‘Titanish’ – Written by Jeff Shell & Ryan Dobosh. Music by Mark Siano. Directed by Tyler Rosati. Music Direction by Avery Bargar. Scenic Design by Rachel Rose Burke. Lighting Design by John Holmes. Costume Design by Bethany Mullins. Sound Design by Andrew Duncan Will. Properties Design by Emily Allinson. At Greater Boston Stage Company, 395 Main Street, Stoneham, MA, through March 17, 2024
by Linda Chin
Making its East Coast premiere at Greater Boston Stage Company, the play Titanish, by Jeff Shell and Ryan Dobos, is a parody – not of the tragic event of 1912 that killed nearly 1500 people, nor the Broadway production of 1977 that won five Tony Awards, including “Best Musical,” but of the Oscar-winning “Best Picture” of 1998 that was the first to gross $1 billion worldwide. I don’t associate the movie ‘Titanic’ – nor its characters Jack and Rose (the roles that thrust Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet into stardom overnight) with comedy. In fact, the only time I recall laughing with the Titanic as the subject matter is the old joke with the punchline, “Iceberg, Goldberg, what’s the difference?”
Titanish – the rom-com on steroids version – has a boatload of eleven stars on board, including Jack Chylinski as Jack and Elainy Mata as Rose in the leading roles. Chylinski and Mata have lovely singing voices and stage presence and are well-paired. The remarkably versatile cast includes Mark Linehan as the icky Titan Caldeon, the cheery cherry Koolaid Man, and a Swedish Passenger whose featured line is “IKEA!”, Paul Melendy and Stewart Evan Smith as the riotously funny Frederick and Reginald, and Chip Phillips as the Captain who seems more concerned with place settings and keeping the wine glasses full than the impending iceberg in the ship’s way. Robin Irwin plays sex-obsessed Old Rose and Molly Brown, Sarah Morin is fab as Babs and Fabrizio, and triple threats Alison Russell (Betty, Ticket Barker, Lovejoy, Lizzy), Katie Pickett (William, Mr. Unlucky, Submersible), and Avery Bargar (Brock, John Astor, and the music director) do triple and quadruple duty. Bargar’s on-stage keyboard accompaniment was a nice touch, as were actors with instruments (Jack on guitar and Rose on recorder).
Director Tyler Rosati keeps the action moving at a good clip, leaving the audience never bored and wanting more. The script would benefit from trimming, as it often goes overboard with word plays, double entendres and sexual connotations, and jokes that were repetitious or went on and on. While the realistic two-level set offers ample opportunity for multiple playing areas for slapstick and some lively song and dance numbers, its gigantic proportions did make it necessary for many audience members sitting in “first class” to crane their necks to view the acting on the ship’s balcony. Though much of the humor wasn’t my cup of tea and may have been off-putting to some audience members, it was not off-color. There’s plenty of room for everyone on the floating door/life raft at GBSC. For tickets and information, go to: https://www.greaterbostonstage.org/
