Marney McQueen ‘delighted’ to play Celine Dion in Aussie premiere of Titanique

Marney McQueen says it’s the perfect role and she will be brimming with excitement when the off-Broadway Titanic parody lands on Sydney’s shores in September.

Marney McQueen will return to the stage after a six-year break to take on the role of Celine Dion.

A parody of James Cameron’s 1997 Oscar winning film, jukebox musical Titanique places Dion as a central character as herself in the story as one of the passengers on the cruiseliner’s ill-fated voyage.

The cast announcement comes days after real life Dion made a triumphant return to performing at the Paris Olympics opening after a four-year break battling stiff-person syndrome.

“Everybody has felt so worried for her after seeing the documentary (I Am: Celine Dion) and the fact she has made such an incredible return, the whole world is feeling the joy of that,” McQueen said.

Marney McQueen will take on the role of Celine Dion in Titanique. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

“I am delighted to be playing her for that reason but also personally, I have been having a bit of a break from the stage while my husband and I moved to the Central Coast and we bought a pub, the Royal Hotel in Wyong, and now we’ve got to the stage where the kids are grown up enough and I am able to get back into the theatre, which is what I love the most.

“This is just the most perfect role for me to come back to the stage with.”

Cast members for the musical Titanique which will hit Sydney later in the year. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

Titanique will bring a slice of off-Broadway to Sydney when it opens at The Grand Electric from September, marking its first international offshoot production ahead of London and Canada.

Joining McQueen in the Michael Cassel Group production are Drew Weston as Jack, Georgina Hopson as Rose and Matt Lee as Victor Garber. Also in the show are Stephen Anderson, Keane Sheppard-Fletcher, Abigail Dixon and Abu Kebe.

Titanique will bring a slice of off-Broadway to Sydney. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

Americans Tye Blue, Constantine Rousouli and Marla Mindelle wrote the show back in 2017 and it premiered at New York’s Daryl Roth Theatre in 2022.

“It is so playful and so joyful,” McQueen said of the show. “You can just feel all of that joy and warmth and fun.”

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