Review: ‘Moulin Rouge! The Musical’ at the Tennessee Theatre

There should probably be a special category for entertainments like Moulin Rouge! The Musical. To be sure, it is every inch a musical, although minus a fully original score. Its plot toys with opera with fifty shades of La Bohème and La Traviata and has faint suggestions of historic characters. It is both entertainment for entertainment’s sake and an out-of-control jukebox that plays cat-and-mouse with the history of the Moulin Rouge in turn-of-the-Century Paris. And, it takes you on a careening joy ride of luscious eye candy, non-stop dance movement, and fragments of pop songs that inevitably—as wild parties are wont to do—feels like a hazy memory in the morning-after light. Oh, by the way—it won a 2020 Tony Award for Best Musical.

Based on the 2001 Baz Luhrmann’s film Moulin Rouge that starred Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor, Moulin Rouge! The Musical opened on Broadway in July of 2019 featuring a book by John Logan in a production directed by Alex Timbers. As of this writing, its stay on Broadway at the Hirschfeld Theatre is approaching the 1800 performance mark. The national tour of Moulin Rouge! The Musical is currently in performance at Knoxville’s Tennessee Theatre through May 11, 2025.

One might be asking what pop songs of the last 40 years, or so, have to do with 1899 Paris. The simple answer: nothing really. But one is forced to admit that the pop familiarity is quite the positive in this production that has been assembled by music supervisor, arranger, and orchestrator Justin Levine. Although “The Sound of Music,” “Burning Down the House,” “What’s Love Got To Do With It,” “Diamonds Are Forever,” and “Material Girl” are just a few of the 50+ numbers smushed together in medleys and extended numbers, one is compelled to accept the conceit, possibly love it, and move on.

The tour’s current cast includes Arianna Rosario as Moulin Rouge headliner Satine, Jay Armstrong Johnson as Satine’s lover Christian, and a marvelous Robert Petkoff as Harold Zidler, the close-to-real-life impresario and emcee that operates the Moulin Rouge as a club. Also a quasi-real character is Toulouse-Lautrec, played here with a lot satisfying energy by Jahi Kearse. Despite his bluster, the villainous manipulator Duke of Monroth was just a tiny bit evil in the hands of Andrew Brewer. 

Somewhat condensed from the original Broadway production, the physical idea of the original Moulin Rouge and its rosy, but sinful decadence has been interpreted by Timbers and his scenic designer Derek McLane as a symmetrical heart that has been ornamented, embellished, and extruded in every possible way, an obvious metaphor for the over-the-top gaudiness that knew little restraint. Of course, this Moulin Rouge is awash in pools and shapes of light from lighting designer Justin Townsend that spills over and saturates the Tennessee Theatre. Along with McLane and Townsend, this creative team also includes costume designer Catherine Zuber, choreographer Sonya Tayeh, and sound designer Peter Hylenski, all of whom won Tony Awards in 2020 for that original on which this national tour follows.

Ultimately, whether one walks away from Moulin Rouge! The Musical in a state of musical euphoria, or merely walks away, depends on their eagerness to play “name that tune” and, for a moment, enjoy a story of heart thumping—and teary—love.  Best not to look too deeply, though.