Titanique the Musical: An Interview with Sydney’s Celine Dion
Titanique the Musical has been one of the greatest triumphs for Sydney’s performing arts sector this year- and arguably since pre-pandemic. It’s no secret or revelation that the musical theatre industry has faced massive challenges over the last 4 years, not just in Sydney but all around the world. We’ve seen musical theatre giants come back to the city, and massively underperforming.
But- Titanique has provided a welcome break from that. The show is a musical that doesn’t yet have the legendary status of many other productions that have graced Sydney recently- yet it has still been the talk of the town since its debut back in early September. That can be attributed to the natural charm that the show has, which also hand in hand provides the most effective marketing strategy a production can hope for: genuine and organic 5-star reviews, by word of mouth. It’s actually very difficult to find a negative review online or elsewhere, which is a feat in itself.
We got a chance to talk to one of the stars of the show, Marney McQueen, who plays Celine Dion. Take a look.
If you’re part of the queer community and you haven’t heard of Titanique you’re probably living under a rock- but I’m interested from your perspective as a headliner, how would you describe the musical?
This show was created by three friends who were so miserable during the last Trump presidency that they decided to get together and make a show that would bring 90 minutes of pure joy.
They got together every Monday night, and just started to throw jokes and ideas around, and before they knew it they had created a full show. That’s one thing I really love about it. It has been created by friends, who wanted to make something joyful. They weren’t commissioned, or censored; they were completely free to write whatever they wanted to.
The show is different, it’s fresh, it’s bold, and it’s so funny. Being at work is an absolute joy. When there’s a lot of crazy stuff happening in the real world, being able to make 400 people laugh 8 times a week- it’s just great to be able to do that for people.
It’s a wild and hilariously funny take on the Titanic movie, with Celine Dion songs, and narrated by Celine Dion herself. It’s ridiculous and great fun. From the get-go, the audience is invited into this wild ride of a musical
There’s no doubt that Titanique has already been a huge success in Sydney, with the musical announcing an extension of its stay here.
A huge part of that success is due to genuine word of mouth of this being a great musical.
What do you think makes this musical so unique, and so likeable?
One thing about this particular production that makes it so great, is the venue- The Grand Electric. Nobody can ever find the venue to start off with, and you walk into it thinking what have I got myself into. And then it opens up into this kooky eclectic theatre, with a bar in the courtyard and a bar in the theatre, which makes it even better. The venue really invites you to have a good time, before the show even starts.
I also know the creators were conscious that the venue was much more intimate than some of the huge ones in Sydney. They wanted it to be right in your face and up close. To have a different, more involved experience. The audience is smaller- and honestly that makes everyone even more excited to be there.
Did you see Titanique in New York before being cast?
No- so around when Michael Cassel contacted me about being part of the show, I’d heard some of my friends talk about seeing this show in New York, and they were raving about it. The New York production has been running for about 3 years now, so the Sydney show is the first international iteration- which is so exciting.
In what ways is the Australian iteration of Titanique different and distinct to other cities where Titanique has been?
The director was very conscious that the written jokes might not land in Australia, so some of them were adapted. But I think this is also a tribute to how much influence American culture has had on us, and especially American drag culture. There’s a lot of RuPaul’s Drag Race references in this show, which the audience have reacted so well to. Growing up, we’re exposed to American humour and English humour, and of course our own Australian humour.
I want to talk about specifically your role as Celine now, which you do a fantastic job at.
How long have you been in this industry and training your voice for musical theatre?
As a kid I always loved performing and singing in particular- and comedy. I would do performances for the class at school, in front of teachers, students, everyone. I think once you get a taste of what it’s like to make people laugh, it becomes addictive. I’ve always loved doing that.
I’ve a lot of different styles of singing, for example I did Priscilla Queen of the Desert almost 20 years ago and played Marion. She ran a hotel in the country and invited her friends up to do drag shows, and that now has actually become my real life. 7 years ago my husband and I bought a pub up on the Central Coast (the Royal Hotel Wyong), and to liven up our weekend trade we started to put on a Saturday Cabaret Night, which was a huge success. Of course performing at a pub, you have to develop a whole new repertoire for that audience. I was classically trained at high school, but I have sung in a lot of different genres. Plus with the comedy & cabaret shows I have done around the Australia and the world, all of that has impacted my performance as Celine in Titanique.
What challenges did embodying Celine’s voice bring, considering she’s known as one of the best vocalists out there?
Celine actually has incredible vocal placement, which makes it much more manageable to perform 8 shows a week. Which is probably why she was able to perform in Vegas for so long. The way she sings, its perfect, from a technical standpoint. I’ve obviously listened to hours and hours of her singing and talking, to emulate that vocal placement.
The musical is of course enjoyed by everybody, and that’s part of the success of Titanique globally because the concept behind it is taking one of the most well known movies of all time and one of the most well known singers of all time, and making a comedy.
Definitely in Sydney, however, its had a huge impact on the LGBTQIA+ community. Can you speak to what the support of the community has done for the show?
It’s a show for the LGBTQIA+ community. The jokes, the writing, all of it is embedded in the LGBTQIA+ world. written for them. The amazing thing about this show is that people tend to love it whichever community they belong to. There’s of course still a balance we had to strike between performing for the wider audience, whilst still making sure it’s made for the gays, but the joy of the LGBTQIA+ world pours forth in Titanique, both from the stage and from the audience.
To book your tickets to Titanique the Musical, please visit their website HERE
To read more interviews and reviews from Gay Sydney Australia, please click HERE