Review: MOULIN ROUGE! at Hollywood Pantages

Moulin Rouge! is a must-see touring Broadway romantic musical at the Hollywood Pantages through November 16th.  Moulin Rouge! is an immersive, kinetic wild ride, lavishly sexy, unabashedly romantic, and breathtaking to look at.  In the luxurious art deco palace of the Pantages, Moulin Rouge! sparkles particularly, like a treasure box of luscious, velvety, decadent jewel tones (genius set design by Derek McLane), sumptuous, sensual, extravagant costumes (Catherine Zuber), and sexy, jaw-dropping choreography (Sonya Tayeh).  Every frame looks like a velvet painting, with dynamic, lyrical, caffeinated lighting design by Justin Townsend that deserves its own tone poem. It is surprising how much genuine heart is also to be found here as well, thanks largely to spectacular performances from the incredible cast and inspired direction by Alex Timbers.

There is a determined garishness, a gaudy and deliberate trashiness, an extravagance to Moulin Rogue! that feels triumphantly tasteless and rather wonderfully liberating.

A tale of star-crossed romance in Belle Epoque Paris, this 2018 jukebox musical follows the doomed love triangle between the sadistic, controlling Duke of Monroth (a sexy Andrew Brewer), the young artist Christian (a ridiculously talented John Cardoza), and their love, the star cabaret dancer / courtesan Satine (a stunning Arianna Rosario).

A decadent, kitchen-sink-sized chocolate sundae with a sparkly sprinkling of campiness on top, Moulin Rouge! has the allure of something that you know is excessive but you simply cannot resist another bite.   

There are many influences in Moulin Rouge!: obviously the Baz Luhrmann 2001 film Moulin Rouge;  Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec’s iconic art recording the louche world of the demimonde and the late-night cafes and cabarets of 19th century Paris; lavish romantic operas like Puccini’s La Bohème and Verdi’s La Traviata; but the key to Moulin Rouge!’s gaudy, tarted up little heart is probably to be found in the Y2K pop princess music video.

And being in the audience of Moulin Rogue! at the Pantages feels like being immersed in a peak Britney Spears or Christina Aguilera music video, in all its high femme exuberant trampiness, foot-stomping rebelliousness, wild mood swings, and irresistible charm.

Moulin Rouge! is a show with a Barnum and Bailey, Las Vegas, Versace philosophy of life that could be best summed up by the Mae West quote “Too much of a good thing can be wonderful.”  Where a classic musical would use one song, Moulin Rouge! does a mash up of twenty top 40 hits from the last couple hundred years.   

With occasional misfires, this gonzo karaoke approach often works surprising magic. I am not sure in Satine’s entry song if we need Marilyn Monroe’s “Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend” and Madonna’s “Material Girl” and the Bond theme “Diamonds Are Forever” all mashed up together where one song would probably have worked better.  And there are some resurrected radio earworms in Moulin Rouge! I could go without.   I could have comfortably lived out the rest of my life without hearing OutKast’s stunningly obnoxious 2003 megabit “Hey Ya!”,  again.  But often the gonzo jukeboxing yields surprising delight. As Satine and Christian fall in love in Satine’s dressing room, they sing the “Elephant Love Medley” which uses no less than 19 songs in about five minutes.  It could be exhausting but it is actually mind-blowingly wonderful, funny, romantic, simultaneously tongue-in-cheek and sweetly sincere.

John Cardoza sings the 1970 Elton John hit “Your Song” with so much heartfelt simplicity and emotion it feels like hearing it for the first time.  Later Arianna Rosario sings a slow, melancholy, bittersweet Katy Perry “Firework” in a way that brings tears to my eyes.  One of the joys of Moulin Rouge is encountering familiar songs that you think you know, but sung with so much stunning, sheer talent and heart, it is like hearing them for the first time.

The only number that feels like a bit of a letdown is “Lady Marmalade”, the iconic Christina Aguilera, P!nk, Mya & Li'I Kim/ LaBelle number, which somehow falls a little bit flat in this retelling.  But mostly Moulin Rouge! is a thrill-a-minute extravaganza that is beautifully sung, stunningly well-acted, and gorgeous to look at in every frame.

Drop everything and go see Moulin Rouge! — it’s unforgettable.

Photo by Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade

Los Angeles Awards - Live Stats

Best Musical - Top 3

1. JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR (Hollywood Bowl)

5.9% of votes

2. HEATHERS (Backyard Playhouse: Treetop Production)

5.7% of votes

3. HAIR (Conundrum Theatre)

5.5% of votes

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