Truth! Beauty! Freedom! Love! These are the tenets of the Bohemians of Moulin Rouge. Characters that will fill the stage of the Orpheum during Moulin Rouge! The Musical. Based on the Baz Luhrmann's film of 2001, this show is an amazing spectacle on stage. It truly is a visual feast!! Walking in the lights are up, all red, sparkling - as if you are walking into this fictional version of the Moulin Rouge (a real place in Paris). To the right, above the stage you see the blue Elephant, and to the left you see the red windmill. About ten minutes before the show actually starts, characters start wandering on stage, looking at the audience, flirting, looking at each other. Eventually a man walks out, past the sparkling lit-up sign stating Moulin Rouge, looks out at the audience, looks back at the sign, and slowly raising his hands - while the sign also rises up. Fingers start to snap, curtains rise and you are in for a ride.
If you know the movie (eight Academy Award nomiations, and two Oscars), you know what you are in for. The story takes place in Montmarte, in the year 1900. Christian (the man raising the sign played by Conor Ryan) comes to Paris from Ohio, meets Santiago (tango dancer/gigolo played by Gabe Martinez), and Toulouse-Lautrec (a historical figure used for fictional purposes played by André Ward). The later two find out that Christian is a singer/songwriter and take him to the Moulin Rouge in order to meet Satine, for whom they want to write a show. You find this information after the first number which introduces the cast of the Moulin Rouge, the MC and owner of the club Harold Zidler (played by Austin Durant), and the villain (?) of the piece - the Duke of Monroth (played by David Harris...and with an amazing entrance). After this grand intro to the Moulin Rouge, and a bit of backstory and song for the three main guys (Christian, Santiago, and Toulouse), we finally get to meet the female lead Satine (played by Courtney Reed). Sparks fly, mistaken identities happen, and love is in the air...along with a foreshadowing cough. As well as you may know the story, or love the movie, seeing it live on stage in front of you is such a different experience. The spectacular visual component is just as stunning as the film was, if not more so. The show won 10 Tony Awards (Musical, Actor, Featured Actor, Scenic Design, Costume, Lighting, Sound Design, Orchestrations, Choreography, Direction) and it all shows on stage. Everything was so fluid, curtains coming down in different parts of the stage to hide scene changes while action still taking place. Just stunning.
You may look at that list and ask - what about the score? Who wrote the music? Well, the story is an original story (though based a bit on La Boheme, Camille, the Orpheus tale), but the musical is a version of a jukebox musical. There is some original music but the majority of the songs are mash-ups of pop hits. Before you turn your nose up to this, let me tell you - I am not a fan of Jukebox Musicals. I want original work. That being written, the way these songs are put together, and orchestrated is so original it turns songs you know into new works. It really is an amazing thing to hear wonderful orchestrations, and choral/vocal arrangements on songs that you may not give a second listen to. Do you need to hear Lady Gaga's Bad Romance ever again? Possibly not, but hearing it in this show will give it a new energy and life.
The cast was incredible all the way through. The visuals (Set, costumes) were stunning and gorgeous. The music was amazing and so fantastic to hear. This is a show you will want to see!
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