Review: Moulin Rouge by touring company
by Brian Paul Scipione

 

First it was a venue, then it was a movie, then it was a critically acclaimed Broadway musical, and now it 's a touring production. The Moulin Rouge, with its trademark red windmill on the roof, opened in Paris in 1889. It is best known as the home of the world-famous Can-Can Dance (a variation of the square line dance known as a quadrille) which was originally performed by the club’s courtesans. Founders Joseph Oller and Charles Zidler envisioned the locale as a cabaret that welcomed customers from a variety of socio-economic backgrounds. In other words, a place where the rich and elite could frolic with the artists, the workers, and the locals and not appear to be ‘slumming it.’ This concept makes it the perfect setting for a love story beset by the vagaries of social strata.

 

 

Baz Luhrmann and Craig Pearce certainly thought so when they co-wrote the 2001 musical film starring Ewan Mc Gregor as the lovestruck bohemian poet Christian pursuing Nicole Kidman as cabaret-star/courtesan Satine, who is obligated to Richard Roxburgh as the Duke, who holds Moulin Rouge financially hostage. Not quite a Shakespearean level of plot intrigue. More a simple story of  poor girl prefers poor boy but must stay with rich man. The thin plot leaves plenty of room for song and dance numbers, and Luhrmann very skillfully (as in all his films) melds modern music and fashion with a bygone romantic epoch. Strictly Ballroom, Romeo + Juliet, and Moulin Rouge, constitute his Red Curtain Trilogy. These three films share a theatrical motif, each focused on a different aspect of performance: the first being dance, the second being language, and the third being music.

 

All three films were incredible financial successes, yet none of them even breached Luhrman’s top three most successful films. Moulin Rouge was also a hit with the critics and the award circuits, so it was no surprise that when the theatrical version hit Broadway 18 years later in 2019, it was warmly embraced and won 10 of its 14 Tony nominations. In 2021 it premiered at the Regent Theatre in Melbourne, Australia. The following year brought a West End run in London, a German-language production in Cologne, a South Korean production in Seoul, and the current North American tour. Add to those the 2023 productions in Japan, Norway, Sweden, and Denmark. Finnish and Dutch productions hit the stages in 2024, and in case those weren’t enough, a World Tour set forth in April 2025 at the Edinburgh Playhouse. For a musical originally forecast to be produced in 2002, it has certainly made up for lost time.

 

Considering the world-wide cult-like following for the film, the release of the stage musical version inevitably provoked an online maelstrom of comments and criticisms comparing it to the movie. The eye of that cyber storm focused on the song choices and particularly on the doubling of the number of songs in the stage version. This is basic corporate math; people love pop music therefore twice the songs makes the musical twice as good. Yet even the mass of online wags see the folly in this. The dopamine rush from recognizing a beloved song is short lived at best. A one-hit wonder followed quickly by another, if you’ll pardon the pun. Certain song choices were forced upon the producers when they couldn’t secure the licensing for stand-bys like “Smells Like Teen Spirit.” Still, that didn’t hold them back; the musical is forty minutes longer than the cinematic version and has even less storyline.

 

Moulin Rouge the musical, goes full-on Pitch Perfect at nearly every point, and unfortunately the pun is not intended here. By giving the performers such a wide gamut of styles, genres, and skill levels to imitate, the producers have shot for the moon and missed the mark—but don’t worry, the majority of audiences won’t even notice. The grim truth is that tasking a performer to start a number like Shirley Bassey and finish it as Beyoncé is doable . . . in multiple takes on film, but not on stage unless by the very best in the business. This Moulin Rouge is the McDonalds of jukebox musicals. It appeals to the widest possible audience, but afterward they'll remain uncertain if they’ve even eaten. The prodution gives 'em not only exactly what they want but an apparently tailor-made version of exactly what they want. The spectacle is gorgeous: the flashing lights, the wild but exacting dance routines, and the hyper-detailed set pieces. “All sound and fury signifying nothing…”

 

 

The work has a stunning red and black motif rippled throughout with beautiful royal blues. Costumes recall the show Emily in Paris not because they are in any way alike, but because they're both reason enough to watch the show. The comic relief is sharp and poignant, and the choral numbers work as well as can-can clockwork. The music is at its best when it captures the dark-cabaret vibe, both sultry and seductive. Yet, most of the time it's TikTok fluff. Since the lead characters’ fates seem inevitable, the story lacks an overall tension, relegating it plotwise to the world of Christmas pantomimes. While history’s most famous pop-music detractor Frank Zappa is probably spinning like a top in his grave every time the curtain goes up, Moulin Rouge is an enjoyable, if exhausting, night at the theatre.

 

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Moulin Rouge
touring company

May 14- 25, 2025

touring company, Bass Concert Hall