MURRAY -- This brand new Desert Star comedy doesn't just spoof James Cameron's bloated film, "Titanic" -- it lampoons everything from edited movies in Utah County and the 2002 Winter Olympics to "Gilligan's Island," "Love Boat" and "The Poseidon Adventure."
And there are some pretty impressive special effects, too.Toward the end of the show, when the ship is sinking, one crew member comments about the lack of lifeboats: "The same person who calculated the exact cost of the Olympics was also responsible for determining the number of lifeboats."
Intermittently, during the course of the two-act musical melodrama, written and directed by Scott Holman, a deliriously giddy Tinkerbell comes running onto the stage to warn those in the audience who may be offended to quickly don their special Utah County glasses, so they won't have to see young hunk Leo DeCrapio showing his Parisian sketches to his lady love, Rose Bush, or other alleged tawdry scenes.
(There are actually no offensive scenes at all, of course, but it doesn't hurt to warn some patrons.)
Right up front, the audience is advised that this DSP world premiere does NOT spoof the tragic event itself but is designed to make fun of the recent movie version. In that regard, it succeeds very well.
"We're going down faster than Orrin Hatch's presidential campaign," Gilligan (Jonathon Phipps) warns the Skipper (Holman), the latter attired as if he just arrived from another ill-fated British ship -- the Bounty.
The not-quite "Grand Hotel"-ish ensemble of assorted passengers and crew members also includes feisty Molly Brown (Kori Hazel), the villainous Cal E. Fornia (Paul Thomas Murphy), his decorative fiancée, Rose Bush (Chelsea Adams), young Hollywood heartthrob Leonardo DeCrapio (Nathan Stevens), and cruise director Julie McCoy (Julie Ann Christensen).
In the triple role of Icey, a talking, dancing iceberg (his best spot is masquerading as a larger-than-life marguerita), film director Cameron and one of the Tinkerbells is Steven Fehr.
The puns, the off-the-wall comedy and musical numbers (including a new spin on "Under the Sea" from "The Little Mermaid" and "Sit Down, You're Rocking the Boat"), are funny and fast.
The scenery and special effects are first-rate, as are Mindi Stevens' piano accompaniment, Kori Hazel's choreography, Christy Leif's costumes and Aaron Senior's lighting.
The entire ensemble also delivers a sprightly, 20-minute "Night on Broadway" olio segment, including highlights from several Broadway hits such as "Miss Saigon," "Rent" and "Grease." One of the best bits was a geriatric rendition of one of the songs from "The Sound of Music" -- in this case, "Seventy Going on Eighty," instead of "Sixteen Going on Seventeen."
The one major problem throughout the evening was that the piano was occasionally too loud, drowning out some of the lyrics -- especially during the "Miss Saigon" number.
Sensitivity rating: This show doesn't need one. It's not offensive, just fun for the family (but babes-in-arms aren't allowed).