REVIEW: Moulin Rouge! (National Tour)
Preview: Is Moulin Rouge the jukebox musical to end all jukebox musicals? It sure would seem so. The crimson megamusical, now playing at the Kennedy Center’s Opera House, is absolutely nothing if not lavish. This is my second go around seeing Rouge, my first being shortly after it opened on Broadway, which at the time I found overindulgent and cringeworthy. A lot has happened since 2019, including changes in tastes and me seeing a ton more shows. The Opera House, being as rosy as it is, seemed like an appropriate venue to check it out a second time. I used to not like RENT that much until seeing the recent concert shined a new light on the material. Who’s to say Rouge won’t have the same transformation?
Acting: Among the colorful band of characters, the two focuses are Christian (John Cardoza) and Satine (Yvette Gonzalez-Nacer). If you haven’t seen the movie, the idea is a classic star-crossed lovers trope: an artistic bohemian nobody and a sexy, bougie duchess fall in love despite Everything Going On (see: Book/Music section). Thrown in the mix are other affable faces which represent the ilk of Montmartre, from Christian’s buddies in Paris Toulouse (Nick Rashad Boroughs) and Santiago (Gabe Martinez) to the slimy Duke (Andrew Brewer) and the Rouge’s narrator-owner Zigler (Austin Durant). Ultimately, what we get from these performances are stale, inconsistent facsimiles. Accents are thrown around loosely which constantly has you asking “is this intentional?” which, for a pretty straightforward tourist trap of a show, seems out of place. Vocal power is not a demand of this show, and many of its show-stopping numbers are ensemble; for good reason, as Gonzalez-Nacer’s prowess (proven from her long tenure with Hadestown) was the only remotely memorable performance. Still, and we’ll get to it shortly, she’s wasted on the baffling array of noises that is this score. I suppose there’s only so much you can do with material this poor. 1/10
Book/Music: Truly a crime against theater. Sorry if that’s blunt, but I seldom laugh from secondhand embarrassment like I did both times I saw this show. The book loses some of its charm from the acclaimed film it adapts, likely hindered from the aforementioned acting ability, but it wasn’t that strong to begin with. Motivations among nearly everyone are empty, and it’s not entirely clear what the bigger issue with the venue closing is besides basic unemployment. Sure, this is a poor position to be in, but the grander idea this show toys with is the romanticization of bohemian life; so why is entering it so bad for the characters? Especially as Satine and Christian grow ever fonder and begin to foster a network of friends and other artists. Shallow behavior abound from the remains. The other dancers, Zigler, and the Duke are there to provide merely something for the plot to bounce off of, as if Satine’s disease and bohemian life aren’t enough. All of this, of course, is just fodder for the unrelentingly kitsch and embarrassingly low-effort marathon of familiar pop hits which make the score. “Lady Marmalade”, a commonly associated song with the film and now this show, kicks things off rather appropriately as the scene is set in the cabaret, but things spiral horrifically from there. Songs just start getting shoehorned in at every opportunity, creating corny segues from formerly-emotional bits of dialog. Rarely does any song actually feel like it fits whatsoever, and it became all the more painful as the show progressed, as the audience just kept waiting to see what radio hit they would patch together next. At what point does it stop being about the show, and more about the attempt at “creatively” stringing songs together? The answer: probably after “Freedom, Beauty, Truth, Love”, which I found to be the only truly passable track in the entire show (it’s a mashup of “Royals” and “We Are Young”, so perhaps I’m just nostalgic for 2013). Those around me also understood the comedy as it progressed, their vibes palpably going the other direction from the tone of the show by each passing second. When, at his lowest moment in a drunken, depressed rage, Christian begins singing “Crazy” by Gnarls Barkley, I could barely handle it. Genuinely, be for real! There’s not one way in hell anyone could take this as seriously as the show wants you to. I’m going to be thinking of the musical whiplash from the aggressive tone, pacing, and vibe shifts for months to come. 0/10
Production: Yes, I do have one (1) good thing to say about this thing…and that is its immaculate technical elements. The first thing of note is Derek McLane’s passionate set design, full of details and patterns that mesmerize the more you investigate. Scene changes are varied, detailed, and make tremendous use of props. It was quite exciting to see what new thing would pop out of the ceiling or from the wings! The ambience is elevated even more so by the venue’s carmine indulgence, which was flanked with the production’s iconic moving windmill and elephant head. Justin Townsend’s lighting design is passionate and diverse, with so many fun sequences that never leave you disappointed (my favorites were Act II’s opener and the absinthe scene). What made the song choices bearable enough to sit through were Sonya Tayeh’s intimate choreography and Catherine Zuber’s luxe costuming. If anything, this show just continues to prove Alex Timbers’ aptitude as a director -- not that there was any doubt on my end. 10/10
VisDev: Much like the production, the show introduces itself pretty well, if not conservatively. Program art for this tour is just the Parisian signage aesthetic of the show title, with “Truth, Beauty, Freedom, Love” on the top, all over a dark background. While it does highlight the redness with this contrast, it could do better at indicating the lush colors that are ever-present in the production. Conversely, the pre-show staging is bright and eye-catching, absolutely well-incorporating the vibes that the show gives; especially as cabaret ensemble members begin to sultrily strut around. I felt the music that plays pre-show could be a little more…classical? It felt like we were entering a modern club, instead of a fin-de-siecle one, which would have been a nice contrast to the immediate bombasticity of Lady Marmalade. 4/10
