MOULIN ROUGE! THE MUSICAL - REVIEW OF SPECTACULAR MUSICAL AT THE CAA ED MIRVISH THEATRE

Reviewed by James Karas 

MOULIN ROUGE! THE MUSICAL by John Logan  is based on the 2001 film written by Baz Luhman and Craig Pierce. It is now playing at the CAA Ed Mirvish Theatre in Toronto before rapturous audiences if opening night is any indication. The musical has been around for years and it seems to be unstoppable.

I saw it for the first time on opening night in Toronto. The aspiration, perhaps motto of three of its bohemian characters (Christian, Toulouse-Lautrec and Santiago) and the subtitle on the Mirvish  program is TRUTH, BEAUTY, FREEDOM, LOVE. That covers a lot of ground and there are claims to all those visions or dreams in the show but they were not the first thoughts that occurred to me during and after the performance.

Moulin Rouge is a grand spectacle. Before the show begins there are bright lights illuminating the stage and projected on the audience and they continue when the performance begins. The whole stage is brightly lit in a kaleidoscope of colors accompanied by loud music with percussion played at volumes that made my chest quiver. The audience loved it.

The sight and sound become the hallmarks of the production with some amazing  acrobatic dances by Choreographer Solya Tayeh including the famous cancan. Did I see any dancers who could not kick their heels above their head? And as with the cancan, the attire of the dancers and the dances were erotic as became the motif of the real Moulin Rouge club on the left bank of the Seine in Paris. They are spectacular.

The stars of the show, after the dancers and ensemble singers and the musicians, are Satine             (Ariana Rosario), the Duke of Monroth (Andre Brewer), Harold Zidler (Robert Petkoff) and Christan (Christian Douglas) and his friends Toulouse-Lautrec (Nick Rashad Burroughs) and Santiago (Danny Burgis). The latter three friends are bohemians who want to produce a play with songs for the Moulin Rouge.  

The cast of the North American Tour of Moulin Rouge! The Musical. 
Photo Credit: Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade.

These actors/singers are the people that present the plot and, yes, there is a plot that is needed for us to enjoy the real spectacle of the musical and try to fit the TRUTH, BEAUTY etcetera of the bohemians’ aspiration. Satine works at the Moulin Rouge and she is described as the jewel of the club, beautiful, talented, extraordinary and many other epithets of a similar nature. She meets Christian, a young man from Ohio who has gone to Paris to pursue his ambition to become a composer. The innocent American abroad falls passionately and eternally in love with Satine (“I will love you till the day I die” he sings) and that hardly begins to describe his passion.

We have a problem. The club is in dire financial trouble and needs an infusion of money NOW. There is the Duke who has lots of money and is attracted to Satine but she needs to give herself to him. She is so successful that the nasty Duke buys the club and owns (his word) everything and everyone lock, stock and barrel.

The first meeting that Satine is supposed to have with the Duke to convince him to invest in the club becomes a hilarious encounter when she actually meets Christian. There are hilarious double entemdres with Christian talking about composing songs and she thinking he is talking about sex.

The plot is necessary as a coat hanger for the sound and sight spectacle which,  as I said, I think is the heart of the musical. The love story is conventional. Christian and Satine cannot continue because the Duke threatens to kill  him. The manager Harold, Satine and the rest  have no choice but to bow to the dictatorial Duke. And if that were not enough, Satine gets consumption and claims to truth, beauty etc. go by the board unless I missed something.

Moulin Rouge  does not list a composer or lyricist because the music and songs are a potpourri of compositions by others that take a couple of pages to list in the program. The musical  is supposed to take place in 1899 but if you think you ae hearing some very recent songs, you are not hallucinating.

The Scenic Design by Derek McLane, the costumes by Catherine Zuber, the Lighting by Justin Townsend and the Sound Design by Peter Hylenski are what make the show so (I have to say it again) spectacular. The whole thing is brought together by Director Alex Timbers and it may not be as complex as the Normandy landings but it is a lot more enjoyable.     
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Moulin Rouge! The Musical  by John Logan (book) opened on November 21, 2024 and  continues at the CAA Ed Mirvish Theatre, 244 Victoria St. Toronto, Ontario. www.mirvish.com

James Karas is the Senior Editor, Culture of The Greek Press