Welcome to the ‘Moulin Rouge’: National tour makes underwhelming debut in Chicago

Photo by — Ryan Windle

I must confess something to you, Leader readers. 

Before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, I was in fact, a theater gay. When lockdown began, I needed to find a new hobby, but since things have been slowly opening back up, I’ve been able to get back in touch with my former love.

It is scary, almost, to go back into an old interest you thought you outgrew. You yourself are a completely different person, and falling back into old hobbies can be a reminder of the past. 

Of course, leave it to TikTok to inspire me to get back into theater. One casual day I was scrolling on TikTok when I saw a video from the “Moulin Rouge” account, featuring a snippet of the show.

I watched it again, and again, and again; I was captivated and knew I had to eventually find my way to see this show in person. 

As luck would have it, from now through May 14, “Moulin Rouge” is at the James M. Nederlander Theatre. Of course, tickets are expensive, but magically I won the ticket lottery and got myself decent seats for a decent price. 

Walking in was cathartic, I missed the ushers yelling at me for not knowing where to sit. It is hard to put the feeling of an audience before a show starts into words, but there was anticipation in the air. 

For most, this was our first big theater event in over two years, and many were masked up, staring at the stage, ready for the performance to start. 

Since I have been out of touch with theater for a while, I had no clue what the show was going to be about. I had almost no knowledge of the movie “Moulin Rouge,” so I sat in my seat, fearing the unknown. 

I do know “Lady Marmalade,” and that was how the show began, bleeding into the number “Welcome To The Moulin Rouge!” Having those four fierce performers strut down the stage and belt their hearts out was a great introduction to the show.

It was a moment for the audience members to be introduced to this musical and its characters. The song switched to many different styles to capture the varying genres of the show. 

The can-can section was a highlight. This old style of dance, modernized, kept the pace up, and the number moving. 

When the six dancers went into split after split after split, the price of my ticket was instantly met.

The costumes? Breathtaking. The lighting? Blinding. The set? Stunning. The choreography? Still on my mind.

Only two minutes into the show, my thirst for theater started to be quenched, and I was ready to take on the journey of the “Moulin Rouge.” The introductory number finished, and I was ready to jump out of my seat into a standing ovation. 

Sadly, the excitement slowly dimmed as the show got further into the plot. It was, unfortunately, a snooze-fest after the first big number. 

I thought the plot was bland and basic, and I wanted another big group number to bring the excitement back. Hearing about the poor boy trying to make it big is overplayed and the musical does nothing to make it unique.

Thankfully, my wants were met with the introduction of the female lead, Satine. This diamond-inspired mashup was stunning and temporarily revived the show’s arid atmosphere. 

It is important to note that in “Moulin Rouge” the musical takes a collection of modern and classic songs and changes them to fit their score. 

In this particular mashup, “The Sparkling Diamond,” they took a modern song, Rihanna’s “Diamonds,” and mashed it with Marilyn Monroe’s iconic rendition of  “Diamonds Are A Girl’s Best Friend.”  

As Satine dropped down from the ceiling, the slow, seductive start to this mashup included aerial work. Satine looked drop-dead gorgeous in her black, diamond-encrusted corset that hit the light perfectly. Every angle of her costume dazzled, it was hard to look anywhere else but her.

What made “The Sparkling Diamond” stand out was the production value. This introduction to Satine showed audience members why she was the big name of the club, Moulin Rouge. 

What was odd is that Satine fell ill in the middle of this big number, which took me out of the fantasy instantly. I understand they had to include the plot point that Satine was sick, but to throw it in after a big dance break was odd, and almost ruined it.

Then the mashup ended, and after the roaring applause that the company received, the audience remained silent for the remainder of the act, unsure of what was happening on stage.

What this musical failed to do was add a unique plot point to spice things up, despite the theatrics of Satine’s illness. I knew what was going to happen next, and this pedantic plot left little to the imagination. There is nothing exciting about the story of a failing nightclub, I needed a new element to add some suspense.

When I thought the show was actually about to wrap up, the end of act one happened. Still on the high from the big group numbers, I was hoping for more in the second half to redeem the blundering boredom of the first. 

Act two started with perhaps the best sequence I have seen in my entire life. This mashup “Backstage Romance” was the definition of gay rights. Including Lady Gaga and Britney Spears songs together was the perfect way to enter this act. 

“Bad Romance” and “Toxic” are two fan favorites, and to have these two songs be the main elements of this mashup felt like I was at pride. 

The fierce tango style started this song off well, to get the audience back into the groove of the show. As the mashup shifted to “Toxic,” the ensemble members were doing flips and splits all over the stage. 

To the audience member that screamed “yes bitch, you better werk,” during this mashup, you encapsulated the entire feeling of the audience in this moment. 

Despite the initial excitement, the second act came and went, leaving me with whiplash. Again, it was nothing short of predictable, with an annoying plotline without any clear heroes or underdogs.

When “El Tango De Roxxane,” started playing, the energy picked back up, as the lead male, Chirstian, drunkenly confessed his love for Satine. This was the song that became popular on TikTok, and rightfully so. 

After this, the musical went south fast. The ending was a mess. Again, not to spoil it (even though I’m sure everyone may already know the ending) but I was frustrated that Christian went from sobbing one moment to explaining the future the next. 

It was a tacky way to end the show. Having the last line be a lyric from “Lady Marmalade,” was a disservice to the story, as it ruined this beautiful moment in order to give an ideal “book end.”

The only redeeming quality of the show was the group numbers. Truly, I still replay them in my head because they were that memorable. If you can find yourself a cheap ticket, I definitely would recommend seeing the show solely based on the four big group numbers. 

But if you are looking for a moving story, I would look elsewhere. 

The cast was spectacular, and while they may not have had the best show to perform, they acted and sang the hell out of everything provided. It is a shame they were given poor source material.

While it may have not been the big return to the theater I envisioned, I did, overall, enjoy myself. It was a lighthearted show that provided a good time in the theater, especially after not seeing anything for two years. 

Because who wants to come back to a serious, dramatic show? Definitely not me.