INTERVIEW: Lisa Howard offers unique take on iconic Molly Brown
Photo: Titanique features Lisa Howard as Molly Brown. Photo courtesy of Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade / Provided by Vivacity Media Group with permission.
NEW YORK — Molly Brown is a character from the history books who is well known to anyone who has learned about the tragedy of the Titanic. This fascinating person, nicknamed the Unsinkable Molly Brown, survived the horrible sinking of the ship and became something of a legend. The socialite even has her own musical, The Unsinkable Molly Brown, and now she’s featured in the new parody show, Titanique, which skewers the James Cameron-directed feature film Titanic and pokes fun at singer Céline Dion, who sang the famous song from the movie, “My Heart Will Go On.”
Lisa Howard, an accomplished actor, plays Brown in the hit off-Broadway musical, which continues performances at the Daryl Roth Theatre in Downtown Manhattan. Howard has appeared on Broadway in everything from The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee to It Shoulda Been You.
“I think casting had thought of me for the part and asked if there was interest, and I saw the show,” Howard said in a recent phone interview. “I was like, ‘That’s fun.’ So I kind of said, ‘Yes, there is interest,’ and they made it happen.”
Howard loved how smart Titanique is; although the musical has tons of silly humor, there’s an expert blend of parody and dedication to the original story that is quite astonishing to the actor.
“With all the goofiness, the way they have blended the Céline Dion music and how all the characters and their choices are so over the top, but still grounded in reality of the story, I just love the juxtaposition of the two,” she said. “They were able to make these really bold, goofy choices and throw in really topical, funny references, and all still make you still enjoy the actual story of the movie. I just thought it was brilliantly woven together.”
Titanique usually has the audience crying with laughter. There are jokes almost every second of the show, and some of the musical’s best gags are actually deep cuts about the movie and Dion’s career. For example, Howard loves when the Dion character breaks into a “Who let the dogs out?” chant, which is a callback to a special feature on the DVD. For those on the inside of that joke, hilarity ensues. For those who have no idea what’s going on, laughs still come because the segment is so outrageously comedic.
“It’s funny anyways just because it’s just bizarre, but if you actually do know it, it’s even funnier,” Howard said. “There were a couple social media memes that had been viral and a lot of people knew, but some of them, I had not. Even though you’re going, ‘What just happened?’ It’s funny in itself. If you happen to be one of those people who knew that [meme] when it was a big trend, you would just die, and if not, you’re like, ‘That was so weird. What are they doing?’ But it’s still funny. It still works. It’s not like, ‘Oh, I feel like I’m on the outside.’ They’re kind of letting you in on it.”
Howard, who has also appeared in 9 to 5: The Musical and Escape to Margaritaville: The Jimmy Buffet Musical, said that the crowds at Titanique have a rollicking good time, especially on the weekends. She can definitely sense a difference with the party atmosphere on a Friday or Saturday night.
“I feel like now that it’s been running for so long, at times we are definitely getting a different kind of crowd that maybe don’t know what they’re walking into,” Howard said with a laugh. “It’s a little more of a touristy crowd. They end up loving it, but at first, they’re like, ‘What is happening?’ But they’re still enjoying it. We have a lot of people who come back a second and a third time, and then, of course, we have our super-fans who have seen it hundreds of times. We definitely have people who’ll be like, ‘Oh yeah, I saw it in the beginning, and then I saw it a couple more times.’ It does change with the different cast members, so we definitely have repeat audiences.”
The cast is ever-evolving at the Daryl Roth Theatre, a fact that keeps everyone alert and makes each performance a new adventure. Howard loves that actors come and go because everyone brings something different to their respective roles.
“Sometimes the trap of being in a long-running show is that you get into a routine, and it’s rote,” she said. “Whereas that doesn’t really happen here because so many people come in and out of the show, so you’re constantly on your toes and reacting to what’s happening now because it is so often different.”
Howard plays the role of Brown as a no-nonsense woman with a mixed-up midwestern and southern accent. She finds that the musical is super over the top, but her character is a bit grounded, which is needed to pull off the comedy.
“That’s a big note from our director, Tye [Blue] … who is always trying to make sure everybody doesn’t get campy on top of the humor that’s already campy, so we really try to keep it grounded in a way to let the style of the show do its own work, not wearing a hat on a hat,” Howard said. “So playing Molly, she’s one of the stable characters in the show, so I kind of feel like I get to hold the fort down.”
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
Titanique, featuring Lisa Howard as Molly Brown, continues at the Daryl Roth Theatre in Downtown Manhattan. Click here for more information and tickets.
