MOULIN ROUGE!: THE MUSICAL features plenty of pop hits originally sung by Elton John, Lady Gaga, The Police, LaBelle, DeBarge, Madonna, Beyonce, Pink, Walk the Moon, Whitney Houston, Katy Perry, The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, Sony & Cher, Tina Turner, and a dozen other groups and performers. That’s 70 songs (or parts of songs) and 151 artists get paid royalties on those songs. The movie version Moulin Rouge! (2001) had a soundtrack that went Platinum. For this musical version, the producers went with a new set of songs and negotiated with the leverage of the success of the movie soundtrack. The Rolling Stones refused to allow any of their songs in the move version, but when they saw how much they lost in royalties, they agreed to allow their songs to be included in this new musical version.
I’m a fan of Juke Box Musicals like this one. The plot is sketchy: the Moulin Rouge club is in dire financial problems and nearing bankruptcy. However, a very wealthy noble man decides to buy the Moulin Rouge in order to “own” its star, the beautiful and talented Satine. But Satine is in love with a young American song writer named Christian. This triangle generates most of the action in the musical.
I enjoyed all the dancing, costumes, and special effects in this production. Usually, musicals only come to Buffalo for a week of performances, but MOULIN ROUGE!: THE MUSICAL has a two-week run. Our performance at Shea’s Performing Arts Center was sold out. If you enjoy the songs listed below, you’ll enjoy this touring company version. GRADE: B+
| Act I Track Song(s) included Performer(s)”Welcome to the Moulin Rouge!””Lady Marmalade“†”So Fresh, So Clean“”Rhythm of the Night“”Because We Can” Zidler, Nini, Monroth, La Chocolat, Arabia, Babydoll and Company”Bohemian Idea Part 1*”The Sound of Music†””I Don’t Want to Wait“”Every Breath You Take“”Never Gonna Give You Up“Christian” Bohemian Idea Part 2*”Royals“”Children of the Revolution†””We Are Young“Christian, Toulouse-Lautrec, Santiago and Company”Satine’s Entrance*”Diamonds Are Forever“”Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend“†”Material Girl“†”Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)“Satine, Nini, La Chocolat, Arabia and Babydoll”Dancing with the ‘Duke'”*”Shut Up and Dance“”Raise Your Glass“”I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)“Satine, Christian, Toulouse-Lautrec, Santiago, Zidler and Company”Backstage at the Moulin Rouge* “Firework“Satine”In the Elephant* “Your Song“†Christian and Satine “The Pitch”*†”Milord (song)“, “La vie en Rose“, “Habanera (aria)“,”Can-can” (Ouverture) from “Orpheus in the Underworld” by Jacques Offenbach Zidler, Toulouse-Lautrec, Christian, Santiago, Satine and Monroth “Asking for Everything*”Sympathy for the Devil” “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” “Gimme Shelter “Monroth and Satine “Toulouse’s Story* “Nature Boy“†Toulouse-Lautrec and Christian “In the Elephant: Elephant Love Medley”*† “All You Need is Love“†”Just One Night“†”Pride (In the Name of Love)“†”Can’t Help Falling in Love“”Don’t Speak“”I Love You Always Forever“”It Ain’t Me Babe“”Love Hurts“”Love is a Battlefield“”Play the Game“”Such Great Heights“”Torn“”Take On Me“”Fidelity“”What’s Love Got to Do With It“”Everlasting Love“”Up Where We Belong“†“Heroes”†”Come What May (2001 song)“†”I Will Always Love You“Christian, Satine and Company | Act II TrackSong(s) included Performer(s)”Rehearsal”*”Bad Romance“”Tainted Love“”Seven Nation Army“”Toxic“”Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) “Santiago, Nini and Company”Toulouse’s Studio”* “Come What May” Christian and Satine”Monroth’s Proposal”*”Only Girl (In the World)“”Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend“† “Material Girl” †Monroth, Satine and Company”Backstage at the Moulin Rouge”* “Shake It Out” Zidler, Satine, La Chocolat, Arabia, Babydoll and Company “The Green Fairy”* “Chandelier” Christian, Santiago, Toulouse-Lautrec and Company “Streets of Paris”* “Roxanne” Christian, Zidler and Company “Streets of Paris Part 2″* “Crazy” “Rolling in the Deep” Christian and Satine “The Show” “Your Song” (Reprise) Satine, Christian and Company “Finale”* “Come What May” (Reprise)Christian and Company”Bows”* “Lady Marmalade“† “Hey Ya!” “Minnie the Moocher” “Bad Romance” “What’s Love Got to Do with It” “Don’t You Want Me” “Crazy” “Galop Infernal“† “Shut Up and Dance” Company |
Seems such an odd mix of songs—although honesty compels me to admit that I have lots of them on my various Spotify playlists. I guess if it’s done in the right way, a musical featuring all these songs could be effective, but I’d rather just listen to the songs. By the way, my favorite song from the original Moulin Rouge is Fatboy Slim’s “Because We Can Can Can”—which is, as the teens say, a total banger!
Deb, not all 70 songs in this version of Moulin Rouge! are sung completely. Many times only a few lines of the song are sung and then the music shifts to another song. But, with 70 songs, there’s something here for everybody!
Saw it a few months back, seemed to be little more than a very special episode of GLEE.
JJStick, you’re right. MOULIN ROUGE! resembles a very special episode of GLEE! on steroids!
Like Deb says, it looks like a playlist assembled in a Mixmaster. I like most of the songs I recognise, although if I never hear “Every Breath You Take” again, it’ll be too soon. I assume Jose Ferrer is nowhere to be seen.
Fred, the Ghost of Jose Ferrer may have been luring in the wings, but I thought the cast members of MOULIN ROUGE!: THE MUSICAL performed well. The sold-out audience regaled the cast with massive applause.
Since I absolutely detest every film that Baz Lurmann made, this show is an absolute no-go for me — and I am a big fan of musicals!
Jerry, MOULIN ROUGE!: THE MUSICAL is still running in New York City. This touring company made the audience feel like they were seeing an actual Broadway show! The sound and spectacle were terrific!
What Jerry said.
Very Hard Pass for me.
Jeff, when we saw the list of musicals on our Shea’s Broadway package last year, I was cool toward going to see MOULIN ROUGE!: THE MUSICAL. But, I enjoyed the music and all the energetic singing and dancing. I just set the bar low.
I suspect you like it because there’s an exclamation point in the title!
Bob, and I like AIRPLANE! for the same reason!