Moulin Rouge! on stage: ‘it burns prettily enough, but it doesn’t blaze’
Tony-winning adaptation of Baz Luhrmann’s much-loved film now on at the Piccadilly Theatre
As the curtain seems finally to be rising again “on a more carefree” world, we have just the show to get the party started in the West End, said Dominic Cavendish in The Daily Telegraph. Moulin Rouge! – a Tony-winning adaptation of Baz Luhrmann’s much-loved film – is a bit “short on plot”, but it more than makes up for that with “hedonistic spectacle”.
As in the film, the slender story concerns a “doomed, albeit finally requited love told in forlorn flashback by a wide-eyed bohemian with a preternatural gift for song-writing” – all of which is really just an excuse to fill “a dreamlike fin de siècle Montmartre with an array of modern pop hits”.
Still, the real point of this show isn’t the snatches of well-worn pop songs, said Quentin Letts in The Sunday Times. It’s flesh. “Bustiers abound”, and there are “more basques than Bilbao”. And while there’s an attempt at equality (there are some “bare-chested chaps from the chorus line”), it’s basically “girls, girls, girls – gartered, corseted or froufrou’d in cancan skirts”.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The whole theatre has been thrillingly transformed into a turn-of-the century Parisian nightclub, and the design is a triumph: we are carried, “with colourful brio”, from the club itself to a Paris that “springs to vivid life in front of our eyes”, said Sarah Crompton on What’s On Stage.
It’s irresistibly joyous – and backed up by some “terrific” acting and singing from the cast, led by Liisi LaFontaine as Satine and Jamie Bogyo as Christian. The show is an “absolute blast”.
Alex Timbers’s production is certainly “ravishing to look at”, said Ava Wong Davies in The Independent. But it lacks the “edge of seediness” that made Luhrmann’s film such a success. Instead, it invests in a level of opulence that “overstimulates” while failing to intrigue. Alas, there’s also a “deadening” lack of chemistry between the romantic leads.
For all the sexed-up costumes, the staging feels “insufficiently disreputable”, agreed Patrick Marmion in the Daily Mail. In order to be worthy of that exclamation mark in its title, this musical needs more crackle; more fire. For now “it burns prettily enough, but it doesn’t blaze”.
Piccadilly Theatre, London W1. Until 23 July
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
5 high-caliber cartoons about Kristi Noem shooting her puppy
Cartoons Artists take on the rainbow bridge, a farm upstate, and more
By The Week US Published
-
The Week Unwrapped: Why is the world running low on blood?
Podcast Scientists believe universal donor blood is within reach – plus, the row over an immersive D-Day simulation, and an Ozempic faux pas
By The Week Staff Published
-
Rishi Sunak's asylum spat with Ireland explained
In Depth Irish government plans to override court ruling that the UK is unsafe for asylum seekers
By The Week UK Published
-
Properties of the week: houses with enchanting gardens
The Week Recommends Featuring pretty homes in Hampshire, Devon and West Sussex
By The Week UK Published
-
Venice Biennale 2024: from the good to the bad to the downright 'bizarre'
The Week Recommends Central exhibition features the work of some 330 artists
By The Week UK Published
-
Sunset Song: gripping theatre that's 'close to magic'
The Week Recommends Morna Young's 'first-class adaptation' of Lewis Grassic Gibbon's classic novel
By The Week UK Published
-
Challengers: 'the most purely pleasurable film of the year so far'
The Week Recommends Zendaya plays a former tennis player turned coach in this 'almost ridiculously' sexy drama
By The Week UK Published
-
Baby Reindeer: a 'compelling and unforgettable' series
The Week Recommends Comedian Richard Gadd's disturbing Netflix drama about stalking
By The Week UK Published
-
Daniel Wallace's 5 favorite books that should not be forgotten
Feature The author recommends works by Italo Calvino, Evan S. Connell, and more
By The Week US Published
-
6 picturesque homes in Arizona
Feature Featuring a glass elevator in Sedona and a grotto waterfall in Paradise Valley
By The Week Staff Published
-
Silversea cruise review: a Central and North American adventure
The Week Recommends An incredible journey featuring cultural exploration, cooking classes, comfort and more
By Yasemen Kaner-White Published