THEATRE: Moulin Rouge

Tim Omaji, Alinta Chidzey, Des Flanagan , Simon Burke, Ryan Gonzalez and Andy Cook.

BOHEMI A N M ASHUP

With its glamour, spectacle and great cast, Moulin Rouge! The Musical transcends the limitations of its jukebox format.

Australian theatres have been dark a long time. Moulin Rouge! The Musical, with its lavish staging, brilliant lighting design, glamorous costumes and the show’s grand gesture to art, joy, love, life and romance seems like the perfect antidote.

Internationally, Moulin Rouge was interrupted by covid, but it ran long enough on Broadway to earn 14 Tony Award nominations, going on to win a triumphant ten. It has now returned to Broadway, opened on London’s West End, and in Melbourne at the historic Regent Theatre.

Based on Baz Luhrmann’s successful 2001 film, Moulin Rouge! The Musical is recreated on stage with direction from Alex Timbers, choreography by Sonya Tayeh and costumes designed by Catherine Zuber.

As with the movie, the story is set in the seedy Montmartre district of Paris during the Belle Epoque of the late 19th Century when art, music, literature and theatre f lourished.

Christian, a young composer from America, stumbles across the Moulin Rouge nightclub and falls for Satine, the star of the show. But, of course, in Luhrmann productions and musical theatre alike, true love does not run smoothly, and Satine finds herself indebted to The Duke, who holds the Moulin Rouge’s financial future in his hands. Melodrama ensues and, well, you probably know how things play out already.

In the lead as Christian, Des Flanagan brings a starry-eyed innocence and magical vocals. With co-star Alinta Chidzey as Satine, the two create a harmony in both voice and spirit. The couple shine in the performance of Elton’s John’s Your Song, which takes pride of place.

Similarly, Simon Burke, now something of a national treasure, is brilliant as Moulin Rouge empresario, Harold Zidler and, in his stand-out moment, swings from Sia’s Chandelier!

Other notable performances include Tim Omaji as Toulouse-Lautrec and Ryan Gonzalez as Santiago, Christian’s free-spirited, bohemian buddies.

But it’s the music that ultimately bonds the show. As with the film, the score cleverly weaves together 70 songs from across several decades. At times, this mashup seem like a Las Vegas presentation of Stars On 45 but, nevertheless, the lyrics of the songs are well chosen and provide a coherent narrative. Some pop classics seem awkwardly inserted into the soundtrack, perhaps just to keep audiences’ toes a-tapping? But Labelle’s Lady Marmalade makes the perfect opening and closing number.

Production-wise there are homages to classical theatre, presumably intended, and nods to other musicals including Rent, Wicked!, Phantom and Jesus Christ Superstar.

Moulin Rouge! The Musical has evolved a great deal from its cinematic origins, but it will be interesting to see if it stands the test of time, with some theatre lovers feeling the jukebox musical has reached its limits. We’ll probably see it reappear in ten, 20, or perhaps even 50 years from now, and most likely with the addition of songs yet to be written.

The mashup seems like a Las Vegas presentation of Stars On 45 but the ly rics of the songs prov ide a coherent narrative.

MORE: Go to moulinrougemusical.com