Twopenny Theatre

Moulin Rouge! opens with complete glitz and glam, as burlesque dancers at the eponymous Paris cabaret prance and preen around a stage practically littered with lights. But as we learn from the cabaret’s showrunner, Harold Zidler (Craig Ryder at our performance), something is rotten in the state of Ile-de-France – namely, the cabaret’s books. At Zilder’s prodding, the rich and domineering Duke of Monroth has taken a fancy in the cabaret’s beautiful star, Satine (Tanisha Spring); for the right price, there’s an appointment to be made in Satine’s (un)dressing room. Satine has no objection to this – one has to pay the bills, and all – until the young, fresh-off-the-boat songwriter Christian (Dom Simpson) beats the Duke to her room, with a motive purely to audition one of his songs for her. 

Sparks fly – literally – on the stage, although the chemistry between Spring and Simpson isn’t breathtaking. That’s partially the fault of the book, which is serviceable but not particularly clever. Instead, it’s designed to carve a plausible path among the smorgasbord of pop songs that have been squeezed into this jukebox musical. Especially in the first act, Moulin Rouge! seems to be an exercise in fitting the maximum amount of sonic references into one show, with some scenes bearing medleys of at least a dozen songs, from Outkast (“So Fresh, So Clean”) to David Bowie (“Let’s Dance”) and beyond. This makes for high energy scenes but less plot, with the progression of Christian and Satine’s relationship (behind the back of the Duke) being delegated to narration from Christian at the beginning of Act 2.

The show improves in the second half, as the love triangle reaches its breaking point. The Duke suspects Satine’s divided affections, and callously exerts his “ownership” over both her and a show he’s bankrolled at the Moulin Rouge penned by Christian and his republican friends, Toulouse (Ian Carlyle) and Santiago (Ivan De Freitas). As Satine and Christian contemplate their lover’s predicament (and Satine struggles with a persistent cough), the show leans into slower songs which give it time to breathe. For the most part these are played sincerely, with results dependent on how well lyrics meant for the club hold up under the spotlight. Sia’s “Chandelier” is a little broad for a song about getting over a girl, but Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep” works better as the soundtrack to the show-within-a-show’s opening night, shortly after Satine receives a grave diagnosis and devastatingly rejects Christian at the insistence of the Duke. The best song, though, is one of the few originals from the 2001 film – “Come What May,” which fittingly reappears at the climax and conclusion after Christian pens it for Satine as “their song.”

With a set (and setlist) that aims to dazzle, this production of Moulin Rouge! doesn’t quite deliver. Spring shines brightly in her numbers, and after gently setting down his “plucky upstart from Ohio” accent (another constraint from the book), Simpson carries a strong, stage-worthy vibrato. Other contributors to the show’s “entertainment” quotient feel like they could be a little more punchy. The choreography is good, but not transcendent – when the Moulin Rouge’s signature can-can comes up, it feels like (sorry) more of a “may-may.” This is trouble for a show where the “dramatic” side is undoubtedly the weaker vessel – a trope-filled romance without much wit or wisdom to redeem the script. Some things are unequivocally enchanting – especially the aforementioned set, from Derek McLane, which elegantly glides between the cabaret, Parisian apartments, and the city’s skyline, but that’s not enough to place it in the “must-watch” tier of shows on now. This show talks a lot about giving your “whole heart” away, but ends up only having half of one.

Rating: 3/5 

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