Interview: From the National Tour to Broadway - Gabe Martínez Discusses His Journey as Santiago in MOULIN ROUGE! THE MUSICAL

Gabe Martinez is currently making his Broadway debut as Santiago in Moulin Rouge! The Musical. Martinez originated the role of Santiago in the Moulin Rouge! The Musical First National Tour. 

Martinez's stage credits also include Peter and the Starcatcher (Slank), In the Heights (Usnavi), Hair (Berger), Sister Act (Curtis), and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (Barfée). 

Read the full interview and check out photography by BroadwayWorld's own Jennifer Broski below!

You originated the role of Santiago in the First National Tour of Moulin Rouge! The Musical. How does it feel to now be making your Broadway debut in this role?

In some ways it feels so amazing, and like a dream come true, and like I won the lottery, and in other ways it feels like just another day at the office because I’ve done the show 500 times on the road. And what’s more, we have a good chunk of the original touring cast here already. Courtney Reed, André Ward, David Harris, Jenn Stafford, Alex Cruz, Amy Quanbeck, Ricky Zayas, I think I got everybody. If I’m not mistaken I’m the eighth member of the original touring cast to make their way over to the Hirschfeld. So, in some ways it feels so special and amazing, and in other ways it just feels familiar, and cozy, and like family. I feel very, very, lucky, it’s a wonderful experience.

Have you discovered new things about the character of Santiago?

In a lot of ways it’s been about remembering things about Santiago. It’s been about re-finding things I already had with some old cast members, and I think that the finding of new things is still ahead of me. I think right now it’s just been about making sure I’m in the right place, making sure I’m not going to fall off the stage or run face-first into anybody. But the new things are still in front of me, and I think that’s very exciting.

What are you most looking forward to in joining Moulin Rouge! The Musical on Broadway?

I think I’m excited to get settled, and get used to my commute, and my routine, and get my dressing room the way I want it. Because this is a unique and exciting position, where I’m stepping into a role I’ve already done so many times, but it’s in a new theater with a new cast, it’s my Broadway debut, the thing I’m most looking forward to is getting used to everything. Feeling like I can come to the Hirschfeld and have another day at the office.

Do you have a favorite song in the show?

I do! And it’s one I’m not even in. It’s the ‘Diamonds’ medley. Early in Act I, on tour—there are some differences between the tour and Broadway— on tour I wasn’t on stage for it. But, on Broadway, I get to be out on stage watching my favorite number. On tour I would always have to watch from side stage, but here I’ll have the best seat in the house. The wonderful Courtney Reed, and all of her covers are also wonderful, just to be able to watch my friends do my favorite song from the best seat in the house is so exciting.

Have there been a lot of differences for you to learn from the tour to the Broadway production?

Very slight differences. The passerelle, or, the catwalk, that goes out into the audience is new for me. But I really only engage with that in the beginning of the show, and the very end of the show. Everything in the middle, the meat of the sandwich, is all very similar with just enough newness to be exciting. On tour, playing these big touring houses, it took a lot of energy to reach the back wall, so to speak. But the Hirschfeld is much more intimate and cozy, and I’m really looking forward to getting settled into this space because it’s so beautiful. The whole room looks like it’s the Moulin Rouge, and everyone feels much closer. It’s one of my favorite theaters, it’s so beautiful, it’s so intimate.

There’s a moment towards the end of Act I, that I won’t be able to see from onstage, but when they’re reaching the Act I finale, they step out onto the roof, and the whole theater lights up like the night sky, not just the stage, the whole theater. It’s simply breathtaking. It’s such a special show, and to be able to do it in the space where it was meant to be, in the theater that really feels like home... Out on the road they did such a great job of always making us feel like we were at home, but this feels, finally, like doing this show really where it’s meant to be done.

What would you like to say to audiences who are coming to see Moulin Rouge! The Musical on Broadway?

Make sure you’re hydrated, make sure you’ve had a nap that day if you can swing it, it is a full body experience! Be ready to laugh, and to cry, and to sing along. It’s so sexy, and splashy, and fun. And you really will feel like a part of the cast, I believe that audience members really do feel like they’re a part of the show. Out on the road, we felt this way when we got to talk to them at the stage door, and engage with them online, they feel like they’re a part of the Moulin Rouge, that they are one of the bohemians. So, come well-rested because this is a participatory experience, you are one of us when you step into the Moulin Rouge.

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