up.”
If she had to flee a sinking ship, her basset hound Lily would have to accompany her on the lifeboat. “I am taking her with me whether she likes it or not. My mom is even jealous that Lily is in my bio.”
Sink your teeth into Titanique at Broadway in Chicago’s Broadway Playhouse at Water Tower Place, 175 E. Chestnut St. Find tickets at broadwayinchicago.com for performances March 25-May 18 before the ship leaves the harbor.