The show WILL go on: Moulin Rouge confirmed for Melbourne

Moulin Rouge has got the final go-ahead and will open its doors to Melbourne audiences at the Regent Theatre in August 2021.

The production was initially announced back in July 2019, when the production was playing on Broadway.

The show, based on Baz Luhrmann’s incredibly successful 2001 film of the same name, opened in Boston mid-2018 before transferring to Broadway.

The Australian production is to be produced by Australian company Global Creatures who are no stranger to the movie to musical conversion having previously brought us the musical versions of King Kong, Strictly Ballroom and Muriel’s Wedding. 

Announcing the show is due to commence casting in Melbourne and Sydney from mid-January, producer Carmen Pavlovic said:

I’m reflecting how, a little over a year ago, I was standing on the Broadway stage with [Victorian Premier] Daniel Andrews announcing the intended Australian premiere of Moulin Rouge in 2021 because it was such a perfect fit with Melbourne’s love of cultural institutions, fashion, food and music, Producer Carmen Pavlovic said.

“Now, it’s even more prescient. It feels like a call to arms. The story of Moulin Rouge is about show folk fighting to save their theatre and that essence of resilience and fighting for what matters has galvanised me and the whole team this year – a year of impossible challenges all round.”

In a landmark moment for the Australian theatrical producers, Moulin Rouge! The Musical was also nominated for an astounding 14 Tony Awards in 2020.

Pavlovic said the show would offer a huge boost to the Victorian economy, not to mention the influx of jobs needed to stage the show. There will be a whopping 128 jobs created across the cast, crew and production staff.

 

 

She also confirmed that the US creative team will be required to quarantine before holding the auditions the team are looking for a wide spectrum of talent from artists around the country who don’t even need an agent to audition for one of the 34 roles in the show.

The show relies on a variety of people of various shapes, colours, sizes, backgrounds, ages, talents and skills to reflect the very nature of Moulin Rouge, she said.

“We’ve done everything to make the process inclusive. Honestly, nothing would thrill me more than to discover new talent. We don’t need traditional musical theatre performers and in fact, the whole desire is to break the mould or even to see a new dynamic that we haven’t seen before in performers we know well. We want to shake it all up.”

The music is 120 years in the making, from Offenbach’s The Can Can to Lady Gaga, Pavlovic said. It occupies such a broad cultural appeal.

Melbourne will be the international premiere of the show.