Moulin Rouge! The Musical Opens on Broadway
The highly anticipated new musical Moulin Rouge! officially opens on July 25 at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre. The stage adaptation of Baz Luhrmann's 2001 motion picture began previews on June 28.
Stars from the out-of-town engagement at Boston's Emerson Colonial Theatre repeat their work on Broadway, including Tony winner Karen Olivo, Aaron Tveit, six-time Tony nominee Danny Burstein, Tony nominee Sahr Ngaujah, Ricky Rojas, Robyn Hurder and Tam Mutu.
Set in the Montmartre Quarter of Paris at the turn of the century, Moulin Rouge! The Musical follows an ambitious, lovesick writer, Christian (Tveit), and a dazzling, entrancing chanteuse, Satine (Olivo). Their lives collide at the Moulin Rouge with its many characters including the host of the Moulin Rouge, Harold Zidler (Burstein); the brilliant, starving artist Toulouse-Lautrec (Ngaujah); the greatest tango dancer—and gigolo—in all of Paris, Santiago (Rojas); the tempting Nini (Hurder); and The Duke of Monroth (Mutu), the wealthy and entitled patron of the club who thinks he can buy anything he wants, including love.
As was the case in the movie, the stage musical's score features some of the most beloved popular music of the past 50 years.
Moulin Rouge! The Musical features a book by John Logan, direction by Alex Timbers and choreography by Sonya Tayeh. Justin Levine is the show's music supervisor, orchestrator and arranger, with Matt Stine as music producer. The show's design team includes Derek McLane (scenic design), Catherine Zuber (costume design), Justin Townsend (lighting design), Peter Hylenski (sound design) and David Brian Brown (wig and hair design).
In celebration of opening night, Broadway.com Resident Artist Justin "Squigs" Robertson sketched a portrait featuring the musical's principal stars bringing a fan-favorite film to the Broadway stage.
About the Artist: With a desire to celebrate the magic of live theater and those who create it, and with a deep reverence for such touchstones as the work of Al Hirschfeld and the wall at Sardi’s, Squigs is happy and grateful to be among those carrying on the traditions where theater and caricature meet. He was born and raised in Oregon, lived in Los Angeles for quite a long time and now calls New York City his home.
