Posting a theater review of a musical I saw six weeks ago is a little silly, right? I mean, given the American lock down, it's not like you can run out and go see it. Broadway is closed. So is virtually everything else.
The good news is that it will hopefully all come back. This is America. When we get lemons, we figure out how to make a lemon mousse. So, here on this blog, we will continue. And persevere. And perhaps amuse and enlighten.
Well, the title of today's entry gives it all away. But I still hope you are compelled enough to keep reading.
Back in 2001, there was a dreadful movie musical made by Baz Luhrmann called "Moulin Rouge," named for the Paris night club of the same name. It told some dreary love story with music provided by everybody else's original hit songs. It provided one of those rare cinematic evenings where I almost walked out of the theater. It was that bad.
But I do remember saying at the time that this concept might be better suited as a Broadway musical instead of on the big screen. Well, somebody heard me. Because, eighteen years later (the musical opened last July), here we are.
Of course, "Moulin Rouge" was not on my radar screen to see on my recent NY trip. But a good friend was interested and even sold out shows have available tickets when it is Super Bowl Sunday. I was in, albeit reluctantly.
Well, I was right. "Moulin Rouge," as dreamed up by Luhrmann, fits the stage like a glove you would find Kitty Carlisle wearing on "To Tell the Truth." This production offers something for everybody. And, most notably, it is the music pilfered from everybody else that makes it work. As soon as somebody else's lyrics start to creep into the dialogue, you laugh a little and smile a lot. It's a virtual jukebox featuring everybody from Nat King Cole to the Police to the Rolling Stones to the Beatles to Whitney Houston. I lost count somewhere in the middle of Act One. Even the Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw's walk-up song "We Are Young" pops up. WTF.
And trust me on this. If the word "love" is in a song, it winds up in "Moulin Rouge." When "What's Love Got to Do with It" is heard, I even thought about the upcoming Tina Turner musical that will be playing several blocks away. That would mean her song is being heard simultaneously in two Broadway shows! Ka-ching on the royalty cash register.
Oh, this "Moulin Rouge" has the same goofy love story and plot as the Luhrmann screen musical. But, on stage, you sort of ignore that nonsensical element because there's just so much else going on. Cirque de Soleil-like dancers. Acrobats. Can can routines. A windmill that is actually moving even during intermission. And everything is bathed in red. It's like Valentine's Day 365 days of the year. It took me two hours after the show to adjust my vision not to see shades of red in everything.
You can't help but like what you are seeing on stage. It is kitschy and hokey and also a helluva lot of fun. I would hope that the cast members know that they are not doing Shakespearean tragedy and that their tongues are firmly planted in their cheeks. But, even if they are taking this too seriously, they pull it off. Kudos to Karen Olivo as Satine, Aaron Tveit as Christian, and the always welcome Danny Burstein as the Moulin Rouge owner. Given that the show opened last July, it has yet to go through the Tony Award nomination process. I think it will this year and collect a few on the way.
It's fascinating how something so horrible on screen can look so right on the Broadway stage. Check it out.
Well, I mean "check it out" when the nation re-opens for business.
Dinner last night: Leftover lasagna.
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