Cox tells PEOPLE the show is, in some ways, "a love letter to Céline"
Credit: Bruce Glikas/WireImage
NEED TO KNOW
- Deborah Cox opens up to PEOPLE about her surprising connection to Céline Dion
- The two stars have much more than Canada in common
- On Broadway, Cox stars as the “Unsinkable Molly Brown” in Titanique, a comedic musical about the Titanic, told from the perspective of Dion
Deborah Cox's connection to Broadway's Titanique musical might be closer than you think.
In a new interview with PEOPLE, the 51-year-old Grammy-nominated Canadian singer and actress looks back on her start in the industry, when she performed background vocals for Céline Dion.
“I toured with her for a year,” the “Nobody's Supposed to Be Here” singer recalls of their time together in the early '90s.
Credit: Jamie McCarthy/Getty; Francis Specker/CBS via Getty
“I was discovering what my musical voice was going to be,” Cox tells PEOPLE. “And in the interim, we would go to all these different functions and television shows and award shows and stuff. And I think it was about a year in is when I decided to leave the tour because I wanted to take a chance on myself and see if I could land a record deal.”
As Cox describes, it was just six months later when she earned a meeting with legendary record producer and music executive Clive Davis, and was subsequently signed to Arista Records.
“So I feel like this show in some ways is not only a love letter to Céline because of the story and everything, but a real full circle moment for me just as an artist and a performer,” Cox, who stars as the “Unsinkable Molly Brown” in the musical, adds. “She was somebody that was one to watch as far as her discipline in the way that she took care of her voice, took care of her, the way she had such stamina throughout the tour. She was just a really kind boss.”
Cox shares that she doesn't think her fellow Canadian, who sang "My Heart Will Go On," a song that's become synonymous with the 1997 Oscar-winning classic, has seen Titanique, which first debuted off-Broadway in 2022.
"Actually, when I signed on, I had never seen the show," Cox says. "I was aware of it. I was made aware of it just by murmurings in the community."
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“It just seemed like this surreal conversation about being on Broadway in this parody of Titanic with the music of Céline Dion,” Cox tells PEOPLE of her decision to sign on for the Broadway iteration of the beloved show.
The award-winning musical is a comedy that reimagines James Cameron's blockbuster through Dion's perspective, and also includes her catalog of hits.
"I wanted something challenging and I wanted to come back to Broadway doing something very different," Cox, who last starred on Broadway as Glinda the Good Witch in the 2025 revival of The Wiz, says. "That to me is what keeps me on my toes, keeps me intrigued and happy about new projects to take on. And comedy, I mean, I love sketch comedy. I love Whoopi Goldberg and Goldie Hawn and Carol Burnett. Those were the women that I grew up watching."
"Fun women who are triple threats," she adds. "And so I thought this was the perfect show to be a part of, to explore that."
Credit: Bruce Glikas/WireImage
The additional cast includes Jim Parsons (Ruth DeWitt Bukater), Melissa Barrera (Rose DeWitt Bukater), Frankie Grande (Victor Garber/Luigi), John Riddle (Cal Hockley), Constantine Rousouli (Jack Dawson), and Layton Williams (The Iceberg). And, of course, co-creator Marla Mindelle reprises her acclaimed performance as Dion.
“We're having a good time,” Cox tells PEOPLE. “I think it's a great cast. I like to say it's an all star cast and every single person is bringing their A-game in such a unique way and it really makes it a fun way to do a Broadway show every night.”
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And as for what's next for Cox once the show's 16-week limited engagement at the St. James Theatre wraps, she says, "Definitely more music. I'm working on new music and working on my own show as well. I think with me, what generally happens is the moment I'm involved with a show, that's when the creative juices really start going. And I find myself in creative mode again, whether it's new music or new productive ideas for acting or whatever. I find that's when I become really, really invested in some of the ideas that I've had before."
Titanique is now playing in New York City.
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