Broadway in Chicago Presents MOULIN ROUGE! THE MUSICAL Review – Striking the Moment in Red

Bohemians and Aristocrats Compete in MOULIN ROUGE! THE MUSICAL

No wonder Christian, a songwriter from Lima, Ohio, who has come to Paris with pulsating ambition and hormones, goes gah-gah. Naïve, shaggy and penniless, Christian strategizes with his bohemian pals to meet Satine privately. He seeks love; Santiago and Toulouse Lautrec seek Zidler’s support for their new show. Not a bad plan except Zidler has already promised Satine to the wealthy Duke of Monroth. The Duke’s got far more money and far better clothes and, by the way, Moulin Rouge is on the verge of financial collapse. 

For those unfamiliar with the Luhrmann film, this is a mash-up musical, the score cobbled from existing songs that emerge in bits and pieces. Snippets from Voulez-vous coucher avec moi and What’s Love Got to Do with It? mingle with more recent pop tunes and Broadway classics. In sync with Moulin Rouge! The Musical’s self-parodying, Christian, Toulouse and Santiago have the conviction of any creative team giving birth to a new musical masterpiece.

Broadway in Chicago Brings Extraordinary Visuals and Mesmerizing Dances

Unlike the mashup music, the plot is a single-track melodrama with stock characters who do not deviate from their agendas. For this viewer, the folks onstage know their jobs and get them done with satisfying flair. Courtney Reed (Chicago native and Roosevelt University grad) as Satine is a quadruple threat of singing, dancing, acting and beauty. Andre Ward as Toulouse provides an unexpectedly authentic element. In one visually stunning and musically touching scene, the character expresses feelings more enduring than red hot love. 

A word about Catherine Zuber’s costumes: wow. The designer tells the audience where they are at any given time, whether it’s with striptease attire or rehearsal garb or clothes for the Duke’s Champs Elysees promenade – a pastel study in high society. The outfits seem to meld with the actors’ bodies during each of choreographer Sonya Tayeh’s varied numbers. 

Take away the extraordinary visuals, the hit tunes and the mesmerizing dances, and there’s not much left except melodrama in Moulin Rouge! The Musical. But there are the extraordinary visuals and the hit tunes and the mesmerizing dances. That’s more than enough to make the show a treat – and strike bright red love in the hearts of theatergoers, even if it’s just for one moment.