Titanique the Musical brings parody of Titanic to Windy City with all-Chicago cast

CHICAGO (WGN) — Just inside the doors of the Broadway Playhouse, a retelling of a story more than a century in the making is taking place.

“In my mind, Chicago’s going to love the show because it’s such a theater town and such a comedy town,” said Tye Blue, Co-Creator and Director of Titanique the Musical. “And that’s what this is all about.”

Titanique is a musical—part drama and mostly comedy, a “parody of the film Titanic”—that’s finding a new home in Chicago with an all-Chicago cast.

“I feel like we’ve been through several years that have been very stressful for everyone’s collective psyche,” Blue said. “My mission with Titanique is to give people a place to go where they know for a fact that they can forget about all that for 100 straight minutes.”

Titanique is already playing in New York, London, Australia and Canada—the home of the show’s inspiration, Celine Dion, whose music is the driving force behind the theatrical production.

“Much like the movie Titanic, it has a lot of heart and it’s a real-life tragedy,” said Clare Kennedy-McLaughlin, who plays Celine Dion in the musical. “With Celine Dion’s power ballads, it lends itself to the story of Titanic.”

While Kennedy-McLaughlin plays the role of Dion in Titanique, the Titanic parody production will feature a Chicago feel and appeal.

“We’ve changed things and moved things around a little bit. The show is great and lends itself to improv and obviously Chicago is the Second City and the city of improv,” Kennedy-McLaughlin said. “There are some Easter eggs and references here and there that, as Tye said, will make people feel seen as a specifically Chicago audience.”

While tweaks have been made to the original plot of Titanic, one major plot point still remains.

“Spoiler alert. One of us dies,” said Adam Fane, who plays Jack. “We won’t tell you who.”

Titanique sets sail this Tuesday and runs through May 18 at the Broadway Playhouse in Water Tower Place.