The colorful stage version of director Baz Luhrmann’s tale of a decadent Paris at the turn of the 20th century, ‘Moulin Rouge! The Musical’ is a charmingly disarming chaotic mess. Run through with mad tales of a ruinous relationship between two Parisian artists (composer Christian, cabaret actress Satine) and a devilishly manipulative club owner (Zidler), it is a rapid-fire rush of 21st Century popular song and flashy Steampunk-ish costumes that makes ‘Moulin Rouge!’ a quickly spinning top of a musical.
“’Moulin Rouge! The Musical’ thrives on sensory overload,“ said Austin Durant, the film, television and theater veteran who plays Zidler.
The only thing more happily chaotic and merrily manic than the sound and vision of ‘Moulin Rouge! The Musical’ is Durant’s always busy back-and-forth work on the screen (‘Succession’, ‘The Good Fight’) and Broadway (‘Macbeth’, ‘War Horse’). At a time when all television, streaming and film production is on hold due to the current writers’ strike and a potential actors’ strike, Durant is happier than ever to be on the stage, and on tour.
“I’ve never been more thankful than ever to be part of theater than I am now,” said Durant. “There is speculation on both sides as to how long the writers strike could last…. I really like the back-and-forth of working on television, film and theater. Theater is my first love. I would do theater anywhere, anytime, with anyone for any amount of money, probably. But the stability of working in television, what that offers, is unparalleled.”
If Durant is looking for something calm and stable, ‘Moulin Rouge! The Musical’ might not be the place to hang out. First playing Zidler in an immersive ‘Moulin Rouge!’ production for a time on Broadway before going out on the road in 2023, Durant is part of the “incredible wealth of music and action” going by, in a hardcore punk rock rush.
“The music drives this show, first-and-foremost, and as it is all music from this century, it already has this fun and driving pace,” said Durant. “The only time it can slow down is in its fleeting few book scenes. That’s the punk rock attitude you’re talking about – it is an assault on all of your senses in the very best way possible. Baz Luhrmann was a pop music video director before he started making films such as ‘Romeo & Juliet’ and ‘Elvis’, and it shows on stage.”
As for Durant’s character, Zidler – the owner of the Moulin Rouge! and its musical director – the actor uses the beloved stage and film musical ‘Cabaret’ and its ringmaster, Joel Grey, as something of a model for his own character’s manipulative madness.
“Joel Grey’s emcee is an image that lives rent-free in my brain when it comes to Zidler,” said Durant. “You can see Zidler’s duality… he wears it on his face. He is that consummate showman, and a father figure, and a struggling business owner – cutthroat and vicious. He uses everyone around him to get what he needs. He’s PT Barnum meets the nastiest pimp you can imagine. And I get to play the ultimate over-the-top showman in a room filled with other over-the-top characters.”
‘Moulin Rouge! The Musical’ is on stage July 5 to 23 at the Kimmel Cultural Campus’ Academy of Music. For information and tickets, visit kimmelculturalcampus.org
