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[0:00] Jackson Klein: You're listening to The Ensemblist, the only podcast that shows you Broadway from the inside out. Welcome, I'm your host, Jackson Klein.

[0:13] Jackson Klein: Happy Tony season! Our team at Ensemblist HQ could not be more excited to join the rest of the theater community in celebrating the 2019-2020 Broadway season and its incredible ensembles.

[0:29] Jackson Klein: First up is Moulin Rouge! After a July 2018 premiere in Boston, Moulin Rouge! opened at Broadway's Al Hirschfeld Theater on July 25, 2019. Boasting a large cast of Broadway veterans and plenty of show-stopping spectacle, Moulin Rouge! was a dazzling highlight of the theater season.

[0:58] Jackson Klein: What did our team think of the show? Let's take a look back at Mo Brady's review, shall we?

[1:14] Mo Brady: Make way, make way for the spectacle that Broadway has been waiting for. Much has been made about the opulence of the main stem's newest mounting, Moulin Rouge! The Musical. And while much of that is due to the lavish production design, arguably the best Broadway has seen this decade, that sense of spectacle comes in great part thanks to the show's large and talented ensemble.

[1:40] Mo Brady: From strictly a personnel perspective, Moulin Rouge! has a lot to boast. In a year where many new musicals have pared down the number of actors on stage, Moulin Rouge! features an on-stage ensemble of 20. That's four times as large as Hadestown, for those who are keeping track. What more than 20 actors on stage gives audiences is the chance to be truly enveloped in the show's staging.

[2:05] Mo Brady: While choreographer Sonia Taya is best known for her work in the concert dance world, she's brought A-grade musical theater staging to the table. In sequences such as Shut Up and Raise Your Glass and The Sparkling Diamond, Taya's expertise in creating visually arresting images marries with traditional musical theater storytelling perfectly. She has featured many of her frequent collaborators, such as Fred Odgard and Cori Michelle Pettinard, bringing their theatrical prowess to the table. The result is more than a few jaw-dropping moments, including the Bad Romance sequence at the top of Act II that literally stops the show.

[2:46] Mo Brady: In many ways, Moulin Rouge! picks up the torch from where Natasha, Pierre, and The Great Comet of 1812 left off. Dave Malloy's musical also immersed audiences in a world of deep reds and brazen bohemians that directly addressed the audience. In fact, the cast of Moulin Rouge! features three of The Great Comet's star dancers among its ranks, Paloma Garcia-Lee, Reid Luplow, and Brandt Martinez. But whereas those three dancers stood out in a show of actor-musicians, in Moulin Rouge! they are matched by 17 of their ferocious dancing counterparts.

[3:25] Mo Brady: Calling the ensemble of Moulin Rouge! the best in the business is not hyperbole. This company boasts storied veterans of the Broadway stage. If the Great White Way had an all-star team, the lineup would include most of the company on stage at the Herzfeld. It's impossible to imagine a more proficient ensemble than one that includes Max Clayton, Bahia Hiba, and Erica Hunter. Energetically, the ensemble rides the fine line of being unobtainable without being aloof. From the show's pre-opening parade, Morgan Marcel and Olu Bussedi stare down the audience with a subdued but feral energy that makes you wonder whether they want to hurt you or have sex with you, or both. Their sharp foci and snake-like movements are the perfect platform for the love story of Satine and Christian to be told.

With the lush settings by Derek McLean and costumes by Catherine Zuber, it's hard to feel like the club they inhabit is in the middle of a financial crisis. And while the story calls for Christian to eventually be taken in among the club's community of artists, that idea isn't reflected in the staging until a brief but beautiful tableau near the show's end.

[4:36] Mo Brady: Another discordance between script and staging lies in the use of the four featured club dancers informally known as the Lady M's. Jacqueline B. Arnold, Robin Herter, Holly James, and Jay Madjus, playing La Chocolat, Nina, Arabia, and Babydoll, respectively, start and end the show with an electrifying rendition of the movie's signature take on the song Lady Marmalade. In addition to their untamed energy during the musical numbers, they are included in the staging of two book scenes about the viability of the club's financial future. But while this quartet is supposed to act as proxies for the denizens of the club, the staging and direction of these scenes gives them little agency. For all the remarkable pageantry, sections of Moulin Rouge! fall surprisingly flat, even with actors Kyle Brown and Vihi Ahiba flying above a spinning Eiffel Tower, the Act I finale isn't able to compete with the extravagances that graced the stage earlier.

And while the musical mashups are in line with the film, bouncing between songs makes it challenging to settle down and invest in what characters are actually feeling. Yet, one feeling pervades the entire experience of attending the Moulin Rouge, that of being immensely entertained.

[5:52] Mo Brady: With such a high caliber of talent comes ample opportunities for collaborations. Between the Boston and Broadway productions of Moulin Rouge!, ensembleist Reid Luplau and musical supervisor Justin Levine teamed up to create Love is Loud, a short film featuring Justin's music. Reid reflected on this special experience for our blog.

[6:50] Reid Luplau: As a result, we are often perceived of as being of the moment. Well, this is one of those moments for me. Ever since I was a little kid, I have had a passion for film, especially dance and film. You can ask anyone in my family, they'll tell you the same. My Nana and I would sit down and watch VHS tapes of classics, yes you heard that correctly, VHS tapes of classics like Singing in the Rain and Anchors Away over and over again. I was completely captivated by Gene Kelly and what he could do. I couldn't get enough of him, I was so inspired that I moved across the world in pursuit of a dream. Now I am finally putting those two worlds together for the world to see.

[7:34] Reid Luplau: During our pre-Broadway triad of Moulin Rouge! the musical, I had the honor of getting to know our uniquely talented musical supervisor, Justin Levine. Justin is a rare talent, in that not only is his voice phenomenal, his musical abilities are out of this world, and he is also a super sweet human being. I couldn't think of a better way to celebrate him than to create a short film around his music. When he played Love is Loud for me, I instantly fell in love. Immediately, I began envisioning a creation of my own that fused with his melody. But to really make this happen, I had to nail it down to location, a time, and accept the realities of a non-existent budget. The story is simple. A man finds a Hallmark greeting card on the street corner.

Intrigued by the card, he reads it and happens to find an attractive man staring at him from across the street. I don't want to give too much away, but ultimately it touches on how each and every one of us constantly tries to fit into a relationship, being shaped into a mold of someone else's design, all in the epic search of love.

[8:40] Reid Luplau: My friend and colleague from The Great Comet, Andrew Mayer, loves to film. I knew that together we could create something artistic, touching, and heartfelt. We worked hard to gracefully compose our imagery as elegantly as Justin did. Andrew has a great eye for storytelling through the lens of the camera. I had the images, and collaborating with Andrew was exciting. Between my visions and his perspective, we captured something on camera that Nana would be very proud of. Writing this makes it sound like it was an easy experience, but don't be fooled. We had our battles. Filming in New York City is no party. It overexposed light, frigid winter temperatures, and don't forget the fact that 8.6 million people live in this city.

But we survived, and I had the best cast. Despite my shallow buckets, they said yes. They believed in me. They believed in the project, and I cannot thank them enough for their time, artistic contributions, and support. It is because of all of them that I am blessed to share with you now what those countless hours of work and editing have created.

[9:55] Mo Brady: Also among Moulin Rouge's ensembleists is Jay Madjus, who we named a 2020 season standout for his performance as Babydoll, a drag queen who performs at the titular club. Jay recently spoke to us about his journey with Moulin Rouge for an essay on our blog, read now by Angela Trocarico.

[10:14] Angela Trocarico: One of this season's standouts is Jay Madjus, who plays Babydoll in Moulin Rouge. Madjus's journey with Moulin Rouge began three years ago during the summer of 2017, when he was called in to audition. As a Canadian citizen, he had to wait to be brought in until the show could accept non-American performers.

[10:30] Jay Madjus: I already knew and loved Alex Timbers and Justin Levine from working on Here Lies Love, and heard from a mutual friend that there was a drag queen named Babydoll in the show.

[10:40] Angela Trocarico: In late 2017, Madjus booked the first reading and lab of the show. It was during the latter that he received offers for the 2018 out-of-town tryout in Boston and the eventual Broadway transfer. Each step in the Moulin Rouge journey was different. In Boston, the company was afforded a longer tech period. Following that production, Madjus says the company rehearsed in a studio for a month, and then teched in the Al Hirschfeld Theatre for three weeks prior to opening. Before the Broadway shutdown, the only rehearsals he would participate in were put-ins and brush-up rehearsals. The show itself has gone through transformations too, with some of them directly changing what Madjus does on stage. Some changes, like choreography and edits to the medleys, were minor, but one larger cut affected his track more than the rest. In the second act, Babydoll used to sing Shake It Off by Florence and the Machine, but the number was removed in between the Boston and Broadway productions.

[11:40] Jay Madjus: It was a great moment for me, personally, but the song stopped the building tension in the second act. I miss it a lot because I loved singing the song, but I get why it needed to happen.

[12:02] Angela Trocarico: Playing Babydoll is not Madjus' first experience performing in drag. He owes that initial experience to the first national tour of La Cage aux Folles in 2011. Throughout the tour, Madjus learned how to do his own drag makeup while he was playing a wannabe drag queen on stage. Following that, he performed in gay bars and clubs across the United States. This learning experience was essential in me getting Moulin Rouge, he said. I have to keep up with some amazing women in this show. I could not have done it without La Cage. I learned how to walk and dance in heels on tour.

[12:28] Angela Trocarico: Babydoll is one of four ensemble characters who opens the entire show. The Lady Ms, Madjus, Robin Hurter, Holly James, and Jackie Arnold perform Lady Marmalade. Madjus says this is one of his favorite moments in the show.

[12:38] Jay Madjus: We're the first taste of what's to come. It's exciting and electric because right off the bat, you're engaging with the audiences.

[12:45] Angela Trocarico: Another scene Madjus cites as a favorite is the boulevard number. It's the only point in the show where he is not Babydoll, but instead a man dressed in a suit and top hat, with glasses and facial hair to hide the drag makeup. Madjus describes it as a fun and over-the-top moment.

[13:10] Jay Madjus: The energy that I described for the musical's opening scene is sustained throughout the entire performance. The show was designed to wrap around audiences, giving the production a concert vibe. Audiences likely know the music beforehand, either from the 2001 film the musical is adapted from, or the cast recording which has been out for a year now. Even then, audiences would enter the house and allow themselves to be transported into this new world. Like I said before, we start off the show engaging with them, so they're pretty on board and with us as the show moves. I miss it so much.

[13:49] Jackson Klein: Special thanks to Reid Luplau and Jay Madjus for allowing us to share their stories this week. The Ensemblist was produced by Mo Brady and me, Jackson Klein. There are two great ways you can help The Ensemblist right now. One is by leaving us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts. The second is by becoming a Patreon member at patreon.com slash The Ensemblist. Please follow The Ensemblist wherever you listen to podcasts, whether that's on Spotify, on Apple Podcasts, or at bpn.fm, the home of Broadway Podcast Network. You can also follow us on Instagram. Stay safe, and thank you for listening. Until next time.