Moulin Rouge
K107FM- May 3
- 2 min read
A musical premiere for Edinburgh
Few stage musicals have been anticipated to this degree by theatre lovers this year as Moulin Rouge continues its extended run at Edinburgh Playhouse.
With weeks of preparation and a brand-new unwrapped set with a light-up windmill and giant elephant on constant show, the official opening of the World Tour is finally here. Hailed as the official opening of the world tour, this premiere continues to major cities like Birmingham, Dublin over Christmas for over a month and Zurich in January next year. Dates are also published for Europe, continuing in North America, Japan and South Korea.
Based on Baz Luhrmann’s 2001 film, the standards are already high in order to bring this to the Edinburgh stage. The movie was directed by Luhrmann and written by him and Craig Pearce. The book was written by John Logan and for this tour director is Alex Timbers. The original premiere was in 2018 in Boston with a Broadway debut a year later. In 2020 it was nominated for 14 Tony Awards, winning ten including Best Musical. It still runs on Broadway and since 2022 at the Piccadilly Theatre in London’s West End.
The story is based in the famous Moulin Rouge club in Montmartre Paris in 1899. Christian (Nate Landskroner) is a young composer who falls for nightclub actress Satine played by Verity Thomson. He arrives in Paris and meets bohemians Toulouse-Lautrec (Kurt Kansley) and larger than life Santiago played by Johnny Galeandro. I was waiting for a Bohemian Rhapsody remark, and it comes in the first act. In fact, lots of small, detailed parodies feature throughout and some so subtle that many will miss them – like when Christian takes an umbrella and poses against the Eiffel Tower in a pose originally created by Gene Kelly for Singing In The Rain in 1949. Anyhow the theme of Truth, Beauty, Freedom, Love is observed as the Bohemian ideals and now available on the foyer merchandise, just one of the many quality items. At the Moulin Rouge, the director Harold Zidler (Cameron Blakely), introduces Satine to impress the Duke of Monroth (James Bryers), in order for him to invest and therefore save the club.
From the opening welcome overture from Ben Ferguson and his ten-piece orchestra we are immediately impressed. It is a big sound and big colourful set, everchanging and with wondrous choreography from Sonya Taych. Some magical big moments come time after time with a dramatic version of Firework from Satine, an excitingly energetic Rolling In The Deep, a delightful diamonds medley with Diamonds Are A Girl’s Best Friend and Diamonds Are Forever, an exciting Bad Romance, a cabaret Minnie The Moocher with brass playing dancers and who would have thought Elton John’s Your Song could fit so easily into the musical theatre form?
From the lavish Lady Marmalade opening with Can Can dancers to the stirring reprise medley at the end they pack so many favourites into the time without catching breath.
Do catch this show before it goes.
Moulin Rouge at Edinburgh Playhouse until June 14, Tickets here: https://www.atgtickets.com/shows/moulin-rouge-the-musical/edinburgh-playhouse/
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