Theatre 2024: Titanique @ CAA Theatre

Titanique is an off-Broadway jukebox musical that is a spoof of the groundbreaking 1997 movie Titanic starring very young actors Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet. It features songs sung by French Canadian diva Celine Dion, which of course includes the iconic movie theme song “My Heart Will Go On”.  This song was so ubiquitous and overplayed at the time that it scared off my husband Rich from watching the film when it first came out.  I convinced him to finally watch James Cameron’s Titanic as preparation for attending the musical, since it is difficult to appreciate a good parody without knowledge of the source material being made fun of.

Titanique uses a framing device to wrap around the plot of the movie.  Starting in present day, a tour group is learning about the tragedy when they are interrupted by Celine Dion who claims that she was on the Titanic and can tell the “true story” of what happened.  Played by Quebecois performer Véronique Claveau, the character of Celine Dion is portrayed as a caricature of the singer, highlighting and exaggerating her French accent, flair for dramatic theatricality and emotional delivery.  While played for laughs, I found the character’s antics, facial expressions, winks and over-the-top gestures to be annoying and not particularly funny.  Luckily after the introductory scene, there was less of this schtick and when Claveau sings, mimicking Dion’s voice and style, her voice soars and all is forgiven. In fact, all of the cast have amazing singing voices, which is probably a basic requirement if you are to tackle the catalogue of Celine Dion.

When questioned about how she possibly could still be alive if she had actually been on the Titanic back in 1912, Dion belts out the song “I’m Alive” while revealing a set made to look like the prow of a ship with a set of stairs jutting out from the regular stage in a triangular formation which extends the “front of the boat” right into the audience.  The first two rows of seating were reconfigured to be parallel to the stairs with the triangular point ending up right in front of our centre seats in row E.  I usually don’t like sitting too close to the front of the stage, especially for a musical, since you need to be further back to see the entire choreography.  Row E would have been far enough had it been a regular stage.  The new staging put us directly in front of any actor who positioned him or herself at the point, literally towering over us.  We were also directly in the path of the actors as they danced off the stairs to circle left and right before climbing back onto the stage.  They passed by so tightly that we had to make sure to tuck our feet in so that no one tripped over them or stepped on our toes. Sitting so close to the action was particularly precarious if we did not want to be chosen for any type of audience participation.  Any time a performer came close to us, we made sure not to make eye contact so as not be selected.  This worked until the final scene of the show, but more on that later.

The people in the first row were so close to the bottom steps that one patron actually used the stairs as a footrest.  When asked to remove her feet, she did so in a bit of a snit and then within 10 minutes after the start of the show, she got up and left.  Whether it was because of the footrest incident or whether she was offended by the raunchy jokes and not-so-subtle gay vibe is unclear. About 5 minutes later, the woman sitting next to her also got up and left.  The actors were very professional and ignored this distracting interruption, but later during a bit of improv, this incident was referenced as part of a joke.  A ridiculously large version of the infamous blue heart-shaped diamond “The Heart of the Ocean” (which is critical to the movie’s plot) dangles from the ceiling while shapes of icebergs sit ominously on either side of the stage.  When the curtains opened, they revealed the rest of the stage including an “upper deck” with another flight of stairs leading down to the lower deck.  The orchestra played on either side of the upper deck. At one point, Celine joked that they had stolen the set from the musical “Anything Goes”.  After one of the actors raced up and down all these stairs multiple times, he flopped down in exhaustion, broke the fourth wall and quipped “Serves me right for joining Stairs, the Musical”. 

After her introductory song, Celine introduces the rest of the characters on the Titanic, including the star-crossed lovers Rose and Jack, Rose’s mother Ruth played hilariously in semi-drag by male actor Constant Bernard, Rose’s rich, arrogant finance Cal, the Unsinkable Molly Brown or rather, Kathy Bates from the movie playing that role, and Victor Garber playing the shipbuilder/designer Thomas Andrew who also represented the captain of the ship.  It was a bit confusing why some of the characters were roles from the movie and others were actors who played roles from the movie, but we just went with it.  The actor playing Victor Garber also plays the role of Jack’s Italian friend named Fabrizio in the movie.  But for Titanique, he has been renamed “Luigi” and dressed up like that character from Super Mario complete with green cap and mustache.  Christopher Ning who plays the tour guide had the most extra roles.  He is also on the ship’s crew as “Seaman” which led to extended jokes regarding the similar-sounding word “semen”, as well as the personification of the Iceberg and Peabo Bryson for a duet of “Beauty and the Beast” with Celine Dion.

Once the main characters are introduced, the main plot of Titanic begins, with some liberties taken to fit better with the songs.  Celine Dion sometimes acts as narrator and at other times simply interjects herself into the action.  The various scenes are paired with lyrics from Celine Dion songs that often fit perfectly with the plot.  Jack wins at poker and secures passage onto the Titanic where he meets Rose and they sing “Taking Chances” where Rose begins with “Don’t know much about your life” and Jack replies, “Don’t know much about your world”.   Later, Molly Brown (played by powerhouse-voiced Erica Peck from We Will Rock You) advises Rose to let Jack know how she feels about him by singing the song “Tell Him”. Rose joins in for a duet (similarly to the original duet by Celine and Barbara Streisand) but then the Celine character chimes in and pushes Rose out.  When the Victor Garber character needs the ship to go faster at the urging of Cal (who has a hair appointment on Tuesday), he sings the song “I Drove All Night” and after the iceberg hits, he goes down with the ship while singing “I Surrender”.  When Molly Brown returns to look for survivors (something she was unsuccessful in convincing the crew to do in the movie and in history), she sings “All By Myself”.

Many of the most memorable scenes from the movie are referenced in the musical but in a hilarious manner.  For the most famous scene where Jack makes Rose climb onto the prow and spread her arms like she’s flying, he begins with “Do you trust me” to which she replies “Trust you? I just met you”.  But trust him she does and to the soaring tune of “To Love You More”, they perform the iconic scene with Celine yelling out “Wait for it…” just before Rose spreads her arms.  In the scene where Jack sketches Rose naked (or in a nude-coloured body suit) while wearing the big-ass diamond, the image that he draws is of a cat, since this version of Jack can only draw cats.  The love scene in the car is cleverly staged with two cutout images of the front of a car and a plastic windshield which Jack and Rose both slap their palms against, mocking the action from the movie.  Cal chases Jack and Rose throughout the ship and shoots at them with a plastic ray gun that makes “pew pew” sounds (like the blasters in Star Wars). When Rose uses an axe to chop off Jack’s handcuffs, she accidentally chops off his hand and a bloody plastic hand is thrown onto the centre of the stage for a quick gag.  And when the Titanic finally sinks, Rose shows up with a large door strapped to her back.  All these scenes would not be as funny without knowing how the original scenes played out in the movie.

When the personification of the Iceberg (played in drag by Christopher Ning) shows up calling herself “the Iceberg Bitch”, she  channels a fierce and brassy Tina Turner, singing “River Deep, Mountain High” (another Celine Dion cover song) while dancing forwards and backwards in high heels.  At one point, the Iceberg carries a model of the ship broken into two halves.  In one of the final scenes, the giant necklace needs to be thrown overboard and guess whose lap it lands on?  Rich got to hold the necklace during the singing of “My Heart Will Go On”, a song so powerful that it can raise the dead.  During an encore reprise of the song, the audience is invited to sing along, take photos and tag the show #titanique @titaniquemusical

One of the most hilarious actors in this show is Constant Bernard who played Rose’s mother Ruth while wearing a dowdy pink top (from Reitmans!) and chunky fake jewelry  while wearing a headband with a bird on it attached to his bald head.  At one point Ruth goes on a rant about how hard her life is and in quick succession, throws out snippets of lyrics from a bunch of musicals including Dream Girls and Gypsy.  She then improvises examples about how much worse things could get, throwing out the thought of 4 more years of Donald Trump, then referring to someone almost being fired on a Zoom Call (a reference to the Chrystia Freeland debacle that happened only days ago) and finally mentioning people who walk out of your show within minutes of it starting.

In addition to Reitmans, there were many local references in the musical.  While singing “Seduces Me”, Cal places the huge diamond necklace around Rose’s neck, causing her to sag from the weight.  He indicates proudly that it is from Costco.  Later Celine disparages the Costco purchase, implying that a proper diamond should come from Birks or at least Peoples.  On Broadway, instead of Costco, the store named is Jared's (as compared to Neil Lane and Zales).

Although this show started off slowly for me, in the end I was howling with laughter and loving every minute of it.  This was such a goofy but clever show and was so enjoyable that I would love to watch it again.

Theatre 2024: Moulin Rouge @ Ed Mirvish Theatre

 My husband Rich and I had already watched the live musical version of Moulin Rouge in New York in 2019 with Broadway stars Aaron Tveit and Karen Olivo originating the roles of the star-crossed lovers Christian and Satine.  I wrote extensively about that show here as part of my travel blog -https://arenglishtravels.blogspot.com/2019/12/manhattan-2019-broadway-musicals.html

I therefore had lower expectations about seeing it for the second time, especially given the minor letdown of my recent experience revisiting The Lion King, plus the fact that road shows are rarely as spectacularly staged as in their original venues.  The Broadway staging of Moulin Rouge was over the top, featuring a stage bathed in red hues, a gigantic purple elephant parked to the right of the stage and an equally large windmill on left.  There was a catwalk that extended from the stage out into the audience to highlight featured dancers and actors in various scenes while a handful of audience members sat at tables cabaret-style just under the stage.

In light of all this, I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed the Toronto production of Moulin Rouge.  As expected, the staging in Toronto was not as elaborate as the Broadway production since there was no elephant, windmill or extended catwalk.  But a version of the signature fire-engine red hue with the large Moulin Rouge marquee was replicated and ultimately the lack of the cosmetically glitzy set pieces didn’t matter because they were just for show and did not affect the plot or performances.  While we were not allowed to photograph them, prior to the start of the show, several male and female background dancers strutted and preened on stage dressed in slinky outfits and sky-high heels. It has become more and more of a trend for the audience to be treated to a “pre-show teaser”.  Then the musical started and we were hooked right from the first finger snaps and pulsating beats of "Lady Marmalade" with the four principal performers revealed initially in silhouette (another staging trend that is becoming prevalent).

From that moment on, all the way until the end of the show, we were enthralled by the fabulously vibrant colours of the sets and costumes, the acrobatic Cancan dancers executing their jump splits, and the stellar acting and singing abilities of the cast, with a special shoutout to Christian Douglas who played his namesake Christian.  Douglas oozed emotion, especially in the songs where he was expressing his angst and heartbreak and his singing voice is amazing.

What makes Moulin Rouge most entertaining is playing “Name That Tune” with the plethora of song snippets that are pieced together to form this unique spin on the jukebox musical. Rather than featuring the oeuvre of a single group, Moulin Rouge samples from a wide range of songs running from classic oldies to recent contemporary hits.  It is a marvel how perfectly the chosen songs fit the plots and situations.

In some cases, large excerpts of a song are used to introduce or describe the state of mind of a character. The villainous Duke of Monroth’s solo songs are lines from “Money, That’s What I Want” and The Rolling Stones’ “Sympathy for the Devil”. Satine, who is known as “The Sparkling Diamond” is introduced with a mashup of songs including the classics Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend and Diamonds Are Forever, as well as Madonna’s Material Girl and Beyonce’s "Single Ladies (Put a Ring On it)". She later sings Katy Perry’s “Firework” to express her frustrations over her fragile health and her determination to persevere. Christian sings Elton John’s “Your Song” when he first meets and woos Satine, starting with the lines “I don’t have much money, but boy if I did…” which perfectly describes his situation before launching into the love song.  Later he sings "Roxanne" by the Police and a mashup of Gnarls Barkley’s "Crazy" and Adele’s "Rolling in the Deep" to express his anguish about Satine prostituting herself with the duke.

But what makes Moulin Rouge unique as a jukebox musical are the songs that piece together single lines from multiple songs in quick succession in order to form a cohesive musical dialogue between the characters.  In a few cases, the lyrics are tweaked slightly to fit the story but the tunes are unmistakable.  This is done most successfully in the sequence titled “Elephant Love Medley” since it takes place in Satine’s Elephant-themed dressing room. Christian has returned to fight for Satine after she rejects him in favour of the duke, who can provide the funds to save the cabaret.  Christian sings song after song promoting love while Satine retorts with songs about heartbreak and the result is head-spinning and magnificent.  Christian pleads for “Just One Night” (to the tune of Phil Collins’ One More Night) “In the Name of Love” (U2), asking her to “Take On Me” (A-ha) and declaring “I Can’t Help Falling in Love With You” (Elvis Presley) while vowing his “Everlasting Love” (Robert Knight).  In counterpoint, Satine retorts with “Love Hurts” (Nazareth), “Love is a Battlefield” (Pat Benatar), and “What’s Love Got to Do With It?” (Tina Turner) and “Don’t Speak ..don’t tell me cause it hurts” (No Doubt). As Christian starts to win her over, Satine voices her doubts by singing a few lines from “Torn” (Natalie Imbruglia) before succumbing to his charms.  Together they sing “Up Where We Belong” (Joe Cocker/Jennifer Warren), declaring “We can be Heroes just for one day” (David Bowie).  The medley ends with the two belting out the iconic “I Will Always Love You” (Whitney Houston).  This is one of the most incredible and masterful mashups of songs that I have ever heard.  In total, 19 songs are sampled in the under 6 minutes.

Given all of the cover songs used in this musical, it is ironic that one of the most beautiful tunes, that acts as Christian and Satine’s secret song to express their love for each other, was an original song written specifically for the 2001 Moulin Rouge movie.  As such, it has the prescient lyrics “Come What May, I will love you until my dying day”.

Rich and I enjoyed the familiarity of the music as well as the spectacle of the staging so much that we did not mind watching this show for the second time.  It helped that our previous viewing in Manhattan was over 6 years ago and our aging brains are starting to forget details.  One element of staging in the Toronto production seemed lacking compared to what I may or may not remember from the Broadway one.   For the song “Chandelier” (Sia) where Christian’s friends ply him with green absinthe to help him forget Satine, I seem to recall some aerial work as Christian becomes drunk and chases a hallucinatory green fairy.  No such acrobatics were performed in the Toronto version and Christian merely stumbles around on stage following a grounded fairy who flits about.  Given that the lyrics of the song include “I’m going to swing from the chandelier ... I’m going to fly like a bird through the night”, it felt lacking not to have this staging.  Nevertheless, we had a wonderful time watching Moulin Rouge again and would recommend it to all musical lovers as well as lovers of pop songs.

Theatre 2024: The Bidding War @ Crow's Theatre

My husband Rich and I enjoyed the shows that we watched at Crow’s Theatre’s 2023/24 season since they were all well-acted and creatively staged.  But almost all of them were dramas that were either very dark and tense or extremely sad and depressing.  In one of my theatre blog posts, I made a plea asking for lighter fare in the next season.  Toronto-based playwright Michael Ross Albert’s new play “The Bidding War” has answered my entreaty in spades!

The Bidding War is a comedic farce that takes aim at the competitive nature of the real estate market in hilarious fashion while driving home some salient points about Toronto’s housing crisis.  The action takes place at an open house held by Sam, an inexperienced listing agent trying to land his first sale of what he claims to be “the last affordable house in Toronto”.  Played by talented actor and Crow’s Theatre regular Peter Fernandes, Sam twitches and sputters while trying to manage the competing agendas of three real estate agents (Blayne, Greg, Patricia) and four sets of potential buyers who have come to inspect the home.  Greg represents gay couple Donovan and Ian, Patricia is the agent for an extremely pregnant Lara and her journalist husband Luke, Blayne’s client is Miriam (played with sass and wit by Fiona Reid), a well-to-do but technically challenged grandmother who already owns a 5-bedroom home, while Charlie, a young, muscle builder and influencer who makes a fortune selling humiliation videos on social media, is a friend of Sam’s and has no official representation in the house sale.  Adding to the mix is the unexpected return of June, who jointly inherited the house with her stepmother after her sculptor father passed away.  June has mixed emotions about the sale since this was her childhood home and yet she also desperately needs the money.

Sam has listed the residence well below market value to drive up interest, much to June’s dismay.  There are differing degrees of interest from the various buyers until Blayne, the most unethical of the real estate agents, learns through insider information that a nearby low-income housing complex has been rezoned and will be replaced with luxury condos and shops, which will cause neighbouring property values to skyrocket.  As these details spread, the claws come out and unscrupulous shenanigans mount as the agents and clients alike vie to get an upper hand in landing the house.  The antics include Ian and Donovan trying to scare off additional viewers from attending the viewing, Blayne deciding she wants the house for herself so that she can flip it for a huge profit and therefore ditching Miriam, and Patricia trying to ditch Luke and Lara who don’t have the money to compete in a bidding war, in exchange for the wealthier Miriam.   In typical farcical fashion, tensions flare and arguments escalate from verbal to physical as chaos reigns amongst the group.  At one point, Rich leaned over and whispered to me the old adage “It’s all fun and games until someone loses an eye”.  If you watch this play, you will get the reference.

Despite all the hilarity and hijinks of a real estate bidding war taken to extremes, some very real issues about the housing crisis are discussed.  Themes explored include the lack of affordable housing for the poor, greedy developers and investors alike who only care about personal gain, gentrification and displacement, generational wealth and how the millennials and later generations have it so much tougher than the baby boomers, and how the real estate system is rigged in favour of the wealthy.  The play also highlights how desperation leads to moral compromises and how greed leads to exploitation.  That all these serious topics are couched within satirical humour makes the social commentary more palatable to absorb.  While defending her actions, Blayne makes a crack about Doug Ford and all that he has gotten away with, which drew huge laughs from the audience.

As with all plays at Crow’s Theatre, the staging and set design is terrific and make you feel like you are in the middle of this open house.  The production is set in the round so that everyone in the audience is within four rows of the action. Watching such a big cast moving around so quickly and purposefully on a small stage, especially one located so close to the audience, it felt like we were witnessing a well choreographed dance routine of controlled mayhem.  Just about every that you see on set (with the exception of the Franz Kline-esque black and white paintings on the walls) serve some purpose in advancing the plot including much of the furniture and the many entrances and exits on and off the set that allow for a farce-like feel as different groups can disappear, leaving others to carry on private conversations. 

The first act is set on the ground floor of the home with the living room and kitchen in view.  The kitchen island is used to serve snacks to the open house attendees. The aisle leading in and out of the Guloein theatre acts as the entrance to the house, where a QR code with for a mandatory indemnity waiver is required to be signed by all potential buyers.  A flight of stairs leads up to the “second floor bedrooms”, while a door leads down to the basement and a second door opens up to reveal the powder room.  Glass sliding doors provide access to the backyard where much talk is heard about the beautiful tree that Donovan loves but that Charlie wants to chop down to make room for a hot tub.  Following the dramatic principle of “Chekhov’s Gun” (which I now understand after finally watching Uncle Vanya), all these elements come into play at some point in the story, so very little of the set is just for show.  After the frenzy of the first act, the second act takes place in the garden where the story comes to a surprising but satisfying conclusion.

The Bidding War is an extremely funny, entertaining, yet intelligent play that was a joy to watch.  I am hoping for more lighthearted shows for the rest of the 2024/25 season.