MOULIN ROUGE! Reopening Night Thread

I’ll be there tonight! My first of three shows this weekend. Can’t wait to be back in a Broadway theater!

Any reports yet from the Rouge, folks?

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Scattered thoughts: Absolutely electric audience! No speeches or anything before or after. Just the full crew coming out for the curtain call. I’ve not been the biggest Aaron Tveit fan, but this was by far the most I’ve liked him. Natalie Mendoza sounded great, but used an Australian access which threw me off a bit.
Thoroughly enjoyable evening all around!

EDITED: Was corrected about it being an Australian accent.

Updated On: 9/25/21 at 12:07 AM

It was a great time. Audience was wonderful. As previously noted, no speeches given, just the whole crew out for curtain call. I believe Natalie is using her Australian accent, which threw us at first but we quickly warmed to it. She has some great comedic timing. You could tell how much everyone on stage was enjoying being back. Tons of applause for everyone, but especially I would say for Danny. Awesome evening. Handed out Moulin Rouge disposable masks prior to the show, and folks were handing out MAC lipsticks as we exited. Playbills had re-opening night stickers plus an insert with a faux “admit one” ticket for the return night. Our hands are going to hurt tomorrow from clapping so much, lol.

Also pretty sure we saw Gavin Creel attending (tough to tell with everyone masked though).

“Weird British like accent”… Australian.

 

lol

Updated On: 9/25/21 at 01:13 AM

It was an electric evening. Aaron was the best that I have seen him. Natalie was amazing. She definitely adds something to the role. There is more of a delicacy and vulnerability which enhance the role. She also has an amazing sense of comedic timing. As mentioned before, the audience ate up everything Danny did. The rest of the cast were at 150% as well. The masks and faux tickets were amazing. There were several standing ovations…I lost count. Jenn Colella was in our row. It was the first show I have seen this season that felt (with the exception of the masks and vax checks) like a pre-COVID show. The bars were open and packed, the merch stores had lines, people were getting pushed and bumped…felt like old times.

songanddanceman2 said: "And on a night that should be celebrated, Karen takes a big s**t on their night with her well timed interview in the LA times.”

Unfortunately, you need a subscription to read the L.A. Times article.  Luckily, PEOPLE Magazine is covering that article here: https://people.com/theater/moulin-rouge-tony-nominee-karen-olivo-on-why-she-left-show-something-really-shifted-in-me/

 

songanddanceman2 said: "And on a night that should be celebrated, Karen takes a big s**t on their night with her well timed interview in the LA times."

I read that...my biggest takeaway was that she is having some second thoughts about quitting the show (she didn't say this directly, but it was pretty obvious IMO), and is just really bitter about everything. She's alienated herself from her Broadway colleagues and I'm sorry...just considering what an amazing career they've had they are really not in a position to whine about how terrible commercial theatre is. Nora I feel bad for. Karen? Not so much.

A particular low point:

"Plus, when it came time to make offers to go back, they offered the same amount of money, and the same amount of rehearsal time. This is the hardest show I’ve ever done. I was like, who’s gonna remount it in six weeks? This robot that you built to look like me?"

Yes, Karen. That's what they did. And apparently, according to some who saw the show last night, Mendoza is actually better than you were in the role, so enjoy Wisconsin.

https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2021-09-24/karen-olivo-left-broadway

Even if she wanted to return to Broadway, it really sounds like she burned all her bridges.

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Some are really simplifying the great discussion from that interview about commercial theatre and where our money goes. From Karen finally opening their eyes to it, to how Nora was treated, it’s all connected.

Karen and Eden Espinosa particularly are doing great work on this and should be supported for standing up and speaking out.

Updated On: 9/25/21 at 11:11 AM

I was halfway through the People article when I realized Karen is now going by they, didn't realize and I'll try to remember.

While I can certainly understand how they feel about the industry changing, I don't really get how they think the rehearsal process would change. I mean, six weeks to remount something that they did in Boston and on Broadway. It's not like the show is being done from scratch.

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Philly Theater Girl said: "bwaylady3 said: "Recording floating around Twitter of Aaron “optioningup” the end of Roxanne tonight. Wow!"

What do you mean by optioning up? I've never heard that term before."

Sorry if I confused. Instead of the normal ending, he went up an octave higher and ended on a high belt. For me, it added “desperation” to his character, thus seeming more unhinged. Time will tell if this was a one time thing or if stays. That note was definitely in his pocket last night.