Moulin Rouge! The Musical is opening in Australia the same day it's taking over London. The production began November 12 at Melbourne’s Regent Theatre after it was due to begin in August this year.
The musical stars Alinta Chidzey as Satine, Des Flanagan as Christian, Simon Burke AO as Harold Zidler, Andrew Cook as The Duke, Tim Omaji as Toulouse-Lautrec, and Ryan Gonzalez as Santiago. The ‘Lady M’s’ are played by Samantha Dodemaide as Nini, Ruva Ngwenya as La Chocolat, Christopher J Scalzo as Babydoll, and Olivia Vásquez as Arabia.
“This past year has been an incredible journey, full of ups and downs and to be able to finally say that we are opening the show actually makes me quite emotional,” says Chidzey. “I’m just in awe of this ridiculously talented cast and what we have created together. The energy we all feel on stage as we rehearse this spectacular is like nothing I’ve experienced before. The show is a true feast for the senses and exactly what Melbourne needs right now to lift our lockdown spirits!”
Directed by Alex Timbers, Moulin Rouge! The Musical features a book by John Logan; music supervision, orchestrations and arrangements by Justin Levine; and choreography by Sonya Tayeh.
The London production at Piccadilly Theatre stars Liisi LaFontaine and Jamie Bogyo as the tortured lovers Satine and Christian, respectively. Earlier this fall, the Broadway staging resumed at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre. Tony winner Aaron Tveit returned to the role of Christian, joined by Natalie Mendoza as Satine.
A U.S. national tour, starring Conor Ryan and Courtney Reed, will launch in February 2022. Additional engagements are planned for Germany in 2022 and Tokyo in 2023.
Moulin Rouge! The Musical is produced by Carmen Pavlovic and Gerry Ryan OAM for Global Creatures and Bill Damaschke. The executive producer of the Australian production is Angela Dalton, Global Creatures.
