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Scotsman
02-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Scotsman
Moulin Rouge! The Musical at Edinburgh Playhouse is a spectacular show 'oozing glamour'
Watch more of our videos on and on Freeview 262 or Freely 565 Visit Shots! now Prepare to join the bohemian revolution as Edinburgh Playhouse transforms into the iconic Moulin Rouge. Sign up to our daily newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Adapted from Baz Luhrmann's famous 2001 film of the same name, Moulin Rouge! The Musical has been reinvented for the stage with brand new songs and all the spectacular flair you would expect from the world's most iconic can-can club. The musical brings to life the doomed romance between Satine, the "Sparkling Diamond" of the Moulin Rouge (played by Verity Thompson), and the penniless composer, Christian (played by Nate Landskroner). Joined by an eccentric ensemble of artists, poets and dancers, the lovers embrace the Bohemian Revolution of the 1890s. But the path to true love is never easy and the wealthy Duke (played by James Bryers) threatens to destroy their love affair, and the nightclub, if Satine does not succumb to his advances. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Production wise, Moulin Rouge! The Musical is a spectacular show, bursting with intricate details and lavish design. With a towering windmill and giant elephant, the decadent production is simply irresistible, oozing all the glamour you would expect from the Parisian party venue. While the musical retains all the hedonistic glamour of the original movie, Moulin Rouge purists may find the inclusion of new songs slightly off putting. Like the movie the soundtrack is pretty much a jukebox musical, including a mashup of classic tracks from the likes of Elton John and T-Rex – but unfortunately not all have made the final cut which feels like a loss considering the Like a Virgin scene in the movie is a perfect comedy sketch, something the stage production also sadly misses out on. Instead, new tunes from current artists like Lady Gaga and Adele have been woven into the songs. Pop classics aside, Satine and Christian's secret love ballad, Come What May, is the big number of the show, reminding the audience exactly what the bohemians stand for – truth, beauty, freedom and love. Moulin Rouge! The Musical is an eccentric love affair that is told beautifully for the stage, so don't miss your opportunity to join the can-can dancers while the show is in town. Moulin Rouge! The Musical is on at the Edinburgh Playhouse until 14 June 2025. Tickets are available ATG Tickets.
Daily Record
02-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Record
Moulin Rouge opens in Edinburgh and, ooh la la, c'est magnifique
Moulin Rouge, Edinburgh Playhouse Reviewed on April 30 2025 ***** FABULEUX, fantastique, formidable - just three of a plethora of French adjectives to describe this incredible musical. In a world of grey gloom this is a veritable kaleidoscope with costumes and performances all rich in colour. Numbers like Toxic, Firework and the Sound of Music may not be an obvious soundtrack for a musical set in the Victorian era but somehow it works. And the voices of the leads, Verity Thompson as Satine and Nate Landskroner as Christian, were an absolute joy to listen to; deliciously rich with an impressive range. Love was the undisputed, overriding theme, however, and the blend of their voices in Come What May was a genuine treat. Courtesans, dukes and bohemians combine in this Baz Luhrmann piece set in the world famous Moulin Rouge where the dances are risque with plenty of 'extras'. Unlike many touring shows this one comes with all the bells and whistles from the sumptuous costumes to the most amazing sets and lighting design serving the Edinburgh audiences a West End spectacular. Right from the opening scene there was an explosion of colour and movement and the choreography was utterly insane. The can-can dancers in particular prompted gasps with their gigantic leaps into floor landing splits. The fact they were not carried off in ambulances afterwards was a miracle of physics and physique. Almost as impressive were the massive ensemble dance routines which were clearly rehearsed to within an inch of their lives but still managed to look almost free flowing - just exactly what you would expect from a Bohemian troupe. In every production there is a show stealer but with each member of the cast and ensemble so impressive it is difficult to single out one actor. The leads were insanely good but honourable mentions need to go to Cameron Blakely's Harold Zidler and Johnny Galeandro's sleazy Santiago who provided the comic relief. Needless to say, don't miss it - if you can still manage to get a ticket - for what is genuinely a spectacular spectacular. • Runs until June 14
Scotsman
01-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Scotsman
Moulin Rouge! The Musical, Edinburgh review: 'spectacular'
Sign up to our Arts and Culture newsletter, get the latest news and reviews from our specialist arts writers Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Moulin Rouge! The Musical, Playhouse, Edinburgh ★★★★ The red curtain trilogy, director Baz Luhrmann called his trio of films on theatrical themes - Strictly Ballroom, Romeo And Juliet, Moulin Rouge - all made between 1992 and 2001. And it was in a mighty blaze of red and gold - all red plush curtains and glowing illuminated windmills - that the latest version of Moulin Rouge! The Musical launched its world tour in Edinburgh on Wednesday night, in front of a packed and delighted Playhouse audience. Set in Paris in 1900, Moulin Rouge is a fabulous pastiche of a show, that draws on classics from La Boheme to The Lady of the Camellias for its story about a young visiting American called Christian, who falls passionately in love with the star of the Moulin Rouge cabaret, the lovely and talented Satine. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Moulin Rouge! The Musical | Contributed The cabaret is run by flamboyant host and compere Harold Zidler, whom Christian hopes will help him pursue his ambitions as a songwriter; but it soon emerges that Harold is all but bankrupt, and is relying on Satine's charms to win financial support from a wealthy Duke who visits the club. The plot therefore revolves around a classic tension between Christian's idealistic young love for Satine - which she fully returns - and the pressures of her hard and complicated life, which have seen her rise by sheer talent and determination from a grim childhood on the streets to her current star status. And like Luhrmann's film, this spectacular stage version captures the story in a slightly startling juke-box-musical style, featuring a range of familiar 20th and 21st century hits often with cleverly adapted lyrics, from Voulez-Vous Coucher Avec Moi Ce Soir, through Material Girl, to Elton John's beautiful Your Song. In Alex Timbers' new production - set to tour on this year to Bristol, Manchester, Birmingham, Dublin and Zurich - Verity Thompson makes a poignant and vocally powerful Satine, while Nate Landskroner deftly handles the difficult task of playing Christian both as romantic hero and as slightly ironic link to the 21st century audience, claiming with a nod and a wink to have written both Your Song, and The Sound Of Music. And Cameron Blakely, as embattled impresario Harold Zidler, stands at the dramatic heart of the story, in a performance that - given the musical mix - often seems as much British end-of-the-pier as 19th century Montmartre; but is backed by a superb live band and 20-strong ensemble, who deliver the show's complex mash-up score - and Sonya Tayeh's hard-edged night-club choreography - with a flair and energy that, on Derek McLane's dazzling set, finally brings the audience to their feet, in a well-deserved standing ovation.
The Herald Scotland
01-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Herald Scotland
Moulin Rouge! The Musical review: 'as thrilling as it is exhausting'
When Baz Luhrmann made Moulin Rouge in 2001, the last of the Australian auteur's 'Red Curtain Trilogy' after Strictly Ballroom and Romeo + Juliet was an audacious fusion of turn of the nineteenth century Paris-by-night bohemianism and contemporary pop bangers. This made for the ultimate backstage musical. Almost a quarter of a century on, director Alex Timbers and writer John Logan's delirious stage mash up has become a global sensation. First performed in 2018, productions in New York, London and Melbourne are still running, with the show's first world tour opening in Edinburgh where it is in residence for the next six weeks. This back-story only goes some way to introduce the sheer scale, ambition and outrageous excess of the three hyperactive hours of breathless spectacle that is the result. If plot is what you're after, Logan's book stays faithful to the film, as American dreamer in search of a scene Christian lands in Paris, where he speaks in song lyrics while Toulouse-Lautrec appears to be writing The Sound of Music. Over at the Moulin Rouge itself, meanwhile, star of the show Satine is preparing to meet a horny duke who can buy the club out of trouble, but only if he can get a good deal on Satine as well. As assorted amours ebb and flow, Satine may be doomed, but the club is saved and Christian gets his mojo back. But never mind all that. Spectacle is everything here. At the start of the show, two women swallow swords flanked by a reproduction of the Moulin Rouge windmill crammed in to the box seats on one side high above the stage, while a life size model of an elephant sits opposite. All this is before a sassy quartet of showgirls strut their stuff on an obligatory cover of Lady Marmalade on designer Derek McLane's great big love heart of a set. Flanked by an all singing, all dancing ensemble, this sub erotic explosion lays down the lascivious shape of things to come once Satine swings into view singing Diamonds are Forever. Read more reviews from Neil Cooper: With choreographer Sonya Tayhe's show-stopping dance numbers driving things, the cast bump and grind their way through more than seventy pop classics by the likes of Beyoncé, Lorde, Outkast, Katy Perry, Elton John, David Byrne and more. These are cut up in such a way that there is barely a line from one song before we've fast-forwarded on to the next. This is especially effective on big set pieces such as Christian and Satine's love song medley, delivered by Nate Landskroner and Verity Thompson like they're vamping it up on some TV variety show special. There is even room here for a fleeting snatch of the theme song from late nineties/early noughties angst heavy teen melodrama, Dawson's Creek. Things rewind even further back in a dressing room Rolling Stones medley led by James Bryers as the Duke. The breathless Lady Gaga/Britney Spears/Eurythmics etc rehearsal room megamix routine that opens the second half, meanwhile, is a great big scarlet coloured sugar rush. Pop music is a fickle beast, mind, and any future reboots might have to draft in some of the latest stadium sized pop flames to keep up. As it stands, this short attention span extravaganza is as thrilling as it is exhausting in a show bathed in enough blood-red neon it could crash the Paris power grid. Just in the nick of time, the grand finale of this non-stop erotic cabaret even manages to squeeze in a can-can of epic proportions. Enchante.
Chicago Tribune
12-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Chicago Tribune
With the Tony-winning costumes in 'Moulin Rouge! The Musical,' over-the-top extravagance is just right
Each time the nationally touring production of 'Moulin Rouge!' rolls into a new city, an entire truck is required to transport the show's costumes: a rainbow palette of corsets, cancan skirts, tailcoats, top hats and heeled boots that evokes the opulence of the 1899 Parisian setting. In total, the production travels with 297 costumes for the principal actors and ensemble performers, plus about 200 for understudies and swings. Wardrobe supervisor Michael Hannah oversees this demanding operation, assisted by three touring members of the wardrobe department. In each city, the production hires local theater professionals for additional roles: a stitcher, a launderer and nine dressers who learn the show from Hannah's team. Together, they execute the complex backstage choreography that delivers eight shows a week for audiences. 'Moulin Rouge! The Musical' is currently playing through April 20 at the Cadillac Palace Theatre. Based on the 2001 film by Baz Luhrmann, the jukebox musical takes its name from a famous French nightclub — founded in the 19th century and still open today — and follows a fictional romance between cabaret performer Satine and bohemian songwriter Christian. As with the movie, the musical is a visual spectacle; among the 10 Tony Awards the Broadway production won in 2021, Catherine Zuber took home the honor for best costume design of a musical. The Tribune recently took a backstage tour of the Cadillac Palace with Hannah and Arianna Rosario, who stars as Satine in the touring company. Among the items on display were the diamond-inspired dress and 20-yard boa in which Satine makes her dramatic entrance, a beaded green dress that she wears with fairy wings during an absinthe-fueled dream sequence, cancan skirts with colorful ruffles on their undersides, bejeweled boots custom-made in Italy by LaDuca Shoes, a red velvet coat embroidered with the Moulin Rouge's iconic windmill, and several pieces designed to look like they were hand-painted by the French artist Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. The musical's first act opens with the Moulin Rouge on the verge of closing, unless Satine can seduce a wealthy duke into becoming its patron — but for the moment, these financial woes are hidden behind the club's glamorous veneer. The production design 'recreates a period of time that went bankrupt because it was so lavish and exorbitant,' Hannah said. 'It's got to be spectacular. It's got to be glittery. It's got to be larger than life. … We have to make the audience feel that they're seeing something that is just so overdone, overwhelming, and I think we achieve that.' Hannah added, 'I have to give it to our producers because they don't cut corners. If I need a new costume for something or if I want to replace something, I've never been told 'no.'' An important part of his job is 'to keep it looking new and fresh and to keep the viewpoint and the wishes of the designer, because if it looks shabby, it's not going to work.' The overall sense of spectacle was one reason Rosario, who was a fan of the original film, was drawn to the musical. She performed in the Broadway company for over a year and has been with the tour for a year and a half, initially appearing as the alternate for Satine and stepping into the role full-time in September 2024. 'My life has consisted of a lot of 'Moulin Rouge,' but I honestly wouldn't have it any other way. I love the show,' she said. Playing Satine, Rosario has a dozen costume changes, some of which are only 45 seconds long, and she's either onstage or changing costumes for most of the show. 'What people don't seem to realize is that the backstage part of the show is as choreographed as the onstage part,' Hannah said. Rosario added, 'Even just getting water backstage is choreographed in, and I have little bottles — props on stage — where I can take a sip of water if I need to, because there's just no time to fit anything else in.' Hannah said of Rosario's relentless pace, 'That's kind of the leading lady's thing, but she's amazing. She's wonderful to work with, and it's a well-oiled machine back here.' 'Moulin Rouge' represents the finale of a long and storied career for Hannah, who has served as wardrobe supervisor for major productions such as 'Les Misérables,' 'Cabaret' and 'Aladdin.' Although he's worked on Broadway, film and television productions, he has always been a traveler at heart. Thirty-five years ago this month, he embarked on his first national tour in Chicago with 'The Phantom of the Opera,' and now, he bids the touring life a fond farewell in the same city. After April 13, the 'Moulin Rouge' tour will continue with a new wardrobe supervisor, and Hannah will retire to his home in Florida, where he looks forward to spending more time with his dog. 'I've always worked in my field, and that's lucky for somebody in show business. That doesn't happen all the time,' Hannah said. 'Touring is great. Sometimes it gets lonely; there are things you give up, but there's a lot that you get from it, and that's the best part. … I intend to go home and continue with other artistic endeavors as far as costumes are concerned, but this has been my heart. It's been fulfilling and challenging like crazy, but I wouldn't have it any other way.' Emily McClanathan is a freelance critic.
