Moulin Rouge! (musical)


Moulin Rouge! The Musical is a jukebox musical with a book by John Logan. The musical is based on the 2001 film Moulin Rouge! directed by Baz Luhrmann and written by Luhrmann and Craig Pearce.
The musical premiered on July 10, 2018, at the Emerson Colonial Theatre in Boston. Moulin Rouge! opened on Broadway at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre, with previews starting on June 28, 2019, and officially opening on July 25.

Background

In 2002–2003, there was speculation about the possibility of a stage musical based on Moulin Rouge!, possibly in Las Vegas, but there had been no public talks in the years since. Some sources claimed in 2006 that the director, Baz Luhrmann, had approached the leads of the film, Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor, to star in the potential stage version.
In 2016, it was announced that a stage musical was being developed by Global Creatures with direction by Alex Timbers.
A workshop took place in 2017, starring Aaron Tveit and Karen Olivo. The lab ran from October 30 until December 15.

Synopsis

Moulin Rouge! is set in the Montmartre Quarter of Paris, France, during the Belle Epoque at the turn of the 20th century. The musical relates the story of Christian, a young composer, who falls in love with cabaret actress Satine, who is the star of the Moulin Rouge. Similar to the movie, the musical's score weaves together original songs with popular music, "including songs that have been written in the 17 years since the film's premiere."

Act I

The Moulin Rouge cabaret club, "where all your dreams come true," is in full swing under the direction of Harold Zidler, flanked by four dancers: Nini, Babydoll, Arabia, and La Chocolat. Christian arrives at the Moulin Rouge with fellow Bohemians, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec and Santiago, the Argentinean, while the money-motivated Duke of Monroth is introduced as well. Right before Zidler introduces the Moulin Rouge's Sparkling Diamond, Christian interrupts to start a story "about love," about a woman named Satine.
The musical flashes back to Christian's arrival in 1899 to the Montmartre district of Paris from Lima, Ohio, where he meets Toulouse-Lautrec and Santiago, who are attempting to create a play with songs in it. The two are impressed by Christian's musical and songwriting talents and ask for his help to get their work produced at the Moulin Rouge. The trio celebrate the Bohemian ideals of truth, beauty, freedom, and love.
Back at the Moulin Rouge, Zidler introduces Satine. After Satine performs for the club, Zidler prepares for her to meet and impress the Duke of Monroth, who might invest in the Moulin Rouge and save it from financial ruin. However, Satine mistakes Christian for the Duke. Toulouse-Lautrec and Santiago distract Zidler from seeing Satine and Christian interact. While dancing and still thinking she is speaking with the Duke, Satine invites Christian to come to her dressing room in "the Elephant" outside of the club.
Arabia, Babydoll, and La Chocolat share their worries with Satine backstage about the financial future of the Moulin Rouge. Nini expresses cynicism about its future, while Satine tries to maintain the group's morale. Afterwards, Zidler expresses the dire straits that the club is in and stresses the importance of Satine impressing the Duke. Satine, who is concealing her worsening consumption from her colleagues, resolves to stay strong for them.
Christian arrives in the Elephant hoping to impress Satine with his musical talent, whereas Satine is prepared to seduce him, under the impression that he is the Duke. Christian's true identity is revealed. The Duke interrupts them; Christian and Satine claim they were practicing lines for a new show, Bohemian Rhapsody. With Zidler's help, Christian, Satine, Toulouse-Lautrec and Santiago pitch the show to the Duke with an improvised plot about an evil gangster attempting to woo an ingenue who loves a poor sailor. The Duke decides to back the show. Zidler reminds Satine that her duty is to keep the Duke happy for the sake of the Moulin Rouge. She dismisses Christian from the Elephant. The Duke returns, and he and Satine spend the evening together.
In Montmarte, Toulouse-Lautrec shares with Christian that he fell in love with Satine many years ago, when she was living on the streets. He was impressed by her spirit but was too self-conscious to ever share his love for her over the years. He urges Christian to return to Satine and confess his love for her, insisting to him, "The greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return". Christian goes back to Satine to convince her that they should be together. Though she finds this ridiculous at first, she eventually falls for him.

Act II

Two months later, rehearsals are underway for Bohemian Rhapsody. Behind the scenes, Christian and Satine continue seeing each other, and Santiago falls in love with Nini. As the company rehearses, tensions rise between Toulouse-Lautrec and the controlling Duke. Backstage, Nini tells Satine that she needs to be careful about her relationship with Christian and keep the Duke happy, as he once threw a vial of acid in the face of another woman who betrayed him. Satine tells Christian that their relationship endangers the show and the Moulin Rouge, but he counters by writing a secret love song to affirm their love.
In the Champs-Élysées neighborhood, the Duke tells Satine that he wants every part of her, including her heart. Despite Satine's protests that she does not "fit in" with the upper-class society of Paris that he inhabits, he remodels her image accordingly against her wishes. Back in rehearsals, the Duke continues to involve himself in the creative aspects of the show, to the frustration of Toulouse-Lautrec. It becomes clear that Bohemian Rhapsody is a metaphor for Christian, Satine and the Duke, resulting in an outburst by Christian. The Duke, enraged, threatens to reconsider his investment entirely. Zidler reminds Satine that she alone can fix the dilemma with the Duke. Satine's illness is worsening, but she urges her colleagues not to share that she is ill; she wants to fight to keep the Moulin Rouge alive and for the play to go on.
Toulouse-Lautrec and Santiago tell Christian he needs to forget about Satine and move on with his life. Christian retreats in frustration and drinks absinthe with them in excess, at one point imagining Satine as The Green Fairy. Christian expresses jealousy and disgust that Satine is with the Duke instead of him, ignoring Zidler's warning that falling in love with a prostitute "always ends badly". At his castle, the Duke threatens Satine from being with Christian ever again, saying that if she chooses him, he will have Christian killed. Christian interrupts their conversation to try to save Satine, singing their secret song. Satine, knowing that Christian would be killed if she says otherwise, tells Christian that she does not love him. Christian leaves.
Christian decides that without Satine's love, during the opening night of the play, he will load a prop gun with real bullets and commit suicide on stage. Meanwhile, Satine's illness dramatically worsens. She and Toulouse-Lautrec together stand up to the Duke, who leaves the Moulin Rouge before the performance begins. As Satine performs her part, Christian enters and asks her to face him as he turns the gun his way. Before he pulls the trigger, Satine sings their secret song, all at once saving his life and revealing to him that she loved him the entire time. After a final song together in which the two affirm their love one last time, Satine tells Christian to "tell our story," and subsequently dies in his arms. Over a year later, Bohemian Rhapsody turns out to be a success, and Zidler regains control of the Moulin Rouge. Christian affirms that his and Satine's story will forever be told.

Productions

Boston (2018)

Moulin Rouge! was scheduled to begin preview performances on June 27, 2018, at the Emerson Colonial Theatre in Boston. The production was scheduled to officially open on July 22, 2018, and would complete its limited run on August 5, 2018. On June 6, it was announced that the Boston production would be extended by 16 additional performances, running through August 19. Construction delays in renovating the Emerson Colonial Theatre resulted in the premiere date being pushed back to July 10. The production featured choreography by Sonya Tayeh, sets by Derek McLane, costumes by Catherine Zuber, lighting design by Justin Townsend and sound design by Peter Hylenski.

Broadway (2019)

On November 19, 2018, it was announced that Moulin Rouge! would open on Broadway at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre. Previews on Broadway began on June 28, 2019 and opening night was July 25.
Beginning on March 12, 2020, the production was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic. At the time, producers of the show indicated that one of the performers had possible symptoms of the coronavirus; at least four performers contracted the virus, including stars Aaron Tveit and Danny Burstein. At the time of closing, producers said that they planned to reopen on April 13, 2020. This date would later shift as Broadway's closure was first extended to September 6, 2020 and then to early 2021.

National Tour (2020)

On September 19, 2019, it was announced that the musical would have a ten-week engagement in Chicago at the James M. Nederlander Theatre beginning in December 2020. The tour will begin technical rehearsal at the Saenger Theatre in New Orleans in November and then continue, with casting and the full lineup of dates and cities to be announced later.

West End (2021)

The musical is scheduled to debut in the West End in late 2021. The production will be at Piccadilly Theatre in London, with casting to be announced later. The production has been delayed from March 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Melbourne (2021)

On July 28, 2019 producer Carmen Pavlovic of Global Creatures announced that the international premiere of the musical would take place in her home country of Australia. The show will open in Melbourne's Regent Theatre in 2021. Further details are yet to be announced.

Roles and principal casts

Musical numbers

; 2018 Boston World Premiere Production
; Act I
;Act II
† Featured in the 2001 film
*Scenes/plot points provided prior to release of song titles
; 2019 Broadway Production
; Act I
;Act II
† Featured in the 2001 film

Cast recording

Moulin Rouge! The Musical '' was released digitally on August 30, 2019. A CD version was released on October 25, 2019 and a vinyl version on December 13, 2019.

Charts

Reception

Critical response

The Broadway production of the musical received mixed to positive reviews.
In a rave review, theater critic John Simon wrote, "If you like splash, Moulin Rouge! is the show for you. Even more than the Baz Luhrmann movie, on which the musical is loosely based, it can hold your wonderment without abate from start to finish.... This is a show to make the young feel mature, and the old blissfully young again." It was named a Critic's Pick by The New York Times with Ben Brantley calling it "a cloud-surfing, natural high of a production."
Diane Snyder of The Telegraph praised the scenic design, choreography, and costume and wrote that "Moulin Rouge! may not have the depth of some of Broadway's great musicals... it's fun, tuneful and entertaining, and that's exactly what we need right now." Mashable's Erin Strecker said that "This is the best of what a jukebox musical can be; a thrilling burst of color and chorus and nostalgia and bold reimagining." Adam Feldman leaned positive as he called the show "an extravagant Broadway megamix," commenting that it "looks and feels expensive." Some critics praised the changes made from the film. Patrick Ryan of USA Today commented that "the use of recent pop songs actually improves upon the source material, helping flesh out characters' motivations and deepen the central romance." David Cote of Observer wrote, "Logan's tweaks to the original screenplay are neat and necessary."
In a mixed review, Rolling Stones' Brittany Spanos criticized the musical's disjointedness but praised the high-energy parts of the show. In another mixed review, Charles Isherwood of Broadway News summed up that "The resulting show is all flash, splash and megawatt musical numbers, nimbly if not entirely masking a fairly hollow and certainly hoary emotional core." Alexis Soloski of The Guardian also commented on the leads' lack of chemistry, but mentioned that the show delivers when it comes to "dazzle and excitement," praising its choreography, set, energy, and costume.

Awards and nominations

2018 Boston production

Original Broadway production