Moulin Rouge.Emerson Colonial Theater, Boston, MA
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Review of Moulin Rouge
July 2018
By Alyssa Krimsky Clossey
Performed at the Emerson Colonial Theatre, the musical Moulin Rouge, takes place in 1899 in Paris. The historic theater, which was recently renovated, is a beautiful venue for this show. The stage was ornately designed with decorative and intricate sets, scenery, lights and a red glow. Such design elements include elegant chandeliers, a huge life size elephant head, a swing that was dropped from the ceiling and a wrap-around stage that went through the audience--we were a part of the fantastical club named Moulin Rouge, and we were welcomed.
The show begins with the big number "Lady Marmalade" made famous by the female acts of Christina Aguilera, Lil' Kim, Mya, and Pink. Perhaps this song should have been performed in its entirely towards the end of the show (it was repeated at the end of the show, but only small portions of it). Instead, it was the first number with robust burlesque dancing and singing. Suddenly we are being bombarded with a huge “show stopping” number with no context.
We are soon introduced to a young penniless English poet named Christian (played by Aaron Tveit) who comes to Paris to begin a life as a writer. Aaron Tveit received big applause as he entered the stage. He looked the part of a poet, with his long hair and charismatic smile and his singing voice is strong and beautiful. He meets two Bohemians named Toulouse-Lautrec and Santiago and played by Sahr Ngaujah and Ricky Rojas—together these two became goofy caricatures of themselves; similar to the Lion King's two sidekicks Timon and Pumbaa. With encouragement, Christian tries his talents writing a show for the infamous Moulin Rouge. He instantly falls in love with a legendary star who is admired by all named Satine (played by Karen Olivo). Poor boy meets beautiful starlet and falls in love. Christian and Satine seem to fall in love so quickly that the build up to their romance falls flat for the audience.
Conflict arises when Satine is encouraged by the nightclub impresario Harold Zidler (played by Danny Burstein) to romance a rich man named “The Duke of Monroth” (played by Tam Mutu) for the sake of saving the club which is in financial distress. Danny Burstein as Zildler is well cast as the showman--with his top hat, dance steps and presence on the stage. He runs the show. The Duke is presented as handsome and wealthy, and will only finance the club if he has full control of Satine, their own love affair, Christian's show, and the Moulin Rouge. Tam Mutu is convincing as the Duke, with his forceful tones and affect, as well as his accent.
Satine is a sexual object of many male interests; even one of the Bohemians had loved her once, but never pursued it. This was expressed in one of the few scenes that had a quiet moment, where Toulouse-Lautrec is sitting with Christian in the run downed Paris streets sharing his thoughts about his life and his love of Satine—all performed in a solo song and in dialogue. Gorgeous set designs are captured in these moments, with romantic Paris imagery in the background.
The costumes, colors and dance cabaret numbers were spectacular, with some actors having more than ten costume changes, ranging from gowns to full petticoats and corsets. It was impressive, and the actors all looked the part; even the men wore white dresses with black tux tops. The creativity of the show was stunning. In a scene with Satine set in her bedroom, we are brought into a room with warm red and pink colors – it was cross between Barbie’s Dream House and the palace of Arabian Nights. But it worked well. The show presents Satine as a "doll," with dress up clothes that are extravagant; be it a diamond dress, or a ball gown, she is a figure being dressed up and manipulated by her puppet masters. She has little voice to defend herself, and lives for the men who love her, and the Club. It is through the many musical numbers, that we see the love triangle between Christian, Satine and Duke develop, with Duke’s deeper need to control Satine until the very end.
Here's where the play falls short-- the musical arrangements. Almost all the musical numbers were performed as shortened medleys. A scene would start with one song and then interject with a different song. This went on throughout the show. Almost all the songs were popular hits performed from recognized artists, such as Rhythm Of The Night by DeBarge, Royals by Lorde, We are Young by Fun, Diamonds by Rihanna, Shut up and Dance by Walk the Moon, You Can't Always Get What You Want by the Rolling Stones, Bad Romance by Lady Gaga, Roxanne by the Police and many more. I felt as though I was watching the television show "Dancing with the Stars" while being forced to switch radio stations from one top 40 song to another. It was jarring and confusing, and frankly difficult to enjoy the song of the moment, when the audience is taken to a new song so quickly. I wasn’t sure if I was on a cruise ship listening to a medley of songs or if I was supposed to match these song choices with the story line.
There were many moments where I wanted all song and dance mixes to stop, and instead, hear a single song performed against the backdrop of the gorgeous stage set. That wish was granted in a duet performed by Aaron Tveit and Karen Olivo in Act II. Together they performed Elton John's hit "Your Song." The creative team kept this song in its entirety and it was beautiful. If only the musical song choices and arrangements were more selective in the production, the show would have the potential to "shine bright like a diamond."
Moulin Rouge continues its run in Boston through August 19 at the Emerson Colonial Theatre.
July 2018
By Alyssa Krimsky Clossey
Performed at the Emerson Colonial Theatre, the musical Moulin Rouge, takes place in 1899 in Paris. The historic theater, which was recently renovated, is a beautiful venue for this show. The stage was ornately designed with decorative and intricate sets, scenery, lights and a red glow. Such design elements include elegant chandeliers, a huge life size elephant head, a swing that was dropped from the ceiling and a wrap-around stage that went through the audience--we were a part of the fantastical club named Moulin Rouge, and we were welcomed.
The show begins with the big number "Lady Marmalade" made famous by the female acts of Christina Aguilera, Lil' Kim, Mya, and Pink. Perhaps this song should have been performed in its entirely towards the end of the show (it was repeated at the end of the show, but only small portions of it). Instead, it was the first number with robust burlesque dancing and singing. Suddenly we are being bombarded with a huge “show stopping” number with no context.
We are soon introduced to a young penniless English poet named Christian (played by Aaron Tveit) who comes to Paris to begin a life as a writer. Aaron Tveit received big applause as he entered the stage. He looked the part of a poet, with his long hair and charismatic smile and his singing voice is strong and beautiful. He meets two Bohemians named Toulouse-Lautrec and Santiago and played by Sahr Ngaujah and Ricky Rojas—together these two became goofy caricatures of themselves; similar to the Lion King's two sidekicks Timon and Pumbaa. With encouragement, Christian tries his talents writing a show for the infamous Moulin Rouge. He instantly falls in love with a legendary star who is admired by all named Satine (played by Karen Olivo). Poor boy meets beautiful starlet and falls in love. Christian and Satine seem to fall in love so quickly that the build up to their romance falls flat for the audience.
Conflict arises when Satine is encouraged by the nightclub impresario Harold Zidler (played by Danny Burstein) to romance a rich man named “The Duke of Monroth” (played by Tam Mutu) for the sake of saving the club which is in financial distress. Danny Burstein as Zildler is well cast as the showman--with his top hat, dance steps and presence on the stage. He runs the show. The Duke is presented as handsome and wealthy, and will only finance the club if he has full control of Satine, their own love affair, Christian's show, and the Moulin Rouge. Tam Mutu is convincing as the Duke, with his forceful tones and affect, as well as his accent.
Satine is a sexual object of many male interests; even one of the Bohemians had loved her once, but never pursued it. This was expressed in one of the few scenes that had a quiet moment, where Toulouse-Lautrec is sitting with Christian in the run downed Paris streets sharing his thoughts about his life and his love of Satine—all performed in a solo song and in dialogue. Gorgeous set designs are captured in these moments, with romantic Paris imagery in the background.
The costumes, colors and dance cabaret numbers were spectacular, with some actors having more than ten costume changes, ranging from gowns to full petticoats and corsets. It was impressive, and the actors all looked the part; even the men wore white dresses with black tux tops. The creativity of the show was stunning. In a scene with Satine set in her bedroom, we are brought into a room with warm red and pink colors – it was cross between Barbie’s Dream House and the palace of Arabian Nights. But it worked well. The show presents Satine as a "doll," with dress up clothes that are extravagant; be it a diamond dress, or a ball gown, she is a figure being dressed up and manipulated by her puppet masters. She has little voice to defend herself, and lives for the men who love her, and the Club. It is through the many musical numbers, that we see the love triangle between Christian, Satine and Duke develop, with Duke’s deeper need to control Satine until the very end.
Here's where the play falls short-- the musical arrangements. Almost all the musical numbers were performed as shortened medleys. A scene would start with one song and then interject with a different song. This went on throughout the show. Almost all the songs were popular hits performed from recognized artists, such as Rhythm Of The Night by DeBarge, Royals by Lorde, We are Young by Fun, Diamonds by Rihanna, Shut up and Dance by Walk the Moon, You Can't Always Get What You Want by the Rolling Stones, Bad Romance by Lady Gaga, Roxanne by the Police and many more. I felt as though I was watching the television show "Dancing with the Stars" while being forced to switch radio stations from one top 40 song to another. It was jarring and confusing, and frankly difficult to enjoy the song of the moment, when the audience is taken to a new song so quickly. I wasn’t sure if I was on a cruise ship listening to a medley of songs or if I was supposed to match these song choices with the story line.
There were many moments where I wanted all song and dance mixes to stop, and instead, hear a single song performed against the backdrop of the gorgeous stage set. That wish was granted in a duet performed by Aaron Tveit and Karen Olivo in Act II. Together they performed Elton John's hit "Your Song." The creative team kept this song in its entirety and it was beautiful. If only the musical song choices and arrangements were more selective in the production, the show would have the potential to "shine bright like a diamond."
Moulin Rouge continues its run in Boston through August 19 at the Emerson Colonial Theatre.
