‘Moulin Rouge!’: The last call for a spectacle

By Rich Fahey

BOSTON – When the world premiere of “Moulin Rouge! The Musical” re-lit the Emerson Colonial Theatre on July 10, 2018, after the venue had been dark and closed for renovations since October 2015, it was an immediate sensation.

Theatergoers were invited to photograph Derek McLane’s towering floor-to-ceiling set, which would win one of 10 2021 Tony Awards the show captured, including Best Musical, along with many other honors. They were treated to a theatrical spectacle for the ages with a cast of 31, and the $28 million the Sydney, Australia-based Globel Creatures reportedly spent was all up there on the stage to see.

The chances of seeing this spectacle before it disappears are rapidly dwindling. The Broadway production of “Moulin Rouge!” at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre is slated to end its seven-year Broadway run on Aug. 30.   

The national touring production now at the Citizens Bank Opera House in Boston – which features a cast of 35 — closes its doors on Sunday, Aug. 2.

The musical is based on the Baz Luhrmann 2001 film “Moulin Rouge!” starring Ewan McGregor and Nicole Kidman, which has had a devoted cult following and grossed $179 million worldwide.

The national touring production of the musical now at the Opera House  is still a spectacle to behold and as free-spirited a work as the movie, with a madcap collection of music paired with Sonya Tayeh’s throbbing, sleek, Tony-winning choreography, often performed by the scantily-clad dancers of the Moulin Rouge.

McLane’s original set at the Colonial is not part of the show, but his Tony-winning work is represented, along with other crucial elements, including costume designer Catherine Zuber, lighting designer Juston Townsend and sound designer Peter Hylenski, who all also won Tonys  

An extensive variety of musical genres and popular music from the last 50 years is melded with original music from the movie. Elton John plays a prominent role, and “Come What May” is the signature song brought over from the movie that gets heavy play.

The musical does try and tell a story most of the time – except when it doesn’t, and merely lets you feast on the choreography, costumes and the music. It is La Belle Epoque in Paris, at the turn of the 20^th Century, and in the Bohemian Montmarte section of Paris, a club called the Moulin Rouge celebrates an eclectic collection of characters who call it home. That includes a proprietor/ringmaster named Harold Zidler (Robert Petkoff), with more than a wink and a nod to the Emcee in “Cabaret.”

A young American composer named Christian (Luke Monday) meets the cabaret actress Satine (Gabriella Cabrillo), the star of the Moulin Rouge, who immediately captures his heart. Aaron Tveit won a Tony performing Christian on Broadway, and he will be rejoining the Broadway cast in its final weeks.

The club is struggling, though, threatening to put all the struggling artists who work there back on the street, so Zidler makes a deal with the devil to give Satine up to the Duke of Monroth (Aaron C. Finley), who holds both the club and Satine hostage.

 The Duke agrees to bankroll a new show starring Satine with Christian’s music, directed by the brilliant but starving Toulouse-Lautrec (Alex Nicholson) and featuring Santiago (Danny Burgos), almost as good with the ladies as he is at the tango. Nicholson, as the crippled Toulouse-Lautrec, has also always loved Satine, and Burgos is in love with the dancer Nini (Kaitlin Mesh), as their passionate dance together shows.

The voices are sublime, with Monday as Christian leading the way and Carrillo as Satine right there with him.  Petkoff’s Zidler provides some needed comic relief.

No matter what is happening, there is a pulsating energy that permeates the goings-on. Nothing succeeds like excess, so even after the love story reaches its tragic conclusion, we’ll be right back at the Moulin Rouge and right back where we started: With the scantily-clad dancers asking once again: “Voulez-vous coucher avec moi ce soir?”

As they did back at the Colonial in 2018, the audience sits back and lets it all wash over them.

Director Alex Timbers, who also copped a Tony, declared in an earlier interview before the Broadway production the work was “deluxe maximalism” and I would say, even now, he was understating things.

Some will come to the Opera House strictly for the dazzling, drop-dead gorgeous tableaus, including an exquisite presentation of the Boulevard Beaumarchais.

Others will fall in love with the characters and a love story. Given the large cast and the cost of performing it, seeing the show now might be a case of now or never.

The national touring production of “Moulin Rouge! The Musical.” Book by John Logan, based on the 2001 movie written by Baz Luhrmann and Craig Pearce and directed by Luhrmann. Musical directed by Alex Timbers. Choreography by Sonya Tayeh. Scenic design by Derek McLane. Costumes by Catherine Zuber. Lighting by Justin Townsend. Sound design by Peter Hylenski. At the Citizens Bank Opera House through Aug. 2.Broadwayinboston.com