Jim Parsons is turning up the camp in Titanique, the musical comedy inspired by the film Titanic, soundtracked to the songs of Celine Dion. In the new Broadway production of the off-Broadway hit, Parsons plays the character of Rose’s mother, Ruth.
“It’s the most fun I’ve had onstage, ever,” Parsons said of Titanique during a visit to The View on Friday. “I’d been dying to get back in drag… I wanted to feel what that felt again,” he explained, after sharing a pivotal early acting experience where he appeared onstage in drag. “There is a female strain in me. There is some aspect of me that feels womanly, and I love getting to express that in my own, whacked-out version.”
Parsons is also known for his onscreen role as Sheldon Cooper in The Big Bang Theory, a part he shares with fellow theater aficionado Iain Armitage, who plays the younger version of the character. “[Iain and his mother] are rabid theater people. I’ve probably done four Broadway shows since I’ve known [Iain and his mother], and they always come.”
After playing Sheldon on the series for many years, Parsons is not interested in revisiting the role at this point in his career. “I don’t believe I would ever do a reboot,” he shared. “I can’t say I miss him, partly because, especially twelve years on a TV show, where they’re writing for a specific actor, there’s a lot of me in that…so there’s a lot about his qualities and just who he was that I still carry with me.”
Watch the full conversation with Parsons now. Titanique is now open for its 16-week limited engagement and will run through July 12, 2026, at the historic St. James Theatre (246 W. 44th Street). Read the reviews for Titanique here.
The Broadway cast includes Marla Mindelle as Céline Dion, Jim Parsons as Ruth DeWitt Bukater, Melissa Barrera as Rose DeWitt Bukater, Deborah Cox as Molly Brown, Frankie Grande as Victor Garber, Constantine Rousouli as Jack Dawson, John Riddle as Cal Hockley, and Layton Williams as The Iceberg. Sara Gallo, Polanco Jones, and Kristina Leopold appear as background vocalists, with Tess Marshall, Brad Greer, and Kyle Ramar Freeman serving as understudies.
Written by Tye Blue, Marla Mindelle, and Constantine Rousouli, Titanique reimagines the events of Titanic through the perspective of Céline Dion. The show is powered by the songs of the pop icon, including “My Heart Will Go On,” “All By Myself”, and “To Love You More.” The show saw a record-breaking three-year Off-Broadway run through 2025, and an Olivier Award-winning production still playing in London’s West End.
Off-Broadway, Titanique won seven major awards, including the Lucille Lortel Award and Off-Broadway Alliance Award for Best New Musical, a Las Culturistas Culture Award, and the Lortel Award for Outstanding Lead Performer for Marla Mindelle.
