Baz Luhrmann’s revolutionary 2001 film came to life in a most spectacular fashion at the Brisbane Premiere of ‘Moulin Rouge! The Musical’ (20 May).
Entering the dimly lit Lyric Theatre, the decadence and debauchery of turn-of-the-century Parisian nightlife immediately came alive. Cocooned by endless red velvet drapery under a sky of twinkling festoon lights and 12 shimmering chandeliers, cast members in exquisite corsetry prowled and lounged around the sumptuous set, looking out upon their latest eager audience with perfectly portrayed jaded indifference.
With the rising of the neon ‘Moulin Rouge’ sign, the ten-time Tony Award-winning on-stage adaption kicked off with the chart-topping, ‘Lady Marmalade’, and the musical mash-up extravaganza was at full throttle from there on in.
The original soundtrack celebrates some of the great pop songs of the 20th century, and I was thrilled to discover that the stage show continues this homage. Injected with remixes of popular tunes released pre and post the film including Talking Heads’ ‘Burning Down The House’, Beyonce’s ‘Single Ladies’, Rihanna’s ‘Only Girl (In the World)’, and Sia’s ‘Chandelier’ during the show’s heady absinthe-fuelled scene, the show was not only a visual feast but a music lover's wonderland.
The only song inclusion that didn’t add to the story for me was Adele’s ‘Rolling In The Deep’ sung as a duet by the main characters, however the reprisal of Elton John’s ‘Your Song’ sung hauntingly at the end of the show by chorus members flanking the stage more than made up for it.
Image © Michelle Grace Hunder
Such was the mastery of Music Supervisor, Justin Levine, the love story at the heart of the show almost played second fiddle. Alinta Chidzey stars as the sparkling diamond, Satine, and while Alinta didn’t miss a beat, her bold and brash delivery left me yearning for a taste of the demureness, fragility and desperation of Nicole Kidman’s on-screen portrayal.
The casting of Des Flanagan as Satine’s star-crossed lover, bohemian dreamer, Christian, was, however, perfect in my book. Christian’s anguish, turmoil and yearning were palpable, and Des belted out his songs with flawless precision.
Light-hearted humour was delivered by Simon Burke AO playing legendary club impresario Harold Zidler, and Ryan Gonzalez playing fellow bohemian, Santiago. Other notable cast mentions are James Bryers as the dastardly The Duke, and Samantha Dodemaide who shone as Nini, particularly during, ‘El Tango de Roxanne’.
As excited as I was to see, ‘Moulin Rouge! The Musical’, never in my wildest dreams did I imagine Baz Luhrmann’s groundbreaking vision could be bottled and captured. How very wrong I was. Spectacular! Spectacular!
