It’s the news we’ve been waiting from since 2001. Moulin Rouge! will be high-kicking its way into the theatre, as Baz Luhrmann’s film musical finally gets the stage adaptation it deserves. Cue the can-can dancers…
The original musical film starred Ewan McGregor as an idealistic but penniless poet struggling for inspiration in fin-de-siècle Paris. He finds his muse in Nicole Kidman’s Satine, a beautiful but doomed courtesan.
In true Baz Luhrmann style, it’s a gloriously over-the-top, knowingly post-modern mash-up featuring songs by the likes of David Bowie, Queen, Nirvana and, ahem, Sting, as well as the heart-wrenching original tune 'Come What May.' We’re tearing up just thinking about that finale sequence…
The stage version will be directed by Alex Timbers, who worked on the Broadway version of Rocky, and written by Bond scriptwriter John Logan. In a statement, Luhrmann gave the new adaptation his full blessing, and praised the choices of Timbers and Logan.
‘I first encountered Alex Timbers through the remarkable and inventive production of Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson and the brilliance of Here Lies Love. I immediately recognised that young director’s creative spirit and felt we shared similar sensibilities and instincts,’ he said.
‘I’m tremendously happy to celebrate that Moulin Rouge! will be under his direction and that the book will be the creation of the gifted Tony Award-winning playwright John Logan whose writing I also admire deeply.’
‘It’s immensely gratifying to know that a new wave of artists will be leading Moulin Rouge! into its rightful theatrical realm,’ he added.
The show is currently in development, and the opening venue will be announced at a later date. Until then, we’re donning our best sequins and giving the Moulin Rouge! soundtrack another spin…
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