Josephine Baker’s Moulin Rouge

[Miles2Go2]

Posted: 9/1/19 at 12:14pm

I visited Chez Josephine in February prior to seeing Fiddler on the Roof in Yiddish. I went because I have great admiration for Josephine Baker, had heard good things about Chez Josephine, and it was super close to Stage 42. I was transfixed from the moment I entered the French-American bistro until the moment I departed. That plus Fiddler right after made for a sublime beginning to my NYC trip.

Anyway, I convinced my friend to eat at Chez Josephine on one of the two nights she is joining me at the beginning of my September 27 - October 5 trip. With no thought other than proximity and timing to the theatres, we decided on Butter Midtown (another recent favorite) for our pre-Hadestown dinner on the 27th and Chez Josephine for our pre-Moulin Rouge! dinner on the 28th.

But this weekend Ive been wondering if Josephine Baker ever performed at the actual Moulin Rouge. My sporadic internet search suggests she did not, but she did appear in the movie Moulin Rouge in 1940. I remember watching the TV movie The Josephine Baker Story starring Lynn Whitfield in 1991 and really liking it a lot, but I dont recall a lot about it now.

So my questions are:

Did she ever perform at the Moulin Rouge?

Has anyone seen the Moulin Rouge film she appeared in? And if so, what were your thoughts?

Regardless, Im excited that our pre-theater dinner experience will have some very casual relationship to our show of choice that night.

[Miles2Go2]

Posted: 9/1/19 at 12:39pm

Also moderators, as you can see above, apostrophes are apparently automatically being deleted again from posts. Can this be fixed (again)? Thanks!