Moulin Rouge! The Musical: The Story of the Broadway Spectacular

The Moulin Rouge! The Musical is a Broadway musical based on a 130-year-old French club, which was inspired by a 20-year-old film. It was declared euphoric by Ben Brantley and became near impossible to get a ticket, breaking box office records for the Al Hirschfeld Theatre. This book provides unrestricted access to the creative team, cast, and crew to retrace the steps of how the show came to be, with images drawn from the creative team's personal archives and first-hand accounts of the highs and lows of creating a show that referenced as much as it reinvented the Broadway musical.

Format: Hardback
Length: 192 pages
Publication date: 11 October 2022
Publisher: Universe Publishing

For over a century, the Moulin Rouge has been a captivating phenomenon of popular culture, evolving from an iconic Parisian club to a cinematic masterpiece and now a Broadway musical. The 2019 debut of Moulin Rouge! The Musical on Broadway left theatre critics in awe, with Ben Brantley of the New York Times describing it as euphoric and his Critic's Pick. The demand for tickets soared, breaking box office records for the Al Hirschfeld Theatre, attracting locals, tourists, and celebrities alike. How did a musical, inspired by a 20-year-old film and a 130-year-old French club, manage to electrify Broadway?

To answer this question, celebrated theatre writer and critic David Cote was granted unrestricted access to the show's creative team, cast, and crew. In his book, Moulin Rouge! The Musical: The Making of a Broadway Icon, Cote takes readers on a journey behind the scenes of this extraordinary production.

The journey begins in 2009, when Cote met Baz Luhrmann in Sydney. From that initial meeting, chance introductions, years of music rights negotiation, and rewrites followed. Despite facing challenges such as a partial theatre collapse and a pandemic, the show was destined to be made.

In six chapters, Cote presents a lush photo essay that brings the process of crafting Moulin Rouge! The Musical to life. Images drawn from the creative team's personal archives, including early sketches, swatches, historical research, technical diagrams, and photos, accompany first-hand accounts of the highs and lows of creating a show that referenced as much as it reinvented the Broadway musical.

This book is a must-read for bohemians and aristocrats alike, offering a glimpse into the creative process that brought this iconic musical to life. Whether you're a fan of the film, theatre, or music, Moulin Rouge! The Musical: The Making of a Broadway Icon is a captivating and informative journey that will leave you in awe of the human spirit and the power of art.

Dimension: 286 x 337 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780789339027