This week’s musical has taken up much of my time lately–for a good reason. I am a part of Volé, a dance organization on campus, and we have our spring showcase this Sunday. One of my dances is a musical theater jazz number (of course) to “Welcome To The Moulin Rouge!” from Moulin Rouge! The Musical, and the song has been stuck in my head nonstop. This past weekend, the girls in my dance got together to make accessories for the show, and we watched the film that the musical is based on. I had seen the movie a few years prior, but watching it now, I had a new sense of appreciation for the melodrama and suspense of it all. I knew I had to update the blog about it.

The Moulin Rouge! movie was released in 2001 and directed by Baz Luhrmann. The plot follows Christian (played by Ewan McGregor), a young writer, who is in love with Satine (played by Nicole Kidman), the star performer at the Moulin Rouge–a famous cabaret in Paris. Christian goes to the Moulin Rouge and Satine mistakes him for the Duke, who she wants to marry for financial security. Of course, they end up falling in love, but they are driven apart by Satine’s illness and her need to keep her love for Christian a secret.  The final scene is packed with drama as Christian tries to confront Satine about her distance from him and they end up on stage in front of a full audience on opening night of Satine’s show, which was written by Christian and his friends. The Duke and his bodyguard are trying to kill Christian as the cast onstage is trying to get rid of the gun, all the while Satine is professing her love for Christian. In the end, Satine dies in Christian’s arms right after the curtains close. Truly the pinnacle of theater. Well-directed, well-performed and perfectly dramatic.

The stage version debuted on Broadway in 2019. It has the same characters as the film, but some plot points are changed, such as Christian being the one to bring the gun to the opening night performance instead of the Duke’s bodyguard. I have never seen the stage version, but everyone who I know who has seen it has raved about it.

Now on to the music. Moulin Rouge! The Musical is a jukebox musical (a musical made of mostly preexisting popular songs from an artist or genre that are not original) done right. The best songs are the original songs, and the jukebox songs are mixed together to create something new, like “The Sparkling Diamond” which mixes “Material Girl” and “Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend” to showcase Satine’s desire to marry into money. The original songs are well-renowned and range from the upbeat “Lady Marmalade” to the dark “El Tango de Roxanne” and the romantic “Come What May.” In my opinion, a musical cannot maintain a focused plot if there is no originality to the music (see the musical Jagged Little Pill, for example). Plus, the chosen jukebox songs are different between stage and screen to appeal to the current audience and work best for the medium.

Last but certainly not least, I would be remiss if I did not mention the iconic Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir gold-winning ice dance routine from the 2018 Olympics, set to “El Tango de Roxanne” and “Come What May.” You’ve likely seen it before, but if not, it’s worth a watch as the Canadian ice dance duo perfectly captured the essence of Moulin Rouge!