Magical ‘Moulin Rouge!’

Touring production dazzles Dallas audience

By Aadya Kuruvalli

| Opinions Editor

It’s the spectacle of a lifetime.

From March 15 to April 2, the hit musical “Moulin Rouge!” was playing live at the Music Hall in Fair Park. As a lover of both the movie and the musical versions, I was excited to see it, hoping the touring production would do the musical justice.

Needless to say, I was astounded by the amazing quality of the performance. Every cast member put their heart into the performance –from the harmonious vocals to the brilliant acting to the ingenious set design, every part of this production was meticulously thought through. The dedication of the cast and crew was clear to see onstage.

Although every cast member gave the performance of their life, my favorite actor was Conor Ryan, who played the male lead, Christian. I loved both the Ewan McGregor and Aaron Tveit versions of Christian, and I went in thinking that this one might not live up to that legacy, but I left the theatre speechless. Ryan portrayed the duality of Christian’s character – both the heartbroken torment and the childish optimism – beautifully, and his performance at the end was gut-wrenchingly sad and brilliant. I thought his voice was a little bit too high to play Christian the same way his predecessors had, but his higher pitch just added to his amazing depiction of the character.

Another aspect of the musical I loved was the set design and stage production. At the opening of the show, the stage is set up in layers and layers of red hearts, all glowing so bright it’s hard not to take a picture. Also, Fair Park’s rotating stage design allowed for a lot of seamless transitions.

It’s also hard not to mention the amazing dancers throughout the musical. From the opening sequence to “Chandelier,” the dancing was lively and added an entirely new layer to the show. My favorite dance sequence was either the opening number, “Welcome