Moulin Rouge! The Musical

I saw Moulin Rouge! The Musical last weekend and I am obsessed, as I was when I saw the movie 17 years ago.

This is bullet points, because I cannot form complete thoughts.

There are spoilers ahead.

Did you like the Elephant Love Medley? Good, because a lot of this show is done in similar mashup format. There are some standalone songs, and some that are only mixed with one other, but they all work. They cut up the songs in a way that makes it into dialogue.
They gave Satine and Toulouse Lautrec backstories. They were friends when they were younger, and Toulouse Lautrec is in love with her, but the feeling was not mutual.
Satine is strong in this. She has a powerful voice, and is more than the wanna be actress that she is in the movie. She wants more for her life than being a showgirl, and she wants to protect her family of misfits at the Moulin Rouge.
Harold Zidler is now three dimensional. He has a bit of backstory, and a love interest. Oh, and he’s gay.
The Duke was rewritten a lot. In the musical he is a powerful and violent man. He likes to get what he wants, and if he doesn’t, someone will end up with their throat slit, or a face full of acid.
Satine’s illness is known to her, and she keeps it from everyone else until she is found out, as opposed to Zidler keeping the severity from her.
Christian is still pretty much the same. But he is from America, and is a writer of love songs as opposed to just a writer. He is more personable, and when Satine breaks it off with him, he doesn’t humiliate her on stage by “paying his whore”.
Christian only knew the Argentinian and Toulouse Lautrec for one day meeting Satine.
The Moulin Rouge it’s self was opened by Satine and Zidler, and I got the feeling that it’s more of a small night club/ cabaret theater than this huge luxurious establishment like in the movie. It works, because that is what the Moulin Rouge was more like when it first opened.
All the songs. There are so many and they all work so great together! Never have I been moved hearing Firework by Katy Perry than I did when I heard Karen Olivo performing it.
Oh!! The play! The play is no longer called “Spectacular Spectacular” and it is no longer a Bollywood production. The play is called “Bohemian Rhapsody” and the plot is still similar. Instead of a courtesan, Satine is a “dying whore”. Christian is no longer a penniless sitar player, but a poor sailor. Zidler’s character is not a maharaja, but a wealthy man (a duke I guess? I missed what he was)

Um… I think that’s it really. I definitely want to see it again. The show closes on August 19th, and I’m going to try and win the ticket lottery, or just break down and buy tickets.

I can’t wait to see this transfer to Broadway next year. I’m excited to see what changes are made, and I am PUMPED for a cast recording.

#I WANNA BE IN THE ROOM WHERE IT HAPPENS THE ROOM WHERE IT HAPPENS THE ROOM WHERE IT HAPPENS #BLESS YOU FOR THIS #and i LOVE that they cut ''I've paid my whore''#I've seen people say that the gun thing they replaced it with is abusive? but apparently it's in the Bohemian Rhapsody script so #I mean intending to kill HIMSELF in front of her isn't exactly the mark of a healthy relationship either ofc #but let's face it we don't love this relationship because of its healthy balance and rationale #we love it because it hurts us and we're sick like that #there is far too much absinthe involved to endorse any of this irl anyway #Moulin Rouge #MOULIN ROUGE!