Looking for some vacation week fun or a last-minute Christmas gift?
Look no further than the Tony Award-winning musical Moulin Rouge!, playing at the Providence Performing Arts Center through December 31. Tickets are still available here for most performances of the stage show, based on Baz Luhrmann’s iconic 2001 film which starred Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor.
We met the “Lady M’s,” stars of the production, at PPAC earlier this week. They shared their enthusiasm for the popular jukebox musical, which has been well-received by audiences around the county.
“When the music starts and the lights go down, it really gets us excited backstage behind the curtain,” said Harper Miles, who plays La Chocolat in the show. “It’s really fun, such a great time.”
“Audiences have been super receptive, really excited to see the show. The audience gives us energy,” added Nicci Claspell who plays Arabia.
What’s the main message of the Moulin Rouge?
“The overarching theme of our show throughout is truth, beauty, freedom and love,” said Miles. “The show uplifts you, it shows you relationships between all kinds of different people, it talks about the arts and love. People will leave thinking ‘I feel like I can do anything. I can go out and do it.’ The message is to be courageous, be brave in all that you do.”
“It’s a celebration of authenticity and uniqueness and that’s the thing that’s really pivotal about the performers in Moulin Rouge,” adds Max Heitman who plays Baby Doll.
The Lady M’s open the show allowing them the opportunity to measure up the evening’s particular audience.
“We have such a great introduction to what the audience is going to be that night. Are they going to be loud and chaotic or are they going to be more focused, more attentive to what’s happening. We’re really lucky to be in that place,” said Heitman.
The show is part of the popular jukebox musical genre, highlighted by mashups of popular songs like “Sympathy for the Devil,” “Royals,” “Come What May,” and “Seven Nation Army,” as well as the Patti LaBelle’s classic “Lady Marmalade.” For many, it’s easy to forget you’re at the theater, and not a concert.
“I feel like people can’t help but singalong, we don’t necessarily encourage it, we want you to enjoy the show and have the song stuck in your head afterward. But we hear it all the time, they are songs everybody loves,” noted Claspell.
Acting in a show that follows an acclaimed film can be a challenge, but these cast members used the film as inspiration to fuel their stage performance.
“Prior to this, I actually did not know about Moulin Rouge, the movie, so I didn’t really know what to expect, and then I watched the movie, and I was like, ‘OK, this is fierce.’ So it was really great going into it to see the similarities and the differences,” said Miles.
“I loved the movie, it was one of my favorite movies for the longest time,” said Claspell. “So seeing the (theatrical) show for the first time, I noticed it was a little different, this is not what I expected. But that’s the reason why you do the show, you don’t want to do the same exact thing. It brings something really new and special to it. It can be a completely different way of telling the story.
