Titanique Breakout Marla Mindelle Reveals the Secret to Her Hilarious Céline Dion Impression
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Emilio Madrid
Céline Dion is currently entertaining audiences 8 shows a week in an acclaimed new musical comedy playing in New York City — and it's all thanks to Marla Mindelle.
The actress portrays the legendary singer in Titanique, a laugh-out-loud musical parody of the 1997 Oscar-winning blockbuster Titanic that sees Dion interjecting herself into the film's tragic love story to hilarious results.
It's a pitch-perfect performance that has earned Mindelle rave reviews, with audience members praising her for capturing the essence of the French Canadian singer. And it turns out, the secret to her uncanny impression is easier than one might think.
"I literally act as if I am a quirky ingenue that has descended from a French Canadian planet," Mindelle, 37, tells PEOPLE, of how she channels Dion. "I pretend I'm in utter disbelief the entire time, but I'm incredibly grateful to be there. And I have this joie de vivre of a child who's discovering a world for the first time."
"What is so wonderful about Céline is that she's so passionate about life and she's so happy and so grateful to be living it," Mindelle says. "And so I really, really try to embody that as much as humanly possible."
RELATED: The Hilarious Titanic Parody Musical Titanique Takes on Céline Dion's 'Taking Chances' — Watch
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Of course, there's also the iconic "Céline-isms" that Mindelle throws in every now and again, including her signature smirk and iconic chest-beat. The actress tells PEOPLE she studied videos of Dion — like her Live in Las Vegas: A New Day, or a fan-made competition clips called "Céline Dion Is Amazing" — and often repeats banter from the singer word for word.
"We quote actual lines Céline has said to the audience from her concerts, or things she's said in interviews," explains Mindelle, who co-created and wrote the musical with costar Constantine Rousouli and director Tye Blue. "We open Act Two with 'Who Let The Dogs Out' — something she randomly started singing in a backstage video we found. And I would say only one person in every show understands that reference, but it doesn't matter because we put that in there for that that one person."
"This is a show that's all about celebrating Céline as much as possible," Mindelle adds. "There are some very niche parts, but true fans of hers will appreciate them."
Mindelle also sounds like Dion, mimicking both Dion's speaking voice and her singing voice.
"The thing that gives me the greatest anxiety with this entire thing is not acting it or the fact that I wrote it, but how I sound," Mindelle, a veteran of Broadway hits like Sister Act, tells PEOPLE. "It's Céline Dion, you know what I mean? She's the greatest singer in the world and I'm just a little musical theater girl from Pennsylvania who grew up idolizing her. She's my absolute icon... what if I didn't get it right?"
To get prepared for each show, Mindelle still watches videos of Dion. "It's like my meditation to get me into the show," Mindelle says, joking that clips of the Canadian songstress are "the only things" that pop up on her Instagram feed. "I'm listening to her constantly, all her riffs, all her interviews. I call it my daily 'Céline Inspiration.' And it's really helped me get over the fear of impersonating her, because I really was so scared of not doing her justice. It makes me so happy that it seems to be resonating with people."
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Titanique has become a cult smash Off Broadway, already extending its run at the Asylum NYC past its original closing date. It's currently scheduled through Nov. 6, though fans have been vocal about another extension or even a Broadway transfer.
The success still leaves Mindelle stunned. "This whole thing started because we were unemployed actors in Los Angeles doing these dinner theater movie to musical parodies with films like Scream, The Devil Wears Prada and True Beverly Hills. And then one day, Constantine came up to me and said, 'I think we should do Titanic with Céline Dion songs' — which I just thought was crazy at the time."
They sat on the idea for about two years, before Blue got involved. "He was like, 'I'm still thinking about this Titanic idea of yours' and Constantine was like, 'I've outlined the entire thing.' And so we just started writing it for fun. If you were going to tell me that 5 years later, we would be Off Broadway with Broadway producers attached, I would have said you're absolutely crazy. I still can't believe it!"
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The show brings to the stage the cast of characters from the film, including our star-crossed lovers Jack (Rousouli) and Rose (Alex Ellis); her controlling fiancé Cal (Ken Wulf Clark) and demanding mother Ruth (Ryan Duncan); as well as a trio of the boat's most recognizable passengers: the unsinkable Molly Brown (Kathy Deitch), Titanic's seaman Jaye Alexander, and... umm... Victor Garber himself (Frankie Grande).
RELATED: The Cast of Titanic: Where Are They Now?
Nothing is off limits for the parody, including one moment Mindelle says they pushed to include. "Before this incarnation, we did a concert staging at the Green Room 42 and we never really realized the car scene between Jack and Rose. So when we brought it to the Asylum NYC, we were like, 'we need to stage that properly.' I'm so glad we did because it's definitely one of the moments in the musical audiences seem to be laughing at the most."
A score of Dion hits are used to move the story along, like "Taking Chances," "The Prayer," "Tell Him," "Beauty and the Beast," "I Drove All Night," "To Love You More," "A New Day Has Come," "All By Myself," "Because You Loved Me," and yes, Titanic's chart-topping, award-winning love theme "My Heart Will Go On" (among others).
Emilio Madrid
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Dion herself has yet to see the show, but her manager and publicist have attended, Mindelle says.
So what would Mindelle do if Dion does, in fact, show up one day? "Faint, probably," the actress jokes.
"It would be such a dream," Mindelle shares. "And I think that she would love it because she would see that it is such a celebration of her. I mean, we wrote it because we were literally obsessed with her and Titanic. I can't imagine she wouldn't feel the joy and love we have for her."
Titanique is playing through Nov. 6 at the Asylum NYC (307 W. 26th Street) in New York City. Tickets are now on sale.
