A pulsing 'Moulin Rouge!' that earns its exclamation point
Moulin Rouge! runs at Belk Theater through March 31
This review by longtime Charlotte arts critic Lawrence Toppman was published by The Charlotte Ledger on March 21, 2024. You can find out more about The Charlotte Ledger’s commitment to smart local news and information and sign up for our newsletter for free here. And check out this link for Toppman’s archive of reviews in the Ledger.
Review: Moulin Rouge! is an exhilarating whirlwind that places dazzlement first, plot second
The touring production of Moulin Rouge! incorporates pop tunes from stars like Elton John, the Rolling Stones and David Bowie. (Photo courtesy of Blumenthal Arts)
by Lawrence Toppman
“Moulin Rouge” means “red mill,” as in the windmill that marked the 19th century French night club. By the time I’d finished the Broadway musical of that name at Belk Theater Wednesday, I felt like I’d been spun round and round as I clung to the whirling blades and finally tossed through the air. But I enjoyed the ride.
“Moulin Rouge!” (to be punctuationally accurate) earns its exclamation point from the opening number, a pumped-up mash-up of the songs “Lady Marmalade,” “Money,” (Motown, not “Cabaret”), “Burning Down the House” and “Let’s Dance.” Harold Zidler (Robert Petkoff), master of ceremonies at the night club of the same name, promises to touch “the point of your soul that throbs and pulses,” two verbs that apply to almost every one of the 150 minutes ahead.
The through-line of John Logan’s book could be written on a postage stamp. Zidler asks the Duke of Monroth (Andrew Brewer) to save his bankrupt club. The duke demands ownership of the Moulin Rouge and nights with its star, Satine (Arianna Rosario). Alas, Satine has fallen for aspiring composer Christian (Mark Doyle) and wants to put on his new show, “Bohemian Rhapsody,” from a story by Toulouse-Lautrec (Nick Rashad Burroughs).
Like Baz Luhrmann’s 2001 movie, the musical incorporates pop tunes — most famously Elton John and Bernie Taupin’s “Your Song” — to set moods. Subtle, it ain’t: The Duke slinks into Satine’s dressing room singing “Sympathy for the Devil,” and she responds with “Gimme Shelter.” Rape and murder, if we are to believe the rumors about the violent duke, may indeed be just a kiss away if she betrays him. (His last name means “my wrath.” Get it?)
Having set up this love triangle, the book traces the same lines over and over until it throws the plot out completely: We get a second act in which the duke simply goes away, the nightclub’s finances no longer matter, and love-blinded Christian discovers later than anyone else that Satine has tuberculosis. (Consumption be done to help her? No spoilers here.)
Did I care about these deficiencies while watching the spinning, scantily clad bodies? No, not really. Director Alex Timbers and choreographer Sonya Tayeh understand that dazzlement matters above all other qualities, and they provide it. Justin Levine chose songs wittily and appropriately and wrote some apt new lyrics. He gets special credit for the medley of Edith Piaf tunes in Act 1, because both Piaf and Satine were street urchins who became night club stars.
A few quiet moments relax us between bouts of frenzy. Toulouse sings “Nature Boy” after admitting to Christian that he loves Satine but has never told her, because of his deformities; that short, wistful encounter held more emotion for me than the fervid declarations of passion.
The leads have big voices, fine diction and stage personalities ideally suited to the anthems they deliver. Petkoff’s oily glee in his own depravity sets off Doyle’s almost impossible innocence and Brewer’s smug malevolence. Burroughs almost makes the flat and chattering character of Toulouse, who no longer seems to paint anything, three-dimensional.
Rosario gives us the sly, sexy quality of a star cabaret performer and just enough honest sentiment in softer scenes. Women in the audience saw her, oddly, as a figure of empowerment: When she told the duke, “Nobody owns me,” cheering erupted.
By the way, technicians for “Moulin Rouge!” proved “loud” and “clear” aren’t mutually exclusive by providing the best sound mix I remember for a touring Broadway show. Though I was sitting close enough that the rocking orchestra caused my gums to quiver, I understood lyrics I’d never been able to decipher in “Lady Marmalade” and “Bad Romance.” Now I can sing along!
If You’re Going: “Moulin Rouge!” runs at Belk Theater through March 31 at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday, 8 p.m. Friday, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday and 1:30 and 7 p.m. Sunday.
Lawrence Toppman covered the arts for 40 years at The Charlotte Observer before retiring in 2020. Now, he’s back in the critic’s chair for the Charlotte Ledger — look for his reviews about two times each month in the Charlotte Ledger.
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