Robert Petkoff, centre, portrays the owner of the Moulin Rouge's titular nightclub.Matthew Murphy/Supplied
- Title: Moulin Rouge
- Written by: John Logan, based on the film by Baz Luhrmann and Craig Pearce
- Performed by: Gabriela Carrillo, Ryan Vasquez, Robert Petkoff, Alex Nicholson, Aaron C. Finley, Kaitlin Mesh, Danny Burgos
- Director: Alex Timbers
- Company: Mirvish Productions
- Venue: CAA Ed Mirvish Theatre
- City: Toronto
- Year: Runs until May 10
When it comes to the touring production of Moulin Rouge currently playing in Toronto (and scheduled to hit Ottawa and Montreal later this spring), we need to talk about the elephant in the room. And I don’t mean the elephant-shaped dressing room where Satine, star of the titular nightclub, primps and preens. (That said, we ought to talk about Derek McLane’s exquisite scenic designs, too, so more on those later.)
The issue, alas, is Ryan Vasquez, who plays leading man Christian, an American composer who moves to France to find his fortune. Vasquez’s CV lists a string of Broadway and touring credits – on paper, he ought to excel in the role, which features a number of difficult, range-y pop songs from the 2010s.
But in the current tour of Moulin Rouge – an otherwise serviceable, pleasantly slick production – Vasquez sticks out like a can-can dancer in a china shop. He struggles to hit correct notes, scooping his way through the jukebox musical’s tricky score. Extended belted tones are often flat, and even when Vasquez does nail the melody, he tends to dwell on the letter R in lyrics: His second-act mashup of Crazy (or, as he sings it, “crrrrrrrrrazy”) and Rolling in the Deep is borderline unlistenable.
It’s a shame on a number of levels. For one, Gabriela Carrillo is electric as Satine, a triple-threat with a luminous high belt and nuanced acting choices. Carrillo is as much the star of Moulin Rouge as Satine’s the star of, well, the Moulin Rouge, and the moments she’s offstage are some of the longest-feeling in the show.
Additionally, the rest of the production is lovely – enough so to justify the tour’s return to Toronto after just 16 months since its last stint at the CAA Ed Mirvish Theatre. Director Alex Timbers’s staging is psychedelic and bouncy; the ensemble is energetic and lithe.
But the Vasquez issue is significant.
I don’t relish singling out a performer in this way – as mentioned, the role of Christian is notoriously challenging, and it’s possible we saw the actor on an off day – but in as large and exposed a role as this one, it’s tough to look the other way. Several of my seatmates left the theatre at intermission; my entire row stifled nervous giggles during the Crazy/Rolling in the Deep mashup. Since the tour’s arrival in Toronto, even Reddit has weighed in on the casting.
The story’s the same as ever: Adapted from Baz Luhrmann’s 2001 film of the same title, the musical follows the Moulin Rouge as its owner (an excellent Robert Petkoff) struggles to make ends meet. When a rich duke (an underused Aaron C. Finley) sets his sights on Satine, all hell breaks loose – after all, she’s already fallen madly in love with Christian. She’s also dying.
The twist in all this, of course, is the music, composed mostly of hits from the 2010s but with a few classic tracks from the film sprinkled into the mix. It’s delightful – then a bit grating – to see how the songs slot into each other, and into the story. Nearly every musical taste is represented: The score includes anthems by Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, Sia, David Byrne, David Bowie and more. (On the spectrum of jukebox musicals, it falls somewhere between the enduring bubblegum glitz of & Juliet and the glammy rock of Just For One Day.)
Beyond the two leads, the indisputable star of the show is McLane’s scenic designs, scaled down from their New York predecessors but not at all flimsy or cheap-feeling. In a world where Broadway tours have increasingly replaced tactile sets with middling projections, Moulin Rouge, with its painted scenery and velvet finishes, feels luxurious and retro. Catherine Zuber’s costumes, too, are divine.
In truth, I liked Moulin Rouge quite a bit more than I anticipated – it’s one of the more thoughtful jukebox musicals in the canon, and I deeply appreciated how John Logan’s adapted script riffs on the themes established by 1966’s Cabaret.
But much like Cabaret’s Clifford Bradshaw, Moulin Rouge’s Christian sings an awful lot. His choices – and the choices he hoists upon Satine – drive the story. Christian’s music isn’t just important to his own characterization; it’s a vessel for the emotional trajectory of the entire show. Without those songs, Moulin Rouge doesn’t feel like an escape to another world – it feels like yet another so-so tour pushing its performers past their limits (albeit in a haze of confetti).