Moulin Rouge at the Eccles

After seeing Hadestown, Jagged Little Pill, and SIX, the only show left on my must-see list was Moulin Rouge and I had the chance to see it last night at the Eccles Theater.  I was really excited for this because I love the movie (I have seen it an embarrassing number of times) and it certainly did not disappoint!  The musical is loosely based on the movie and tells the story of a courtesan named Satine (Courtney Reed) who is torn between the wealthy Duke of Monroth (David Harris), who can save the Moulin Rouge cabaret club where she performs, and the penniless songwriter Christian (Conor Ryan), who she loves, but many of the songs featured in the movie have been updated to more recent ones.  It was really fun to pick out all of the snippets of songs used in the musical numbers and my favorites were "Truth, Beauty, Freedom, Love" which includes "Royals," "Children of the Revolution," and "We Are Young;" "The Sparkling Diamond" which includes "Diamonds Are Forever," "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend," "Material Girl," "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)," "Brick House," "Jungle Boogie," and "Diamonds;" "Sympathy For The Duke" which includes "Sympathy For The Devil," "You Can't Always Get What You Want," and "Gimme Shelter;" "Elephant Love Medley" which includes "All You Need is Love," "Just One Night," "Pride (In the Name of Love," "Can't Help Falling in Love With You," "Don't Speak," "I Love You Always Forever," "It Ain't Me Babe," "Love Hurts," "Love is a Battlefield," "Play The Game," "Such Great Heights," "Torn," "Take On Me," "Fidelity," "What's Love Got to Do With It," "Everlasting Love," "Up Where We Belong," "Heroes," "Your Song," and "I Will Always Love You;" "Backstage Romance" which includes "Bad Romance," "Tainted Love," "Seven Nation Army," "Toxic," and "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This);" and "Crazy Rolling" which includes "Crazy" and "Rolling in the Deep."  I also really loved the original song "Come What May" because Reed and Ryan (who are amazing) perform it with so much passion.  The choreography in this show is spectacular, especially in "Welcome to the Moulin Rouge" (I loved the Can-Can) and "Backstage Romance" (I loved the tango during "Bad Romance") and the ensemble is incredibly talented, particularly Nicci Claspell as Arabia, Libby Lloyd as Nini, Andres Quintero as Baby Doll, and Harper Miles as La Chocolat in "Lady Marmalade."  The costumes, which range from corsets and fishnets to top hats and tails, and the sets, including a cabaret with nesting filigreed hearts, a dressing room inside a papier-mache elephant, and a garret apartment in Montmartre, are fantastic.  The lighting, which bathes the stage in reds, pinks, and purples, is incredibly dramatic and I loved the neon green used to represent absinthe in "Chandelier."  This high energy spectacle is wildly entertaining and I loved it!  It runs at the Eccles Theater through December 11 (go here for tickets).

Note:  Now that I have seen everything on my must-see list, what new musicals should be added to it?  Nothing is really catching my eye at the moment except for maybe Beetlejuice.